By: Ariel Wimbush
Interview with Zion Lewis
Summer is here and the leaders of the future are right in the center of ECO-Action preparing to be the best they can be! Maybe the phrase should be the leaders of now? Because truth be told it is very apparent that the youth of today are not waiting for a platform to impact change, they are making their own platforms now. As a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide organizing and technical assistance so that Georgia low-wealth communities and communities of color can amplify their power to eliminate air, land, and water pollution, we know what a difference and great impact can be made when that knowledge is put into the hands of this generation. That’s why we are excited that for the months of June and July, ECO-Action is hosting our AWLN Summer Youth Program with teens from all over Atlanta! They are here and excited to not just work and grab a paycheck, but their focus has also been educating themselves about environmental and social justice and learning how they can make an impact in their own communities. At ECO-Action we sustain our community relationships by promoting and advocating for intergenerational learning, which is cultivated by our various programs and opportunities for training and development that service whole families and our youth!
Here’s how one of our youth interns have been experiencing the program so far!
if you didn’t know, AWLN Youth is one of those programs! AWLN Youth Summer Program is a six-week summer program that provides youth, ages 14-19, with a paid internship. Through the program youth have the opportunity to receive hands-on experience at a community, social justice, or green organization. Youth interns are provided with soft skills, environmental, sustainability, leadership, finance, and nutrition-based training that allows them to be more efficient at their work sites and at home.
Hey Zion! What have you learned here at ECO-Action that you didn’t know before?
I’ve learned about different environmental issues that I didn’t even know were happening in the world. I’ve gotten better at my editing skills because working at Eco Action I have the opportunity to operate in my creativity. I’ve gotten to experience what being employed by an organization is like. Eco Action is a new experience that I can use the skills I learned for the rest of my life.
What is your perspective on environmental justice?
Before I became an AWLN summer intern, I thought Environmental Justice was just going to pick up trash at the local park in your community, but when I became an intern, I realized that it was more than that. It’s a movement where people regardless of race, age or experience can all care about the same topic and all be equally passionate about changing the world for the better.
Now that you know more about how environmental and social justice correlate, what do you feel like you can do to make an impact?
I feel like, now that I’m more educated in both areas of justice, I feel as if I am able to take effective action with the people around me and with the people in my community. I can take what I have learned so far and apply it to the real world in the future. I could have the solutions to problems in the future that no one would have ever thought of due to my out of the box, creative thinking skills.
Zion is just one of many summer youth interns working around the city of Atlanta this year. The program has just begun and already you can see the amazing leadership skills growing and evolving, not to mention they are having so much fun learning about what they can do to make an impact! The future is now, and our youth are being prepared to lead us well.
For more information about our AWLN Summer Youth Program or any of our programs, click the link below.
