The Power of Youth: A Look at the Gulf of Mexico Youth Climate Summit

July 24, 2022

How to organize and empower youth for our oceans and coasts!

On this episode, hosts Peter Ravella and Tyler Buckingham welcome Maggie Peacock and Armon Alex to the show to talk about the upcoming Gulf of Mexico Youth Climate Summit (GOMYCS), which will be held virtually July 29-30. Maggie and Armon are the Co-Directors of Youth Engagement for the Gulf Reach Institute and together they co-founded GOMYCS as a way to assemble and amplify youth voices from around the entire Gulf of Mexico. Their hope is for young environmental stewards from around the Gulf of Mexico, including from Mexico and Cuba, to unite for two days dedicated to learning and connecting with fellow researchers, students, and activists about the critical issues facing the Gulf. Maggie and Armon are both undergraduate students at Texas A&M Corpus Cristi (Go Islanders!). For information on how to register for GOMYCS click here!

Its a great conversation with two inspiring youths, only on ASPN!

Show Transcription
This transcription was generated by a computer. Please excuse any errors.
Peter Ravella & Tyler Buckingham

Peter and Tyler joined forces in 2015 and from the first meeting began discussing a project that would become Coastal News Today and the American Shoreline Podcast Network. At the time, Peter and Tyler were coastal consultants for Pete’s firm, PAR Consulting, LLC. In that role, they worked with coastal communities in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, engaged in grant writing, coastal project development, shoreline erosion and land use planning, permitting, and financial planning for communities undertaking big beach restoration projects. Between and among their consulting tasks, they kept talking and kept building the idea of CNT & ASPN. In almost every arena they worked, public engagement played a central role. They spent thousands of hours talking with coastal stakeholders, like business owners, hotel operators, condo managers, watermen, property owners, enviros, surfers, and fishermen. They dived deep into the value, meaning, and responsibility for the American shoreline, segment-by-segment. Common threads emerged, themes were revealed, differences uncovered. There was a big conversation going on along the American shoreline! But, no place to have it. That's where CNT and ASPN were born.