BY JOY MARTIN
There’s something in the air, and it’s better than Mary Poppins. It’s a fresh breeze stirred by a group of young climate change activists setting up camp for the Uplift Climate Conference, Aug. 18 – 20 at Chris Park.
These aren’t hippy harbingers of environmental hopelessness, mind you. Rather, they’re “Uplifters,” named for the geologic occurrence that led to the rise of the Colorado Plateau and its collection of wonders, like arches, hoodoos, Grand Canyon and the San Juan Mountains.
Organized by nine 20-somethings, the three-day conference serves as a networking platform to connect young people (18- to 30-ish) from around the Four Corners.
“We’re finding the stories of what it means to be a millennial in the Southwest in the face of climate change,” 25-year-old Uplift coordinator Claire Martini said on Monday. An Americorps volunteer, Martini is currently working for the Grand Canyon Trust.
Conference organizers anticipate 100 millennials, with half coming from Arizona, and the rest trickling in from Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. Cost for the pine-clad think tank is $50, which includes camping and meals provided by Seeds of Peace...