THE HISTORY OF YES!

Plastic Free Delaware (founded as BYOBag Delaware) was launched in 2010 by the Brandywine Sprouts, a group of youth in a Jane Goodall Institute Roots & Shoots program, when they were seeking to undertake a quick little “done-in-a-day” project. Seeing how countries, counties, and cities all around the globe were banning or discouraging the use of “single-use” plastic bags, the Sprouts thought “we could do that here in Delaware.” So, thus began this journey steeped in the power of young citizens.

Over the next few years, as Plastic Free Delaware worked to advocate for plastic bag legislation in the Delaware legislature, it became apparent that the youth involvement was a superpower to securing  support from the state legislature. As the legislation’s momentum grew through the state House of Representatives and then the Senate, youth from age five through high school were fierce advocates, making the trek to Dover and fearlessly testifying before legislative committees or writing letters to legislators. In 2019, with their participation in the advocacy process, Delaware became the 4th state in the U.S. to secure passage of a plastic bag ban law. It was apparent we needed to engage and inspire Delaware’s youth even further and give them more tools to be involved in making a difference in the environmental arena.

The idea for YES! was born.  In summer 2019, a group of interested teachers and environmental nonprofit representatives began meeting and brainstorming what a youth environmental summit might look like. It was agreed that students themselves should be an integral part of planning the conference. An application process for the student leadership team was created and the basic structure laid out for the inaugural summit.

In February 2020, the first annual YES! was held at DelTech in Dover with an at-capacity attendance of 270 students and teacher-advisors representing 17 Delaware high schools. In 2021, YES! pivoted online due to Covid-19. YES! was moved to Clayton Hall in 2022 and again was an over-capacity crowd of 300+. In 2023, YES! hosted 500+ students and their teacher-advisors from 33 high schools, and in February 2024, YES! was again over-capacity with 500+ students and teacher-advisors from 34 schools. Schools from all three counties have been represented each year.

Every year the conference is largely planned by a student leadership team with guidance from an adult team of educators and nonprofit professionals. Students apply each spring and the team begins meeting in late August. They are responsible for researching topics, and inviting and confirming speakers, then facilitating the sessions. Logistics, fundraising, and communications are also responsibilities of the student team.

An exhibitors hall at YES! provides an opportunity for the students to learn about many nonprofits, agencies and colleges with environmental programs and volunteer/advocacy initiatives. Corporate, agency, and nonprofit partners and sponsors make it possible for the event to be free for all attendees.  YES! functions as a program of Plastic Free Delaware, with PFD acting as the fiscal agent for the program.
 

Planning is well underway for the 6th annual YES! summit. In order to accommodate more students and greater high school representation from across the state, the 2025 summit is moving to the Chase Center on Wilmington’s Riverfront and will be held on Friday, February 28th.

Founding Advisory Team 2019-2020:
Dee Durham, Chair, Plastic Free Delaware
Stephanie Trainer, Wilmington Charter School
Stacy Bartkowski, Newark Charter School

Melissa Tracey, Odyssey Charter School

Michael Anderson, Plastic Free Delaware
Sherri Evans- Stanton, Delaware Sierra Club Chapter
LeAnne Harvey, Delaware Pathways to Green Schools & Green Buildings United

Diana Burk, St. Andrews School

Kim Ilardi, Delaware Pathways to Green Schools

Tatiana Poladko, TeenSharp

Jammie Gaffney, TeenSharp

Roni Gates, Odyssey Charter School

Michelle Kutch, Brandywine School District

Meredith Hooper, Odyssey Charter

Kristin Brubaker, Whiting-Turner

Nora Lober, Delaware Pathways to Green Schools

Shweta Arya, Plastic Free Delaware

2024 (500+ students, 34 high schools, Clayton Hall)

• Runyi Liu, YES! 2024 Student Coordinator, Newark Charter School
• Kristy Drutman, Browngirl Green and EPA Youth Advisory Council
• Delaware State Representative Sophie Phillips
• DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin
• Dr. David Donohue, Progressive Health of Delaware, on the The Power of Food to Heal the Planet

2023 (500+ students, 33 high schools, Clayton Hall)

• Nitya Patel, YES! 2023 Student Coordinator, Odyssey Charter School
• Nessy Cherazard
• Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester
• Chief Dennis Coker, the Lenape Tribe of Delaware
• DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin
• Dr. David Donohue, Progressive Health of Delaware, on the The Power of Food to Heal the Planet

2022 (300+ students, covid-restricted, Clayton Hall)

• Neha Veeragandham, YES! 2022 Student Coordinator, Charter School of Wilmington
• Andrew Fagerheim, youth climate leader from Homer, New York
• DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin
• Congresswoman Lisa Blunt-Rochester
• Ramón Cruz, President of the Sierra Club

2021 (Virtual, 253 students)

• Kanmani Duraikkannan, YES! 2021 Student Coordinator, Odyssey Charter School
• Jack Thompson, Founder and President of Fridays For Future Delaware
• Roey Normberg, High Schoolers for Carbon Dividends
• Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long, State of Delaware
• Senator Chris Coons
• Delaware Senator Stephanie Hansen

2020 (DelTech, Dover, 270+ students, 17 schools)

• Eleri Phillips, YES! 2020 Student Coordinator, St. Andrews School
• Nadia Nazar, youth climate activist, Co-Founder, Co-Executive Director, and Art      Director of the youth led climate organization, Zero Hour 
• U.S. Senator Tom Carper
• Collin O’Mara, National Wildlife Federation