Each month, NAAEE shares narratives from the CEE-Change Fellows as they implement their community action projects and work to strengthen environmental education and civic engagement capabilities, all supporting the mission of cleaner air, land, and water.  Join us on their journey! The Civics and Environmental Education (CEE) Change Fellowship is NAAEE’s newest initiative to support leadership and innovation in civics and environmental education in North America. This ee360+ program is a partnership between NAAEE, U.S. EPA, and the Cedar Tree Foundation.

Beneath the wings of the airplane rolled lush hills of green. As the plane slowly descended my body tensed more than usual. Questions rushed through my head. “Would I make the bus? Could I get to my luggage in time? Did I remember everything?” But more than these simple logistical worries rushed the other thoughts. “What was this group going to be like? Would I fit in? What will we learn? Did I belong?”

These emotions rolled around inside of me as I arrived at the Washington, DC airport en route to the CEE-Change Fellowship Leadership Institute in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Stepping out of the airplane I was greeted by other travel-weary Fellows;  people who by the end of the week would become the support network I never knew I needed. People ready to envelop and guide me as I took on new challenges in climate advocacy.

Working on climate change action in Nashville, Tennessee can sometimes feel a bit lonely. Although Nashville is making advances in climate action through local plans and commitments, other parts of our community are pushing more fossil fuels and climate change denial. Through my role at the Cumberland River Compact, we were doing everything we could to advance the cause by launching Tennessee’s first Youth Climate Summit, facilitating action projects in the city, and infusing our traditional environmental education with climate resilience. But, as many feel in climate change work, there was always so much more to do. 

Being surrounded by such inspiring leaders at the beginning of the Leadership Institute was simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting. Then, during the end-of-the-day reflection, someone raised their hand and finally said it. “I don’t know that I belong here!” Across the room heads all nodded in unison. How was it possible that these incredible people didn’t think they belonged? Could they not see that they were absolute changemakers? And then it hit me. Did that mean I belonged, too? That my work was just as important and just as impactful as these incredible changemakers?  

As the nods settled down, we all suddenly realized that our collective sense of not belonging was what brought us all together. We needed the community support that could only come from something like the CEE-Change Fellowship.

The remainder of our time in West Virginia brought deep learning, social growth, and reflection. Through provocative conversations with leaders like Leander Lacy and José González, we reexamined our approaches to JEDI work in climate, ensuring we were truly working alongside communities to make change. Alongside Shaun Martin with the World Wildlife Fund, we considered what climate impact truly means for our communities, and with Esther Cowles, we dusted off our evaluation skills. Along the way, we giggled over ice breakers that only NAAEE Executive Director Judy Braus could create, compared favorite food combinations from the cafeteria, and painstakingly searched to find the flattest rocks along the Potomac River.

The adage goes that all good things must come to an end. But that wasn’t the case with the CEE-Change Fellowship. This was just the beginning. Boarding the airplane back to Nashville, I fielded a flurry of text messages from my family. “How was it? Did you have fun?” they asked. Inhaling slowly as I stepped aboard the plane, I simply said, “It changed my life”.

Back in Nashville, I felt rejuvenated. It wasn’t just the bundle of resources or ideas I came back with. It was the bustling chat group sharing climate change resources and giving feedback sprinkled with comments about more than a few ways that pumpkin spice has taken over the world. The days post-institute continued to click by and the reality of work, life, and the world set back in. But my fellow Fellows were still there, enveloping me in support, encouragement, and ideas. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so alone. When new challenges arose, I had a place and people to go to.

The CEE-Change Fellowship is all about seeing change together. It is amazing to watch Fellows from around the world lead programs, try new things, and embark on groundbreaking work. We are seeing change happen. But we are also seeing change within and among ourselves. Suddenly, these 30 people from across the world are not simply other climate leaders that I look up to. These are my companions growing, shifting, learning, failing, and doing our best together˛changing along the way.

Sometimes we insist we must look elsewhere to see change, that there is no way it can be happening near us. But if we can simply hold up a mirror, sometimes we’ll see the biggest and most important change to watch is actually within ourselves.