Cay Tolson

The Climate Museum in NYC is working with local teens to form a Climate Volunteer Coalition! The first step is to educate yourself on the main talking points around climate change. Next, share your knowledge! To help you do this, the Climate Museum has produced a pocket-sized "Climate Ambassador" card. Read the instructions, print the card, cut/fold, and start talking to the people! If you don't have a printer--make your own! https://climatemuseum.org/ambassador **With parent permission** You can also sign up on the Climate Museum website for more info. You can even post a reflection that the Museum will publish on their website for all to see!

First, the article about the CA wildfires and climate change. Climate Change In Your Hometown The featured article discusses the connection between climate change and California wildfires. Another Times article, from 2018, lets you track how the number of days when temperatures hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) or higher changes in your hometown over your lifetime. As you look at the graph created based on your hometown and the year you were born, what do you notice? (If you want, try entering the birth year of your parents or grandparents as well.) Then, scroll to see the climate predictions for your hometown when you are 80 years old. Continue to scroll to learn more about these predictions, and then see how your hometown compares to other parts of the country and the world using the interactive globe.

After you watch the video with your advisory, answer the reflection question below. For additional points, respond to a teammate's post!

I will take a walk for 60 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

I will source 25 percent of my food from local producers each day. This could include signing up for a local CSA, buying from a farmer's market, visiting a food co-op, foraging with a local group, or growing my own ingredients.

Post a photo of something from nature that you love and want to protect.

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

After you listen to the StoryCorp episode about voting rights, reflect on what it means to vote. Check in with the adults in your life-are they planning on voting? Why or why not?

The goal of this action to create a more sustainable school experience for our students and staff :)

Native Land Acknowledgement means to learn about, talk about, and show respect for the Native inhabitants of an area of land. We do this for many reasons: to correct history, protect and preserve the culture and identity of native peoples, acknowledge the role of European colonization in the loss of native lives and lands. For this activity, read about the Lenape. The tribe indigenous to Brooklyn, Queens , and Manhattan. Who are they, what was NYC like before colonization? How can we honor the Lenape today? (links below)

Watch the video and respond to the reflection questions below :).

Gitanjali Rao is the first “Time’s Kid of the Year”. She is being recognized for inventing a device that detects lead in drinking water.

Watch the film and respond to the reflection question :)

Our surroundings, the environment--natural and manmade---have a huge impact on our life story. Watch the video together and then share a memory of your home, your neighborhood, or another special place that has helped you become who you are today.

Use the link below to calculate your own Carbon Footprint.

The Black Lives Matter Movement drafted 13 Guiding Principles. These principles were created in order to heal and sustain our communities. Read through the Guiding Principles. Choose at least one to reflect upon.

Climate Change and pollution disproportionately affect Black Americans and communities of color. Young people like Jaysa Miller have had enough. Miller is working to unveil and hold developers, policymakers, and factory owners accountable for the risk they put communities in. Learn about her work by watching the video below!

Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Of course, she was not the first African woman to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize but racism, colonialism, and sexism have long played into this award. Read about Maathai, a biologist and activist, and reflect on what Americans can learn about her work and apply to our own hemisphere.

Harvard professor and filmmaker Henry Louis Gates Jr. is interviewed by Audie Cornish about his series Africa’s Great Civilizations.

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

Read the article below and reflect on the event with your advisory and independently.