Youth Involvement on the Rise in Indiana Municipalities

Editor's note: Over the past few years, we’ve observed an increasing level of youth engagement with official municipal activities such as boards and commissions focused on sustainability and climate solutions. YEPT Directors assigned the following original features to our reporters to profile just some of these individuals.

Rahul Durai, West Lafayette

A current senior at West Lafayette Junior/Senior High School, Rahul Durai has been at the forefront of Indiana’s youth climate activism for the past several years. Now, as he nears his graduation, he faces a new project: Leaving his work in the hands of the younger generation.

Though he began his journey with the now statewide youth organization Confront the Climate Crisis (CtCC), Durai has recently focused more of his attention on the local level. Currently he is the singular student member of the West Lafayette Go Greener Commission, which, as he puts it, “focuses on advising city government on environmental issues as well as educating the community.” 

Rahul Durai, second row, third from left, with Confront the Climate Crisis at the Indiana Statehouse, Feb. 2023.

This year marks his second term on the commission; he also chairs the policy and advocacy team. In the last year, the group has developed food waste projects, worked with the city council to pass a resolution against the contamination of wastewater by microplastics and had its hand in the 2024 Indiana legislative session, providing testimonies for and against environment related bills. With Durai’s eligibility coming to a close, the commission is actively seeking a new youth member for the 2024-2025 term.

In addition to this endeavor, Durai has stuck to his roots at CtCC, where he serves as a co-executive and co-legislative director. This group was also heavily involved in lobbying efforts during the recent legislative session that ran from early January to mid March, hosting their third annual event at the statehouse. Since wrapping up those busy months, however, they have been concentrating on internal affairs: recruiting new members and transferring leadership roles held by graduating seniors.

“We’re really proud of the projects [CtCC] has done over the past few years, the victories we’ve had, some of the changes we’ve seen in Indiana, but we really think it’ll be impactful to … have those seeds planted so that it can continue to grow going forward,” Durai said.

Durai’s own plans for the future include attending law school, where he will maintain his concentration in environmental and energy law but combine it with a recently developed passion for constitutional law.

In August, 2023, Rahul, left, traveled to DC with fellow CCtC leader Ashlyn Walker to receive a President’s Environmental Youth Award for Confront the Climate Crisis.

“I’m just so excited to learn more about this stuff,” Durai said, “to develop that expertise to get to the point where I’m able to advocate for these issues I’m really passionate about in America’s courtrooms. I think Confront the Climate Crisis and my high school environmental activism … will certainly be valuable for me going forward.”

— Ana Rakita, YEPT Director, Senior, West Lafayette Jr/Sr High School

For more on CCtC, there are numerous stories on the YEPT site, including this most recent one.

Devin Throw, Porter

Devin Throw, a current sophomore at Chesterton Senior High School, serves as the Secretary of the Town of Porter’s Environmental Sustainability Commission. Throw, 16, strives to create change for the better, not only in Porter, Indiana, but throughout the world.

The Town of Porter’s Environmental Sustainability Commission’s main goal is to, “… promote environmental sustainability and conservation of natural resources in the Town of Porter for the public good, and in furtherance thereof,” according to Throw. As secretary, Throw’s main roles include writing testimonials on each individual board meeting, taking on certain town assessment tasks, and maintaining records of meetings.

His latest assignment as Secretary was to assess sidewalk damage for potential hazards and to look into the causes of how this damage occurred. More specifically, he was searching to see if trees were the cause of any breakage in the sidewalk. He toured the town, writing down the potential risks as he went. The goal of this was to scope out the safest places to plant trees. The commission has recently been given grants to plant more trees, so it is important not to contribute to any of the sidewalk damage and to potentially fix some of the damage while they are at it.

Throw participates in student government, debate, natural helpers, track, robotics, red cross club, and much more inside of school. Throw’s driving passion throughout all of this is humanitarian aid, sustainability, and youth advocacy. He explained that he would like to help refugees in climate vulnerable countries in the future. He stated that about 80% of refugees in the world are coming from these climate vulnerable countries, and this problem could be solved by working together to help improve the earth’s climate and help the refugees.  

“Everybody needs to work together, it is a shared responsibility for a just future,” he said. 

— Addison Jacoby, YEPT Reporter, Junior, Jefferson High School

Leif Speer, Terre Haute

Leif Speer, a seventh grader from Terre Haute, is one of the leading student activists in Indiana. 

Speer got his start in environmentalism during fourth grade when he started a student advocacy group dedicated to lobbying for change at the local level. After answering a call to action from ReTHink executive director, Shikha Bhattacharyya, Speer helped cofound the organization, EARTHlings (otherwise known as the Environmental Activists for a Resilient Terre Haute.) Speer noted, “...it struck me how little was being done to fight the climate crisis,” and “I wanted to do my part [by advocating for change.]”  [Disclosure, Bhattacharyya is a Resiliency Coordinator for Earth Charter Indiana.]

During his first year with the group, Speer spent his Fridays demonstrating with other students outside his school board building. “Our first main goal was to get climate change incorporated into the city curriculum. So, regardless of the weather, we would go and demonstrate [our concerns.]” 

Soon thereafter, this effort spiraled into something much bigger, and in 2021, the EARTHlings passed a Climate Recovery Resolution to create a more sustainable city overall. This resolution resulted in the creation of a sustainability commission, numerous community engagement and climate education projects, and dozens of other green programs. 

Since 2021, Speer has served on Terre Haute’s sustainability commission where he is currently the youngest presiding member. Throughout his time there, he has collaborated with other officials to conduct various community workshops and implement environmental solutions in Terre Haute. For instance, Speer mentioned that the commission has hosted multiple workshops where community members have given their input regarding social, ecological, and infrastructure improvements that could be implemented in the climate sector. Additionally, Speer explained that the city is working on creating a more “active community garden”, “implementing electric vehicle charging stations”, and solidifying a climate action plan to use as a framework for future projects. 

Outside of his sustainability commission responsibilities, Speer is presently working with the EARTHlings to eliminate excess waste in Terre Haute cafeterias. “I recently talked with the superintendent of our county to try and get styrofoam trays out of the cafeteria.” Speer elaborated, “The plan is on track, but there are some cost issues in the way as of right now.” 

Both in and outside of the classroom, Speer’s passion for environmental science runs extremely deep. This year he received first place in the Honey Creek and Regional Science fairs. Jim Speer, Leif’s father and a professor of geology and geography at Indiana State University, expounded on his son’s achievement: “He used online tree-ring chronologies from the southern hemisphere to create the first southern hemisphere temperature reconstruction back to 500 CE that shows the ‘Hockey-Stick Curve’ in the southern hemisphere but with a lower amplitude than in the northern hemisphere. The reconstruction is shown with the sharp increase in growth on his poster.” [See photo below.]

As Leif Speer continues on in middle school, so does his enthusiasm for creating a greener future for the generations to come. Speer looks forward to “doing his part” and continuing to “educate people about the climate crisis” as he gets older. He hopes that his work will inspire others and he wants to remind other students of their power to act as catalysts for good: “We have voices– if youth band together, we will be able to make a change.”

— Elena Kreuper, YEPT Director, Senior, Elkhart High School

Editor’s note 2: While we were developing this feature, two additional youth-focused programs came to light:

First, in early April, South Bend announced a Climate Action Ambassador program for high schoolers. Five Ambassadors will be appointed to work for the city, receiving a stipend, and YEPT reporters will report on their progress in the coming months. 

Secondly, Earth Charter Indiana, the parent organization for YEPT, launched a new program, Simon Youth Climate Champions, in three cities on Earth Day, April 22. The three cities are New Albany, Richmond, and Terre Haute. These Simon Youth Climate Champions will be paid $1000 for a 12-week appointment, with potential renewal throughout the year. Visit here for more on that program.

If you know of any other youth programs or climate-active youth, please contact our adult advisor Jim at jimpoyser@earthcharterindiana.org.