Meet Liz Palmer
Meet Liz Palmer
It’s April 2004 in Pepperell, Massachusetts. Most children are swimming, and playing while they enjoy the sun and a week off of school for spring break. A 3rd grade Liz Palmer is also playing in the sun. However, instead of swimming and playing, Palmer, alongside her family and friends, is assisting in Pepperell’s annual “Town Clean Up.”
Since she can remember, it is events like Pepperell’s “Town Clean Up” that have given Liz the most joy in life. Even in grade school, Liz’s want to keep her community clean was evident, and from 3rd to 5th grade her outlet to express this passion was the annual “Town Clean Up.” For those 2 years, you could find Liz, equipped with gloves and a trash bag, cleaning up her hometown. If other ventures did not begin taking Liz away fromPepperell during April, she would have continued well past the 5th grade.
Despite this change, Liz’s love for the environment was not dampened. She was as passionate as ever, but without an outlet to express it. That all changed in 8th grade, after a viewing of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth.” Liz states,
“Despite my passion, I still did not fully understand the meaning of climate change until my wonderful science teacher Mr. Pineda showed my class Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth.”
After viewing the documentary, Liz finally grasped the gravity of the problem. She struggled with how she alone could possibly make a difference. This is where Green Light comes in. Over February break, which Liz spent in New Orleans, we had the great pleasure of briefly meeting her and a group she was volunteering with. In the meeting,Liz’s mental light bulb seemed to click on. Inspired by the work she did with us here at Green Light, she decided to develop her own program, which she called the Bright Lights Project.
“I can honestly say that Green Light New Orleans has given me the inspiration to make my childhood dreams come true. I have finally found a way to make a difference not only for the people in my area but also for the environment, which in turn helps the entire planet.”
Currently, Liz leads the Bright Lights Project, aided by 80 other hardworking student volunteers. Like Green Light, Bright Lights focuses on distributing energy efficient light bulbs (in our case, CFLs, in her case, LEDs) in her town of Pepperell as well as neighboring towns of Townsend and Ashby. Through the program, Liz hopes to educate her clients on climate change, including ways to diminish their carbon footprint. In an effort to diminish Bright Lights carbon footprint, Liz also wants to make the project completely green. The projectis in its early stages, but Liz has grand ideas for the future.
“At some point I would really like to expand to also providing recycling, composting resources.”
Recently, Liz pitched the Bright Lights Project to United Way Youth Venture in an effort to raise funds for her project. We are happy to report that she has received $1,000 in funds to help kick start her project.
The world needsmore Liz Palmers, and at only 16 years old, she has a bright future ahead of her. We are so impressed by the initiative this young leader has shown, and we are grateful to be a part of her story!