Brunswick student group aims to spark next generation of environmentalists
Brunswick High School Student Launches Environmental Youth Leadership Program in Partnership with Local Land Trust
BRUNSWICK — When Avery Peterson looked for ways to get more involved in environmental learning, she decided not to wait for an opportunity to appear. Instead, the Brunswick High School junior created one.
Partnering with the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust, Peterson designed and launched the Environmental Youth Leadership Program, a new initiative that brought 12 of her classmates into direct contact with the people and places shaping environmental work in their community.
The pilot program ran during the 2025–2026 school year, with participants gathering once a month for field trips on early release days and additional evening sessions over Zoom with visiting scientists and specialists. The experience was entirely extracurricular — no school credit was attached — a fact that program leaders say speaks to the participants' level of commitment.
"When people think about environmental issues, it's very big and amorphous," said Sarah Rodgers, the land trust's education and school partnerships program manager. "It's very hard to bring it down to the tangible, the local. Like, how is this really playing out in my town and my community, and what can I do about it, and what can other people do about it?"
Rodgers, Peterson's mother, helped bring the program together through her role at the land trust, which already has a strong presence in Brunswick's elementary schools. The youth program extends that work to older students capable of engaging with environmental issues at a deeper level.
"Youth voices matter more than we think," Peterson said. "People are actually interested to hear what teenagers have to say, and showing up really matters more than we think it does."
The field trips took students across a wide swath of the local economy. At the Brunswick Department of Public Works, town employees walked students through the environmental effects of road salt and the strategies used to reduce them. A stop at Green Bee, a Brunswick-based soda company, offered a look at how a small business can build sustainability into its operations, with a particular focus on supporting pollinators.
The group also traveled to Bowdoin College's Schiller Coastal Studies Center, where students learned about eelgrass restoration efforts along the Maine coast, and visited Sound Pine Farm and Mere Point Oyster Company to hear from people working in agriculture and aquaculture.
One of the program's most memorable virtual sessions came in the form of a Zoom call with an expert on Maine's Big Night — the annual spring migration of amphibians from forest to vernal pool. Students got an up-close look at the migration process and the volunteer monitoring networks that help amphibians cross roads safely.
The range of visits left an impression on Peterson. "Everything is impacted by climate change, and everyone's jobs do take into account that factor," she said. "It can be really positive to see all the good work people are doing around you."
The program culminated in a project showcase held June 9 at Curtis Memorial Library, where each student presented work tied to an issue they had explored during the year.
One student partnered with Brunswick's environmental planner to lead a workshop on healthy watersheds and planned to survey fellow high schoolers about their views on pesticide use. Another completed an online training course on Maine's Big Night and committed to helping amphibians migrate safely the following spring.
Inspired by their visit to Green Bee, Peterson and a group of classmates brought samples of the company's natural soda to school as their project. After surveying taste testers, they found that many students said they were more likely to buy the drink knowing it supports pollinators and is made locally.
For her work designing and leading the program, Peterson received an underclassmen service award. Rick Wilson, Brunswick High School's extended learning coordinator, called her a "total rockstar."
Peterson and Rodgers said they hope to bring the program back next school year and expand it to reach more students. The experience, they said, demonstrated that teenagers are ready and willing to engage with the environmental questions shaping their community — if given the chance.
