On May 17, the San Mateo County Office of Education, the New York City Department of Education and Denver Public Schools joined the Center for Green Schools for the webinar “Students Act on Climate.” In this webinar, district sustainability staff and student climate leaders shared inspiring stories, strategies and lessons learned from each of their climate action efforts:
Three years ago, San Mateo County Office of Education developed an innovative Youth Climate Ambassadors Program, in which students in 9th through 12th grades explore social and environmental issues contributing to climate change. The program design is set up not only to encourage students to earn about climate change, but to also empower them to lead their own community impact projects. These projects, combined with personal leadership plans, have led to many amazing student-led activities and have encouraged alumni to make an impact with their own school districts and broader communities.
The New York City Department of Education shared details from the 2022 NYC Education Youth Climate Summit: “Solutions in Our School Communities,” a student-designed and -led summit that provides all the city’s students with the opportunity to learn about climate change, network with peers, explore sustainability careers and develop climate action plans. The team highlighted how they sought to engage students beyond listening to becoming speakers with its immersive climate action planning program. The program had students collect observations through photos, identify issues and goals, and build out simple steps for school-based climate action plans.
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https://www.usgbc.org/articles/case-studies-student-climate-action
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