Contact: Kelly Dooley at 612-751-9874 or kdooley333@gmail.com
St. Louis Park, MN -- On Monday, the St. Louis Park Public School Board passed a Climate Leadership Resolution establishing the goal of transitioning the school district to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 while also achieving 100 percent clean energy.
This effort was led by students from the Roots and Shoots club at the St. Louis Park (SLP) High School partnered with 6th graders from SLP’s Class of 2025. It was also supported by youth climate action group iMatter and Sierra Club’s Climate Parents.
Parents, teachers, and community members have attended multiple hearings to support these students and demonstrate the broad support for the school board to pass this resolution. With the school board voting unanimously to pass the resolution, St. Louis Park has become one of the first districts in the metro area to commit to 100 percent clean energy -- following the city's bold climate action plan adopted last year.
St. Louis Park is one of many Minnesota school districts with campaigns pushing for similar commitments, including Minneapolis, Wayzata, and Mounds View.
Says Katie Christiensen, a Roots and Shoots student leader supported by iMatter, “It’s exciting that our school district has adopted the goals of powering its operations with 100% clean energy and reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions.” She added, “This is a big win for our school community, and we’re proud of how students, parents and district leaders collaborated to make this happen.”
Kelly Dooley, a parent leader with Sierra Club’s Climate Parents program, released the following statement:
Kelly Dooley, a parent leader with Sierra Club’s Climate Parents program, said, "St. Louis Park School District’s decision to commit to 100% clean energy will inspire other school districts to do the same thing.” She added, “In the era of climate change, stepping up and implementing clean energy solutions demonstrates true leadership.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
About iMatter
iMatter is a nonprofit organization founded and designed by youth. iMatter supports youth leaders to inspire political will in their communities for necessary and just climate action. Youth leaders across the U.S. and Canada are showing up in city halls and state governments to push their communities to commit to bold environmental policy. The iMatter Program has grown, starting with 5 cities and 10 youth leaders in 2015/16, to engaging with more than 300 youth leaders in over 100 cities in the 2018/19 school year. iMatter partners with and supports the youth leaders from St Louis Park High School’s Roots and Shoots club in their work. For more information, visit https://www.imatteryouth.org/.