Silva Keila Silva speaks at the Western Mass Youth Climate Leadership Program’s annual summit regarding environmental justice.
Keila Silva, a sophomore at Suffield High School was a speaker at the Connecticut Land Council’s annual meeting. The session called “Leading the Way: Environmental Activists Speak Out” was held at Weslyan University on March 25. Activists (mostly adults) from around the state were scheduled to speak, so being invited as a student speaker, was a particular honor.
The Connecticut Land Council is an advisory group that land trusts (like the Suffield Land Conservancy) across the state rely on for advocacy and policy, education and training and technical assistance. The meeting is usually attended by hundreds of people representing a diverse network of people fighting to preserve and provide access to land across the state.
Keila is on the leadership council of the high school’s Sustainability Council. She has been a member of the group since she was a freshman and has been an environmental activist since she was in 8th grade. She played a major role in last year’s Walk for the Hart event in Suffield. Keila has also put in a huge effort as part of UConn’s Natural Resources Conservation Academy where she is currently in the late stages of creating a great, vetted lesson plan on environmental racism. She is also a member of the Mass. Youth Climate Group which works with middle and high school kids across the border helping bridge with SHS to make a bigger impact. In the spring she will be part of an event at the Springfield Museums related to climate issues. Congratulations to Keila, part of a new generation of environmental activists.