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Three GreenStep Clubs shared their stories at the Eco-Experience: Harbor City International School’s Action Club Team (ACT) with Aspen Herbert, Carly Glunz, Layne Hagglund, and Ami Agaton and their team advisor, teacher Brian Scott; Roseville Area High School’s Students for Climate Action with Alex Terrel and the club advisor, teacher Laura Jansen; and on video, Shakopee High School’s Yuosrady Phoeurn and their club advisor, Ed Loisele.
Students Took the Stage at the Minnesota State Fair
Students Took the Stage at the Minnesota State Fair
Sep 30, 2026 · MN GreenStep Schools, a program of Bold Futures Now
What a way to open the Minnesota State Fair. On August 27, MN GreenStep Schools kicked off the Eco Experience Sustainability Stage with The Future Is Leading, a morning that put students front and center.
We started with a simple idea: schools are where communities connect. Forty percent of Minnesota households include school-age kids, and when a school takes climate action, the whole neighborhood notices. Then we handed the mic to the people who prove it every day.
Harbor City International School students Aspen Herbert, Carly Glunz, Layne Hagglund, and Ami Agaton Howes brought Duluth to the Fair, sharing their beach sweeps, adopted storm drains, composting work, and a student-run Sustainability Summit that grows every year. They reminded us that environmental justice and social justice go hand in hand.
Roseville Area High School and MN GreenStep Advisory Committee Student Representative, Alex Terrell, told the story of Minnesota's first GreenStep School, born from a 2022 student walkout. Today Alex's club is leading waste audits, a districtwide recycling plan, and a new pollinator garden.
The student panel that followed was the highlight. Asked what keeps them going when they hear "no," the answer was the same across the stage: community. And their advice to other young people? Show up, be brave, and find your people.
Thank you
Thank you
Huge thanks to teachers Brian Scott and Laura Jansen, Colleen Redmond of paleBLUEdot, Kristin Mroz-Risse of the MPCA, NovaWerks Media, and Ameresco for sponsoring our event.
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Whether you're a student, teacher, school leader, or partner, there's a place for you. Fill out an interest form, explore the framework, or become a GreenStep Builder at mngreenstepschools.org.
The future is leading. Let's follow.
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