- Lynbrook Climate Collective began a new partnership with Miller Middle School to promote climate literacy and student leadership.
- Miller hosts their own weekly meetings on Tuesday, and the students meet with Lynbrook Climate Collective in monthly workshops to explore topics and to receive feedback on projects.
- Miller students can present their projects at next year’s Earth Day event hosted by the FUHSD Climate Collective.
FUHSD Climate Collective hosted their first workshop in partnership with Miller Middle School on Oct. 17, bringing together high school and middle school students to explore sustainability practices and environmental impacts. This collaboration is part of a new initiative from the collective, which aims to expand climate literacy and promote student leadership. The collective has also influenced Miller’s sustainability efforts with initiatives such as a schoolwide Expo marker recycling program.
“When students learn from older students, they get a real feel for things, instead of an adult telling them to do something,” said Anshul Agarwal, science teacher and Climate Collective adviser. “This gives them ideas, collaboration opportunities and communication skills to do something about their environment.”
The partnership came to life after Miller social studies teacher Nicole Gasparik attended the collective’s Earth Day event in April. Inspired by student-led projects, Gasparik wanted to create a similar space at Miller to support passionate students.
“I thought it would be wonderful to have a pipeline between the sustainability work that’s happening in FUHSD and the Cupertino Union School District,” Gasparik said. “I would like our district to be inspired by the model that exists for Fremont Union.”
Beyond Gasparik’s initiative, Miller was chosen as the first pilot school for the partnership between FUHSD and CUSD due to the school’s long-standing connection with Lynbrook. This school year, Gasparik started organizing weekly meetings during Tuesday lunch, allowing students to explore environmental topics and work on projects. The Lynbrook Climate Collective is also hosting hour-long monthly workshops to support Miller students; in October, they explored sustainable fishkeeping practices and discussed waste sorting.
The collective intends to have the Miller students present their projects at the 2026 Earth Day, where students from the district will share environmental work and hear from guest speakers. This proposal takes inspiration from Gasparik’s efforts to extend opportunities to the Miller students, offering them the same platform that initially motivated her to partner.
“The long-term goal would be to get Miller students involved in climate action and environmental literacy,” sophomore and Lynbrook Climate Collective lead Michael Tang said. “Climate Collective provides FUHSD students the opportunity to take part and make a difference. We want to bring Miller students the same opportunities.”
This initiative is one of many that the Lynbrook Climate Collective is working on this year, such as reviving a campus recycling initiative and installing a garden to promote more green spaces on campus. The district hopes to eventually expand this partnership to other middle schools, creating more chances for younger students to engage in sustainability initiatives.
“When we meet with the Miller students, it’s obvious how much passion they have,” Tang said. “They bring incredible energy, and it’s a privilege to be able to nurture that energy and work with these students who are going to be the future of Lynbrook Climate Collective and our world.”
