Empowering Student Climate Leaders

As the world becomes increasingly aware of the existential threat posed by climate change, there has never been a more important time to engage students as environmental leaders in our communities. This year, EcoRise is thrilled to be advancing our climate education agenda nationally, working in partnership with school districts, local municipalities, and leading-edge companies that truly ‘walk the talk’ on sustainability.

Our eco-literacy programs go hand-in-hand with climate resiliency and mitigation, meeting students where they are with relevant, place-based lessons for every grade level. For educators, EcoRise provides localized resources and connects schools to partners in their region so students have the opportunity for real-world learning and actual impact that can be observed and measured in their schools.

Check out the ways we are engaging teachers and partners in our work on climate resiliency and mitigation this school year:

California

EcoRise partner school district Sacramento City USD invited EcoRise to co-facilitate their first Youth Climate Summit on October 12th. This exciting event had two different tracks: one for educators and one for students. Participants left the event with the motivation and tools needed to inspire climate action on their campuses and in their communities! Click here to see photos from the event.

Right after the Youth Climate Summit, EcoRise will be hosting a round table discussion about Climate Science in the classroom at the 2019 California Science Education Conference. Participants will gain access to EcoRise’s Sustainable Intelligence Program which they can use to empower their students to design local solutions to the impacts of climate change.

Louisiana

In Louisiana, we are preparing a professional learning series that will introduce the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to teachers and prepare them to connect students in their classroom to causes of climate change and real-world solutions. Students will then be given the tools to identify a sustainability-related issue through data collection on their campus.

With the EcoRise Student Innovation Fund, students will be able to design solutions to these issues and apply for grants to make their designs a reality.

Massachusetts

LEED Prep teachers in Massachusetts are studying the ways that climate stability is a key outcome of the LEED building rating system.

EcoRise is hosting a series of events throughout the school year that pair teachers with green professional mentors to help connect student learning to the real-world outcomes of their work.

New York

During Climate Week 2019 in New York City, EcoRise rolled out a fresh teacher training to connect educators to climate education resources and introduce how the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relate to education.

In a post-training survey, teacher Kerry Hynes of P.S. 176 said, “Thank you for a wonderful training. The EcoRise curriculum is accessible, engaging, and so purposeful. It honestly is one of the best tools that I have come across for teaching sustainability to elementary students!” Teacher Deame Hua – a teacher at Stuyvesant High School who plans to engage her students in the development of a tool to assess the sustainability of a wide variety of products – commented, “I love the program and plan to implement it in my new class in the spring!”

Additionally, students of the NYC DOE teachers who participated are eligible to apply to EcoRise’s Student Innovation Fund for a larger grant award if their project relates directly to climate change.

Texas

Many cities across the U.S. are setting goals to cut carbon emissions and ensure climate resilience for their infrastructure and residents. This school year, EcoRise is partnering with the City of San Antonio to provide climate education training to teachers and ensure that climate education is a part of the city’s climate plan that is being put to a vote in October. When city planning includes schools in their work, K–12 students are able to be active participants in the larger city-wide community. You can find more info on San Antonio’s proposed Climate Plan here.

EcoRise plans to recognize student groups working toward climate solutions a “Climate Hero” award at the annual San Antonio Student Sustainability Showcase in the Spring.