Climate Future

Join Our Climate Future Program!

Northfield Rotary is teaming up with Carleton College and The Climate Initiative to offer 2025-26 Youth Exchange students a unique, guided series of programs to investigate tangible, local climate-solutions. Northfield Rotary has long been a national and international leader in its Youth Exchange and climate awareness actions. Now, the Climate Future initiative unites these core pillars to empower the newest generation of climate leaders.

We believe young people are key to addressing the climate challenge through mitigation and adaptation. Why? Because they influence and foster climate concern among their parents, communities, and decision-makers. Northfield Rotary’s Climate Future program empowers these emerging voices through:

• Awareness Building: Raise awareness among students of climate issues that will affect them throughout their lives
• Local Action Research: Help students learn how their home communities, regions, and countries are taking positive steps to respond to climate challenges
• Knowledge Sharing: Guide students to research and report on local climate strategies for presentation in group settings in early Spring 2026

Our program partner The Climate Initiative will offer a series of virtual workshops to help engage Youth Exchange students in direct climate action. Through community-based education and empowerment initiatives, students learn about local climate problems and possible solutions, inspiring them to become change agents in their communities and beyond.

These sessions will not push one type of action but will help students decide for themselves what climate action is local and accessible to them.

Youth Exchange students in Northfield also will be able to work in person with Carleton College students in one of four areas related to sustainability: Food Emissions Reduction, Waste Reduction, Community Science, and Climate Storytelling.