Youth build resilience in climate-vulnerable Sierra Leone

Beginning two summers ago in a building lacking reliable power and internet, dozens of teenagers in Bo City, Sierra Leone watched videos about climate science, then discussed opportunities to build resilience in one of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations. The Community Youth Climate Science Lab and Collaboration Hub—founded by a Cornell expert and an alumnus of the U.S. Department of State's Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders—has since helped plant 1,500 shade trees, built raised-bed gardens and cultivated a network of future leaders invested in climate adaptation in their hometown, Sierra Leone's second-largest city.