Seventy-two middle and high school students gathered at the Greenway Institute campus for the YES! Youth Environmental Summit on Oct. 16, tackling climate concepts through a capitalist simulation known as the Thingamabob Game.
Organized with sponsorships from the UVM 4-H Extension and Generac Power Products, the Montpelier event drew participants from across Vermont to examine sustainability through hands-on workshops and competitive exercises.
Mieke Riddlebarger led the Thingamabob Game, guiding teams of two through the mechanics of running an imaginary enterprise. Each student-led company started with $1,000, facing production costs of $1 per item and a retail price of $2.
“You are managers of a company that produces thingamabobs. You are in competition with other thingamabob companies,” Riddlebarger said, outlining the stakes. “As with any capitalist company, you need to grow and make a profit. Failure to return a sufficient profit means you’ll lose your job.”
While profits offered a path to candy bar rewards, environmental consequences loomed over the marketplace. Producing 1,000 thingamabobs added an estimated two parts per million of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, and exceeding a specific greenhouse gas threshold triggered a simulated ecological disaster that canceled all prizes.
“So if you produce 100 thingamabobs, you will spend $100 but you’ll get $200 back and end up with a total of $1,100,” Riddlebarger explained during the rules presentation.
State Sen. Anne Watson delivered the keynote address, urging the young audience to recognize their influence and the value of environmental science regardless of their future careers. Workshops spanned diverse topics, including strawberry DNA extraction, watershed decisions, bird migration journaling, endangered bats, and a session titled “AI: Digital Choices” led by a St. Johnsbury Academy student.
Main Street Middle School students hosted a workshop on everyday sustainability, building on leadership training within their school’s Sustainability Committee. Eighth grader Mai Huynh Parke noted that watching older peers take action inspired her involvement.
“Seeing them take action (joining the Sustainability Committee) made me think I could do this too,” Parke said.
Fellow student Eliza Blakeman added, “I hope people will learn about our committee and get ideas.” Homeschool participant Elizabeth Stinson also joined the sessions, noting that her parents’ environmental focus made the summit relevant to her daily life.
During the afternoon wrap-up session, student groups brainstormed 50 distinct local climate actions, ranging from planting trees and carpooling to eating less meat and keeping goats instead of lawnmowers. Summit organizer Liz Kenton stated that she measured the event’s success by whether students continued networking and discussing these topics afterward.
When asked how the simulation concluded, Riddlebarger reported that no teams managed to take home a candy bar.
