This is a guest post by Symone Baskerville, a student at Kenwood Academy High School. On May 12th, she attended Chicago’s TEENS Environmental Summit; an event organized by students and ACE to help build the local environmental movement.

Want to see more from the event? Check out pictures or watch the video!

The Teens Environmental summit was great. It showed being green can be fun!

The doors opened at 5 and the fun began!!! My first stop was the bike safety workshop. Even though I only stopped in for a minute I still learned how to use the right-hand signals while riding my bike. Learning how to do this will help lots of Chicago bikers to be safe while riding their bikes.

My next stop was the food tasting, where all of the food was gluten free. I always love trying new foods so I couldn’t wait to dig in. The food was great ? my favorites were the egg roll and the all-natural pop.

It was then time to get prepared for the fashion show. I ran backstage to make sure my model Bria was ready and to talk to some designers about their inspiration. I learned that most of the designers got their inspiration from famous designers work, like Alexander Wang, or from magazine pages. The lights went down and the show began. Model after model owned the runway with their own unique walks.

After the show was over, most of the designers and models were scattered around, but I was still able to snag a interview with Dana Rae Marigmen (creator of Project Greenway) and her model Jackie:

Q: So how did the show go for you? Were you watching?

A: Oh yes, I was watching. I was actually sitting at the top of the runway, videotaping.

Q: Did you have a favorite pose?

A: Yes, I really loved when one of the models blew a kiss to the audience. I thought it was really cute and creative.

Q: So how long did it take you to make your outfit?

A: Well, it took about 3 months.

The Teens Environmental Summit taught me that you can have fun being green and you can combine the things you love (like fashion) with green living. It’s great for the environment and you!

Just remember that it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you?re having fun and saving the planet while doing it.