Students Hoping to Build a Greener Future

The YES/Transition Youth group is working with city officials to make Northfield a greener community.

The group, which consists of approximately 10 students from and , has been working with city officials since fall 2010 to install year-round recycling bins in town.

“I think it’s benefitted the kids,” said Mary Jo Cristofaro, team leader of the recycling bin project and member of local community organization Transition Northfield. “They’ve learned a lot about the process of working with the city.”

According to its website, Transition Northfield is "part of an international movement to relocalize, re-energize and build resilience in our community."

The YES/Transition Youth group includes NHS students connected with the Youth Energy Summit, a program focused on building sustainable communities. Several members of Transition Northfield’s youth group are also involved in YES/Transition Youth. The students received $3,000 in grant funding from the Youth Energy Summit for the project.

The group has been developing and constructing prototype recycling bins for over a year. The two current prototypes include a historically inspired cedar bin and a contemporary bin, which is built primarily from recycled material.

Over the course of the development process, representatives from the , , the Heritage Preservation Commission and the City of Northfield have taken part in the dialogue surrounding design and construction.

“I’ve definitely gotten a better feel of how things work in our community,” said Helen Sorsythe, a member of YES/Transition Youth and a sophomore at NHS.

The group presented their most recent prototypes to Public Works Director Joe Stapf approximately two weeks ago. They are currently waiting to find out when, where and if their recycling bins would be widely installed.

“It’s important to stay positive,” said Arlo Cristofaro-Hark, who is a junior at ARTech and a member of YES/Transition Youth. “No matter what happens, we’re just going to keep trying.”