Taylor Weech: at the wheel of youth-driven sustainability

Teachers often have a profound impact on our lives; Taylor Weech is a testament to that. The recent Peirone Award winner, who was recognized for her excellence as a young leader in the non-profit sector, credits two of her teachers at Lewis & Clark High School for firing up her passion in stirring things up locally and for showing her the more sustainable sides of life. As a L.C. student, Weech found it difficult to make connections with what she was learning and the world around her. That was until her senior year in 2008 when she enrolled in the class “Practicum in Community Involvement” taught by John Hagney, who, himself, was recognized by the Washington State Senate in 2007 as an outstanding civic educator. “I was aware that there were a lot of things I wasn’t OK with,” says Weech, now youth development project associate at Community Minded Enterprises. “His class really showed me how to take that energy and fuel it into change and positive outcome…I’d been waiting for this dialogue…it was just awesome.” Then at the urging of her Spanish teacher, Weech participated in a leadership program with 14 Ecuadorian exchange students in which they were tasked with creating a project to better their community. From this brainstorming came the very inspired “Gathering Places”—an idea borne of their frustrations with the lack of social connections within their own neighborhoods. Their mission: create local hubs to facilitate these connections, where music could be played, art displayed, wares sold, gardens grown and other ideas could take shape and find support, without having to hop in a car to get there. Officials at CME were so impressed with her drive and tenacity they hired Weech that year to continue her work on “Gathering Places,” now just one of many programs on her plate. She is also in charge of the Youth Sustainability Council, a group of local young people contributing to change in their community through various projects, as well as the youth element of Sustainable September—the popular month-long slew of events promoting sustainable living. In her spare time, Weech is a member of Shrinking Violets, a social co-op which fosters creative expression, is a board member for Riverspeak, an online forum for local artists, and is involved with Greater Spokane Progress, encouraging young people to engage in politics. “I’ve really evolved through creating my own experience,” says Weech. “I want to help other young people do the same.” Tell me about the CME program, Youth Sustainability Council. The YSC formed from the Ecuador leadership exchange project at L.C. in which we examined issues facing our generation and talked about local solutions. After the Ecuadorian students left, we wanted to continue pursuing our projects and ideas. Fortunately CME hired me to do just that. Since then, we’ve launched a gardening project, hosted a KYRS radio show, created the street party, Sustainable Uprising, and worked at developing a “Gathering Place” for youth and other community members to connect, share skills, and learn to become more self-sufficient. The group is mostly made up of high school-aged youth, but we also have a few older members who are either in college or working in Spokane. What’s your favorite Sustainable September event this year? I would have to say Sustainable Uprising—this year’s “Eco-Generations” track of events, designed by youth to celebrate our community and promote social sustainability. There will be local music, an all-local fashion show, interactive art projects, and a vendor fair featuring young people’s wares. It takes place downtown, on Main St., Sept. 11, 8 p.m.-12 a.m. and is an all-ages event. When did you first realize the need to live more sustainably? I remember vaguely realizing that something about our system wasn’t working throughout high school, but it wasn’t until the Ecuador Leadership Exchange that it really “clicked.” That really helped me learn that the economy, the environment, and all of our social issues are tied together and that the only really feasible solution is to re-evaluate how we approach the whole, rather than just the parts. It also just makes sense on a very basic level; if you don’t have sustainability, then you don’t have the ability to sustain your way of life. What have you found to be the biggest concerns of Spokane youth? One major concern is that “there is nothing to do” here and that “Spokane is lame.” This is probably a valid critique coming from younger people, who are often excluded from events that are 21 and over and are also stuck in the high school bubble. It’s hard to explore the larger community when you’re part of that system, which works for and satisfies some students, but not all of them. Another concern is that their education is either not interesting or not relevant. It can be hard to discover and get involved with what you’re really passionate about when you are held to the same standards as everyone else and have very little room for creativity and exploration. What other issues do you hope to tackle in the next 5-10 years? Right now, I would hope to tackle all of them, but I know I probably don’t have time for that, so I’m narrowing down my interests. I am really passionate about transportation and frustrated by how car-centric our system is. I would love to get into contributing to the growth of communities where everything is constructed with a nod towards making public transportation, bikes, and other alternative modes feasible. The other big one is education since teaching the next generation of leaders the skills they need is of most importance; clearly, the way we’ve been doing it is not working for a large percentage of students. I’m really encouraged by the creative things happening right now with new alternatives cropping up for students who don’t fit the traditional high school mold and hope to get on board with that at some point in the next few years.