La Crosse County 4-H Youth leaders traveled to Madison for a two-day civic experience starting with three hours at the Wisconsin State Capitol.
There, each member engaged in discussions with Brad Pfaff and a member of Tara Johnson’s staff. Pfaff was encouraged by the club’s knowledge of renewable energy and how energized the members were for getting to work on reducing climate change. He ended the visit with a special tour of the capitol, showing them the rooms where caucusing happens. It was exciting to take a short walk down State Street to get a photo in front of the capitol building.
The second day started at the Wisconsin Energy Institute, to hear from three UW–Madison Department of Population Health Science researchers and PhD students. The presenters were impressed with the questions researched by the members. Topics included Puerto Rico’s energy instability on device-dependent patients, using mapping data of traffic accidents to design bike safe routes to school, and measuring air quality in Uganda to raise awareness. The club left with understanding of how data, research, and the media are used to enact change in communities.
They then traveled to the Midwest Environmental Advocates law office for presentation from each lawyer on active case law in Wisconsin state. Members left with an understanding of how the Wisconsin Constitution can be used to guard their environment, community and health.
Finally, they met with the UW-Madison Energy educator showing how solar is being used in Wisconsin and broke out into teams to make renewable circuits. The club then saw a research student’s actual lithium battery array testing right in the energy building!
What made this trip even more meaningful was knowing that it was entirely designed, organized and all communication was done by one of their own, Kaarina Dunn, president of the La Crosse County Youth Leader’s Club. “While planning this experience was a lot of fun,” Dunn said, “seeing my fellow club members engaging with researchers and legislators and learning so much about our state was the best part of this experience!”
She took the lead on everything from planning the full itinerary to reaching out directly to legislators, researchers, and advocates to secure every single meeting. Throughout the planning process, she brought the club along with her, giving all members real voting opportunities to help shape the direction of the trip. It was a true team effort that ended with a win at the men’s UW Hockey game.
