by Aidan Fife
There are running narratives that young people don’t socialize, party, or civically engage in our communities anymore – that we’re stuck doomscrolling and have little hope for the future. As a late 20-something, I can tell you that should not be true. We, more than anyone, want to have a hopeful future. Many of us are looking for opportunities to engage in meaningful work and play, but we need more models of how that is done.
And while it is quite reasonable to feel pessimistic about the state of national climate action, local community resilience is an opportunity to change the story. It’s an invitation to show up, be creative, and explore what’s possible together in our own community and on our own terms. And we’d like to invite you to do just that at RegenAll’s 2025 Climate Summit on November 7–8.
In my role as Director of Community Engagement at RegenAll, I’ve tried to bridge my passions for community building and climate action. The essence of both is the same: they work best when they’re engaging, hopeful, and most importantly, fun. I recently wrote a post on my farm blog about how I view farming as a kind of party planning. I feel the same way about climate resilience.
When I first got involved with RegenAll, back when the College Park Climate Action Neighborhood formed in late 2023, I saw firsthand how people come together around food, shared interests, and hopes for the future. In the most classic environmentalist way, it all started at a chili cookoff.
I’m not here to brag about my win in that chili contest (okay, maybe a little), but to show how community building and small wins can spark bigger movements toward collective local action.
There’s a term in microbiology and soil science that I love – quorum sensing. It describes how microbes stay quiet until there are enough of them present, and then suddenly, they light up the place: communicating, transforming, and creating something entirely new.
To me, that’s what we are catalyzing in Lancaster. We’re reaching a quorum of neighbors, students, artists, and business owners, all coming together to make our community more resilient. We are starting a party.
This year, we’re making that party quite literal. We’re beginning with a Youth Climate Art Contest on First Friday, dancing hard at an Anti-Apocalypse Dance Party, and ending up on Saturday at our 2025 Climate Summit.
The art contest has already shown the energy behind supporting youth in Lancaster. It began as a simple idea: invite young people to imagine what their green future could look like through art. Soon, partners jumped on board.
State Representative Nikki Rivera offered to display the artwork in the State Capitol for legislators to walk by as they create our policies in Harrisburg. Then came the School District of Lancaster, Let’s Go 1-2-3, and The Edible Classroom, all of whom are engaging their students in classrooms and beyond. Important contributions came from the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, providing easels and judging, and the Lancaster Science Factory, offering a 3D art option and memberships as prizes.
Anyone who is a K-12 student in Lancaster County is invited to participate in this first-ever Youth Climate Art Contest. From a kid’s perspective, the process looks like this: make art about a green future, see what your friends are thinking on First Friday, then see what the adults are up to at this Climate Summit. While you are there, stay for a book reading by local author Diana Jules-Peene, who wrote “The Little Brown Seed.” This is what creativity and climate resilience look like together.
Then, on Friday night, we’ll celebrate with the Anti-Apocalypse Dance Party. The theme comes from Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, author of the inspiring climate book What If We Get It Right?, who curated an “Anti-Apocalypse Mixtape.” It’s about leaning into possibility instead of despair. For the event, we’ve teamed up with Marawan Ibrahim, Planet First Initiatives Lead at Nimblist by day and by night, a DJ who goes by Silk Noir, bringing the disco vibes to West Art from 8–10 p.m. We’re going for a futuristic, hopeful vibe, where bold outfits and big dance moves are strongly encouraged.
Resilience isn’t just about numbers and policy; it’s about culture, connection, and imagination. We need our minds in this work, but also our hearts and bodies.
After all that art and dancing, we’ll reconvene on Saturday, November 8th, for RegenAll’s 3rd Annual Climate Summit from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (please register soon!)—to keep the conversation, and the party, going.
Aidan Fife returned to his hometown of Lancaster with a passion for agroforestry, regenerative agriculture, and education. After international experience with the Peace Corps and work at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in DC, he has shifted his focus locally, finding ways where Lancastrians can creatively collaborate to build better soils, community, and climate resilience. When Aidan isn’t inside dreaming of a vibrant regenerative future, you can find him out standing in his field, growing fruit and nut trees on local farms.
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