ITHACA, N.Y. — Being a senior in high school comes with its fair share of challenges — college essays, placement exams and navigating the complicated world of being a teenager with adult responsibilities looming on the horizon are a few examples. 

And yet, some students in Tompkins County have managed to balance all of this with the additional responsibility of helping local governments create climate policy, with the goal of not only protecting the county’s natural environments but also building resilience against a warming climate. 

Ace Dufresne is a senior at Ithaca High School and a leader of Sunrise Ithaca, a local environmental advocacy organization. But every second Thursday of the month, he meets with the county’s Environmental Management Council, which advises the Tompkins County Planning, Energy and Environmental Quality Committee. 

Dufresne was appointed in January 2025. During his time as a voting member, he’s been able to see the inner workings of what can be a very slow bureaucratic process. He’s also enjoyed working with people from all over the county, he said.

“A lot of folks come from really agricultural areas and have different concerns, perhaps, than what I see here in Ithaca,” he said.

Dufresne hopes that his community organizing experience will help inform the council’s upcoming five-year plan. So far, his favorite project was a collaboration with nonprofit management students from Cornell who helped inform the council of potential priorities in a long-term plan.

“It sounds like we are hoping to do a little bit more close work with the county legislature and more legislative advising work,” he said. “There’s a lot of people on the EMC with a lot of expertise, and we have capacity to look into things in a way that the county legislature might not be able to and give good recommendations.”

The EMC has also worked on mapping unique natural areas and compiling a list of environmental groups in Tompkins County. 

Cait Darfler, who chairs the EMC, said the council is currently crafting a proposal for a moratorium on the spreading of biosolids from wastewater sludge on agricultural lands to reduce the risk of contamination from forever chemicals. 

Darfler was introduced to Dufresne when she sought out young people to speak at the New York State Association of Conservation Committees. Around that same time, the EMC was in the process of updating its bylaws, which at the time restricted them from having youth members. 

Once the updates were finalized, the EMC was able to open up two full-voting positions for students ages 16 and up. Dufresne, without having been appointed, began showing up to meetings and was subsequently appointed. 

Hannah Emmelhainz started her journey as a voting member of the Climate Action Committee in the Town of Dryden in a similar fashion. Emmelhainz, a senior at Dryden High School, started going to committee meetings before being appointed.

The committee, with the help of state programs such as the Clean Energy Communities Program and the Climate Smart Communities program, mostly focuses on assisting the municipality’s transition toward renewable energy, said committee chair Jack Wright.

The insight student members have brought to the committee has been invaluable, Wright said. 

“If you look around the climate progress that’s happened in the greater Tompkins County area, but also around the world, it is very often driven by young folks like Hannah and Ace,” Wright said. “I think that we all have a lot to learn from one another.”

Emmelhainz first heard of the committee from a previous student member who was in her climate change class. In that class, she learned about the issues humanity is facing because of a warming climate and how little has been done to mitigate the resulting risks. 

“I thought this was a great opportunity to try to either put my voice in the matter or help make changes,” she said. 

Like Dufresne, her time on the committee has allowed her to learn about what is impacting the environment in other parts of town, Emmelhainz said. 

Emmelhainz is also a member of Dryden High School’s sustainability club. In collaboration with the committee, they’ve worked toward protecting natural areas and creating pollinator-friendly gardens around the school. 

Most recently, she’s been learning about the impact data centers can have on energy demand and climate change through conversations about potential zoning reforms coming to Dryden. Emmelhainz will be bringing that information back to the sustainability club to discuss whether there is an opportunity for them to contribute to the conversation. 

The Climate Action Committee recently organized the Dryden Repair Cafe that took place last Saturday, October 4. The repair cafe, located at Dryden’s Neptune Fire Hall, brought together those with a passion for handy work, and their tools, to help locals mend and fix broken items. 

Emmelhainz said she was able to get a lot of people from the school’s sustainability club to participate in the repair cafe as volunteers. Emmelhainz said she hopes this kind of community event will carry on for years to come. 

Dufresne is the only student representative on the EMC, though there is another slot open. However, it’s been challenging to find someone else to join the council, he said.

The council is looking for a student member who is not only passionate, inquisitive and will push back when ideas don’t make sense, but also someone who is willing to join an hour and a half zoom meetings on Thursday afternoons.

The average age of the EMC is around 40, Dufresne said. Being one of the youngest members means he has a different, maybe more relatable, perspective. 

“There is a lot young people can learn from older people, and a lot vice versa,” he said.