Once all of the motions have been adopted, commitments made and the delegates are back home in their far-flung parts of the world, Hawaii will have fulfilled its role as host of the 10-day International Union for Conservation of Nature’s World Conservation Congress 2016.

But what happens next?

For some it will be a renewed commitment to the conservation work they are already doing, with new partnerships or knowledge of how technology can be used to meet their goals. For others it might be a greater awareness of endangered species after visiting booths and pavilions in the Hawai‘i Convention Center’s exhibition hall. And some will just be glad that blocked-off parking spaces at Ala Moana Beach Park are open again.

The greatest hope, however, is that the meeting will inspire the next generation to take action.

At the IUCN’s inaugural students’ day on Tuesday, more than 1,000 students and teachers from public, private and charter schools gathered to create solutions to environmental challenges through an “interactive, design thinking experience” as well as to check out the pavilions.

They worked in small groups to map out ideas, such as how to create a garden in every school or how to help youth develop a passion for the environment.

The goal was to empower students and create a legacy beyond the summit, said John Leong, chief executive officer of the Honolulu-based nonprofit Kupu Hawaii, which was in charge of the youth engagement committee.

Mahealani Bright-Wilhelm, a sixth-grader from Kaunakakai School on Molokai, was among the students participating.

Bright-Wilhelm said she learned a lot about invasive and endangered species, and that she was inspired to do more to help the latter.

Sharmaine Allas, Edna Felix and Tara Sumida, all juniors at Waipahu High School, don’t feel the need to be labeled “conservationists,” even though they’re worried about global warming. It will affect not only them, but their children and their children’s children, they said.

All three signed the giant, communal “Show the World That #WeNeedNature” board with simple phrases: “Love Nature,” “Aloha Aina” and “Nature Is Life.”

Kids of all ages had fun with Google’s technology at the oceans pavilion, experiencing Conservation International’s virtual tour of “Valen’s Reef” at Raja Ampat in the Bird’s Head Seascape of remote Indonesia and watching the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s maps of storms and reefs on a giant globe called “Science on a Sphere.”

Perhaps a part of the historic summit will remain with them — the memory of a conversation with a scientist, a whale sticker they got to put on their reusable water bottle or the fact they folded an elephant origami to help the Wildlife Conservation Society set a Guinness world record.

Primatologist Jane Goodall, who was sought after for selfies with kids and adults alike, spoke often at her appearances of the importance of nurturing the next generation of conservationists, part of the mission of her nonprofit, Roots &Shoots. At her final IUCN presentation with the World Resources Institute, Goodall said, “One of my greatest reasons for hope is the youth of the world.”

Nina Wu writes about environmental issues. Reach her at 529-4892 or nwu@staradvertiser.com. Read more at thegreenleaf.staradvertiserblogs.com.