Green Career Summit 2025: Empowering Kentucky’s Next Generation of Environmental Leaders

On Monday, December 1, Jefferson County high school students from Brown, Grace James, Iroquois, and Shawnee gathered at the University of Louisville for the 2025 Green Career Summit, hosted by the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education in partnership with the University of Louisville. The event brought together students and professionals from a variety of green industries for a day of exploration and hands-on learning about Kentucky’s growing green career landscape.

Throughout the day, students traveled between career stations, each one offering a window into a different green career opportunity. Some discovered what a water quality technician does. Others learned how conservation biologists protect wildlife or how engineers solve environmental challenges in our communities. Across the room, students peppered mentors with questions, participated in activities related to various careers, and heard firsthand what it means to work in these jobs.

Students had the chance to meet and learn from an incredible group of mentors representing a wide range of careers: Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD), Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana, Forestry Works, The Berry Center, Mountain Association, Louisville Waste Management, Kentucky Watershed Watch, Louisville Zoo, Lexington Parks & Recreation, Sierra Club/Explore Kentucky, Stantec Engineering, Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, and Jefferson County Public Schools. Their expertise and enthusiasm helped students imagine new possibilities for their future.

The goal of the summit was simple but powerful: to broaden students’ understanding of green careers and help them see themselves in roles that support a healthier, more sustainable Kentucky. Thanks to funding from the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program, participation was completely free for schools, ensuring any student, regardless of background, could attend. Additional support from the University of Louisville’s Student Sustainability Coalition, Sustainability Council, and School of Nursing helped make the day possible.

By the end of the summit, countless students walked away with new questions, new possibilities, and the confidence that a “green career” is not just an abstract idea but an exciting, attainable future.

KAEE is grateful to every mentor, educator, volunteer, and student who helped make the 2025 Green Career Summit a day of connection, exploration, and hope for a more sustainable future. We look forward to growing this program and continuing to open doors for Kentucky’s next generation of environmental leaders.

KAEE and Children & Nature Network Host Nature-Based Early Childhood Legislative Tour

On November 10th, KAEE and the Children & Nature Network (C&NN) hosted a bipartisan group of Kentucky legislators and partners for a field tour showcasing three nature-based early childhood programs: Thrive Forest Preschool, Trinity House Child Care, and the Sankofa programming at Chickasaw Park. The experience offered legislators a firsthand look at how outdoor, nature-based learning supports child development and strengthens the early care ecosystem—while also surfacing the regulatory barriers preventing these programs from fully operating under Kentucky’s current licensing framework.

Attending lawmakers included Rep. Vanessa Grossl (R), Speaker David Osborne (R), Rep. Beverly Chester-Burton (D), Rep. Daniel Grossberg (D), and Sen. Lindsey Tichenor (R), along with Rina Gratz of the Prichard Committee. Each participant had the opportunity to meet children, educators, and directors in action. Seeing the students outdoors—problem-solving, collaborating, exploring with confidence, and forming deep connections to place—was one of the most impactful aspects of the visit. Many legislators remarked that these strengths are difficult to convey on paper but unmistakable when observed in person.

Throughout the day, providers shared a consistent message: current licensing regulations were not designed with outdoor or nature-based settings in mind, leaving innovative programs without a viable pathway to offer full-time care or serve families relying on subsidies. This not only constrains access for families but also limits the state’s ability to address the significant early childcare shortage facing Kentucky.

The field trip clearly demonstrated how nature-based programs can expand childcare capacity, improve children’s physical and emotional health, and strengthen economies through increased access to care. Legislators were able to connect the benefits they observed directly to the need for legislative action. The discussion reinforced the importance of the bill we are developing with Representative Vanessa Grossl and the C&NN to establish a defined, supportive licensing pathway for nature-based early childhood programs.

David Beard, Children and Nature Network; Speaker David Osborne (R); Rep. Vanessa Grossl (R); and Ashley Hoffman, KAEE

The bipartisan engagement and enthusiasm generated during the tour showed that this is a practical, evidence-driven solution that has been successful in other states. The visits underscored that updating Kentucky’s licensing framework is not only feasible—it is necessary to give communities more childcare options and allow programs like these to flourish.

We look forward to building on the momentum from this visit and advancing this legislation in the upcoming legislative session.

To learn more and get involved, visit kaee.org/early-childhood.