Far from Coasting: Club Teens Rise Up Against Flooding in their Community

For kids living beachside in Milford, Connecticut, flooding is an all-too-common part of growing up. So, when Boys & Girls Club of Milford received a Think, Learn, Create Change (TLC) grant from Dollar Tree, Inc. and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, teens jumped at the chance to help save their town’s disappearing coastline.

Enter E3 (Environmental Education for Everyone) — Boys & Girls Club of Milford’s teen environmental stewardship group. What began in 2023 with just four founding members has now expanded to 10 enthusiastic teens, taking matters into their own hands to strengthen Milford’s 18-mile coastline.

“When the city’s flood sirens go off alerting us to move cars to higher ground, it can sound like an apocalypse,” says Samantha Sontag, Boys & Girls Club of Milford’s program director. “The beach is just up the street from our Club and our teens know that coastal erosion contributes to flooding, so that’s where they chose to focus their attention.”

Planting a Living Shoreline

After settling on erosion, E3 brainstormed ways to reinforce Milford’s coastline and fight flooding. Their solution? Planting a living shoreline on Earth Day.

“When our teens chose erosion for their TLC project, I consulted one of my friends, who’s a biology professor, and she suggested planting a living shoreline,” said Samantha. “Planting a living shoreline can be expensive. Our teens sent over 50 letters to different places asking for donated plants, and we ended up planting over 1,100 native species.”

It was a year-long project, with teens working closely with local and state governments, biologists, university professors and community partners. It all came together on Earth Day 2023, when over 30 Club teens planted hundreds of Spartina grasses, northern bayberry bushes and seaside golden rod on Milford’s coastline.

“Erosion in our community causes property damage. It harms the ocean, the sea life. Planting this living shoreline will help bring our beaches back to what they once were,” shared Lilliany, a member of E3.

New Generations of Green Warriors

E3’s living shoreline is just the beginning of their efforts to support their local environment. To help restore Milford’s monarch butterfly habitat, they created a “butterfly stopover” by planting milkweed along the shoreline. More recently, they raised awareness about water pollution by collaborating with local artists for the “Gutters to Galleries” project, transforming storm drains in Milford’s flood-prone areas into impactful art.

E3’s ranks have only grown over the years, with Club teens recruiting peers from high school environmental clubs, tabling at community events and even appearing on their local news.

“Our first year was focused on erosion, but now our teens have expanded their mission to coastal resiliency,” said Megan Altomare, Boys & Girls Club of Milford’s executive director. “E3 has also opened the door for teens in our community to check out more Club afterschool programs.”

But like Milford’s coastline, E3’s high school seniors didn’t want their progress to erode after graduation. To keep the green wave going, they led over 100 younger Club kids in an eight-week program developed alongside Sacred Heart University biology professors, educating them on community improvement, pollution and erosion.

“Our teens have this great way of explaining erosion to younger kids,” Samantha shared. “They take a piece of hard candy, like a jolly rancher, and hold it underwater. As the candy melts away, they explain that is what’s happening to our coastline. It’s slowly disappearing because the water is constantly running. It really brings the lesson home.”

Graduating to Greener Horizons

E3’s impact goes beyond Milford, with four teens traveling to Capitol Hill for Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s annual Summit for America’s Youth. There, they spoke directly with members of Congress about their environmental stewardship efforts and won first place in a youth advocacy competition for their living shoreline.

“Our teens are definitely leaving E3 more confident than they were before, especially in public speaking,” Megan observed. “In D.C., they even stopped Congresswoman Delauro in the hallway and had a 45-minute conversation about conservation.”

In addition to building life skills, E3 has enhanced teens’ college applications, with one former member now attending Yale University. Every founding member of E3 was also honored with a special cord at their high school graduation.

“The Boys & Girls Club has not only supported me, but they taught me how to be an advocate by advocating for me,” Lilliany shared.

Boys & Girls Club of Milford are excited to keep E3 evolving with each new wave of teen change-makers.

“The Think, Learn, Create Change grant is the best grant we’ve ever received,” said Megan. “It gave us a framework we could modify to fit our teens’ interests and community needs. Whether its painting storm drains or planting a living shoreline, our teens love having more power to make a difference where they live.”

There are so many ways to make a positive impact in your community. With Dollar Tree, Inc.’s support, youth at over 5,500 Boys & Girls Clubs have the resources, opportunities and support to create a better future for us all.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS’ ADVOCACY

For nearly 15 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has partnered with Dollar Tree, Inc. In 2023, Dollar Tree, Inc. began supporting Clubs to engage in the Think, Learn, Create Change model nationwide, empowering Club youth to act on critical issues by providing the resources, opportunities and support to become change agents. Through Dollar Tree, Inc.’s support, Boys & Girls Club youth and their advisors also have the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., to present their advocacy projects to their peers while participating in BGCA’s Summit for America’s Youth.