Politics & Government

VIDEO: Teens Make Suggestions for a Greener Village

Students from Buffalo Grove and Stevenson high schools researched environmentally friendly initiatives and proposed ideas at the village's annual Civics Forum.

Teens have no shortage of ideas when in comes to going green.

High school students from and suggested ways in which the village might conduct business in a more environmentally friendly manner without incurring expenses during the annual Civics Forum hosted Monday by the village.

Replacing paper towels with hand dryers in bathrooms, implementing geothermal heat pumps, adopting motion-sensored street lights and phasing in electronic newsletters were among the ideas presented to the Village Board.

Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The teens also proposed ideas on how to get the greater community involved in green efforts, ranging from enlisting teens to educate older residents about that latest technology to expanding the efforts of the park district-based Environmental Action Team.

Village Board members had the opportunity to ask questions about the students’ proposals and provide feedback. Trustee Mike Terson noted that a proposal to go green by offering electronic newsletters to willing residents could actually result in higher postage costs if the village abandoned its bulk-rate mailing plan, while Village President Jeff Braiman praised a proposal for a green fair featuring environmentally friendly businesses and services.

Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The event, which immerses high school students in village government for a day, teaches younger citizens about the inner working of municipal government and shows them how they can get involved, said Village Clerk Janet Sirabian, who coordinates the program with village staff members.

Participants included Buffalo Grove High School students Steven Cyhaniuk, Stephen Evensen, Samual Frye, William Patino, Matthew Kugler, Sam Milecki, Artur Sak and Tom Ploetz and Stevenson High School students Kelsey Grolig, Sonia Doshi, Taylor Douglas, Cami Haas, Rachel Landsman, Kristina Modesto, Alyssa Pechter, Chloe Salk, Amanda Spencer and Tom Shahaf.

A video of the entire forum can be viewed on the village's website.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here