The Youth Climate Institute hosted a Climate Justice Professional Development session this past Thursday, August 8. Through this event, we were able to share climate justice resources with more than 100 educators from around the world, including educators from Canada, Portugal, Uruguay, India, and 20 different U.S. states.
The purpose of the professional development session was to help environmental educators integrate climate justice into climate action with hands-on lessons, professional learning opportunities and tools for facilitating student climate action. Resources shared were developed by the Howard County Conservancy’s Youth Climate Institute and with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Climate change impacts all of us, but the biggest impacts are often felt by those who are least responsible,” says Kirsten Barbera, the Youth Climate Institute’s Program Manager. “It is our responsibility to make sure that all voices are uplifted and empowered so that we can tackle this crisis together.”
Three Youth Climate Institute students co-led the session, sharing information about the capstone projects and community engagement initiatives they led as Certified Ambassadors.
Environmental educators who attended the session found the materials to be insightful and valuable for their instruction. One attendee shared, “I found the YCI teen speakers very motivating! It was great to hear them share examples of their projects.”
The Youth Climate Institute is a chapter-based, extracurricular climate leadership program for high school students. Students who complete program requirements walk away with a Certified Ambassador certification and can continue on to complete a capstone project to become Certified Ambassadors with Honors, like the student leaders who spoke during this Climate Justice Professional Development session.
First launched in Howard County, Maryland during the pandemic, the Youth Climate Institute is now a national program serving hundreds of students nationwide. To learn more about the Youth Climate Institute and the ways we work to uplift student voices in climate, visit youthclimateleader.org.
About the Youth Climate Institute:
The Youth Climate Institute (YCI) empowers and educates the next generation of climate leaders about climate science, environmental justice, and real world solutions. It’s an extracurricular certification program that combines environmental education and hands-on community action to give students the tools to become effective stewards of their local environment and pursue green careers. Learn more about YCI at https://youthclimateleader.org/
YCI is a program of the Howard County Conservancy, a 35-year old environmental education center and nature preserve, which connects more than 20,000 people to nature each year. The mission of the Howard County Conservancy is to educate children and adults about our natural world, preserve the land and its legacy for future generations and model responsible stewardship of our environment. Learn more about the Conservancy at https://www.howardnature.org/
For media inquiries, please contact Gabby Rose at gabby.rose@howardnature.org.
