Greta Thunberg, the Swedish environmental action phenom may get many headlines and four Nobel Peace Prize nominations, but the City of Boise has its own share of environmental warriors and has given them a platform in the city’s Youth Climate Action Council.
"You don't really have to worry about being a junior Greta Thunberg who wants to do all this before you go into the Action Council,” said Asha Muhingi, senior at Capital High School. “So don't lose hope. You can surely get it if you're ever interested.”
Muhingi joined another Youth Action Council member, Lillian Stahlberg, senior at Sage International Council, to visit with Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about how much is in their queue, a big plan for Treefort and having their work showcased in The New York Times.
Read the full transcript:
GEORGE PRENTICE: It's Morning Edition. I'm George Prentice. Good morning. Asha Muhingi and Lillian Stahlberg are here. They are members of the City of Boise's Climate Action Council, and we'll learn about that together. But first, let's say good morning to Asha and Lilian.
LILLIAN STAHLBERG: Good morning.
ASHA MUHINGI: Good morning.
PRENTICE: So let's take a moment to learn a little bit about you, Asha. What do we need to know?
MUHINGI: Well, my name is Asha Muhingi. I'm a senior at Capital High School. And one thing that has always been part of me and will always be is that I'm a first-generation immigrant. Boise in Idaho has been, you know, my one and only state that I've come to find that has really made up who I am as a person.
STAHLBERG: Yeah. My name is Lillian Stahlberg and I am a senior at Sage International School and I'm 17 years old.
PRENTICE: Can I ask…well, probably both of you can answer this question. What did lead you to the Youth Climate Action Council?
MUHINGI: For me, it was really kind of a suggestion that piqued my interest. The fact that my AP world history teacher had listen about how I'm very passionate about politics as a refugee and I really just like to uptake. She was like, Oh, this is interesting new thing that's being formed here in Boise. Would you like to apply for it? And in my wildest imagination I was able to be part of the action committee. So that's where the journey began.
STAHLBERG: Yeah, I had a friend that was on the Youth Climate Action Council last year and she recommended that I applied and I applied and got on, which was incredible because I know a lot of other people applied and I'm a part of a lot of activism groups, youth led activism groups in Boise, specifically pertaining to climate action. So having the opportunity to go on a more formal scale for that and be part of the city led group was really exciting.
PRENTICE: Well, it is not every day that you find yourself on the pages of The New York Times, but here it is. We have an article titled The Rise of Youth Climate Councils, and indeed it features a good amount about the Boise Climate Action Council. Congrats on that. But let's learn about what you're doing now. Asha, What are you working on?
MUHINGI: So, one of the very first projects that I will say that we as a Youth Climate Action Committee had started on was the climate summit. And at the beginning we started planning the event, which is basically inviting a lot of youth around the Treasure Valley to join the discussion about the climate crisis and how we can solve it in our own communities with our unique actions.
PRENTICE: Lilian, what else? What else is in your queue?
STAHLBERG: Yes, another project we've undertaken is the city of Boise has purchased a building and given our council a small area of that to have a little exhibit and have a voice, which is very cool. And we get to have a little exhibit that will show about urban design planning and how the climate crisis is affecting how we design our cities….
PRENTICE: Hold on. Hold on. Let me let me pause you right there. So where is this building?
STAHLBERG: Yeah, it's behind the Boise Public Library, the big one downtown on Capitol.
PRENTICE: And is this or will this be open to the public? Your exhibits?
STAHLBERG: Yeah. The goal is by Treefort. So you should be able to go and see it by then.
PRENTICE: Asha, how. How big is this council?
MUHINGI: We have 12 members, including me and the co-chair. Everyone on the council just bright, intelligent, and I can just say very outspoken individuals who are very much ready to say anything that needs to be done about the city. So.
PRENTICE: And Lillian representation from across the city.
STAHLBERG: Yeah, it's great. We have a ton of different kids from a ton of different schools, which is super cool, especially just to see the diversity across the schools in terms of what their student populations think and have in terms of like green clubs like my school has or different activism groups in their schools.
PRENTICE: Let's talk about having a voice…to have the proverbial seat at the table.
MUHINGI: Yeah. So I think really as a teenager, you know, from being able to only be a voting member for any election until the age of 18, for example, you know, I have that kind of. For assumption that you are unable to think a certain way or you're not professional enough or old enough to do something. But I can say for sure that a lot of the youth that I've encountered throughout being able to be on the comments might segment on the youth on the committee have really just been very outspoken about a lot of suggestions that they feel like are necessary so that they can also be part of the community, part of the people who are being affected as well are the youth and later generations as well. And so being able to have that voice and sitting on the table and being able to give kind of like critical criticism, that's a little bit passive, not too aggressive, you know, and being able to say that there's something wrong. And we as a youth really want this to be fixed is really a major aspect of the Youth Climate Action Council that I feel like has been a plus for the city.
PRENTICE: Lilian, how long are you on this council for?
STAHLBERG: Yeah, our terms are one year long, so every year it'll be a new group of students who will have opportunity.
PRENTICE: Asha I'm going to guess that more than a few folks your age and maybe even their parents may be listening. What would you tell them about the possibility of them following in your shoes on this council?
MUHINGI: In the beginning, I had no achievements that I could put on my application to join the Youth Climate Action Council. I've never been in like any environmental organizations like the Sierra Club or the Justice League. Nevertheless, I applied and just being able to talk about who I am as a person and how eager I am personally attached to the environment and would like to do something about it was one of the most important aspects. I feel like the people who are going to be going through your applications, if you're ever interested, will really want to see more than anything else. So you don't really have to worry about being a junior Greta Thunberg, who wants to do all this before you go into the action council, but rather instead just having your diverse voice and kind of being able to be that part of that inclusive space of different youth in the communities. Really an important aspect. So don't lose hope. You can surely get it if you're ever interested.
PRENTICE: Well, she is Asha Muhingi and we are also joined by Lillian Stahlberg, and they are members of the City of Boise Youth Climate Action Council. And quite simply, they're getting it done this year, and at least for now. Thank you. Thank you for what you do. And thanks for giving us some time this morning.
MUHINGI: You as well. Thank you.
STAHLBERG: Bye bye.
Find reporter George Prentice on Twitter @georgepren
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