Workshops Overview
Morning Workshops: 10:30AM - 11:15AM
The Papermill Workshop: A New Way to Recycle at Your School!
Presented by: Muriel Stallworth, teacher, Ebun Coker and Quentin Stallworth, students, International School of Brooklyn
Art Room, 3rd Floor
Presented by: Muriel Stallworth, teacher, Ebun Coker and Quentin Stallworth, students, International School of Brooklyn
Art Room, 3rd Floor
- In this workshop, Middle School students and their teacher from the International School of Brooklyn (ISB) will demonstrate how a school can recycle and manage their own paper waste through hands-on educational activities. At the ISB, students produced recycled paper sheets for art classes and for literacy projects, while learning to how to recycle. Through this project, students explored their own questions about paper through activities encompassing science, art, social study, environmental awareness.
Fast Fashion: A Nation Consumed, exploring the environmental impact of trendy, throw-away fashion
Presented by: Sophie David, student, Fieldston
Presented by: Sophie David, student, Fieldston
- The fast fashion industry is made up of brands selling cheaply fashioned and inexpensive clothing to consumers, with new lines of clothing released frequently in order to stay on-trend. These brands, such as H&M and Forever 21, prompt consumers to continuously purchase new, trendier clothing almost weekly, forcing consumers and the companies to throw away clothing, creating a massive impact on the environment. In this workshop, we will learn more about fast fashion and the root of the problem. Through viewing excerpts of Netflix's 2015 documentary "The Real Cost," interactive activities, and discussion, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the fast fashion industry, its implications on the environment and the world, and what they can do to change the system.
Youth Action for a Green New Deal and the Fight for the Future
Presented by: Nassim Zerriffi, teacher, Brickelle Bixler and Kellyn Guzman, students, Manhattan Country School
Room 200, 2nd Floor
Presented by: Nassim Zerriffi, teacher, Brickelle Bixler and Kellyn Guzman, students, Manhattan Country School
Room 200, 2nd Floor
- In this workshop, led by students, participants will explore how the Green New Deal seeks to address historic oppression and build a more just society while taking urgent action to avoid ecological catastrophe. Participants will learn about the intersection of race, class, environment, politics, and war, and how the switch to a fossil free future can be a catalyst for a transition to a more just society. They will be able to take action and make their voice heard and learn how to stay engaged and participate in this youth-led movement.
School Endowments and Sustainability, exploring the movement to divestment
Presented by: Chris Whitney, teacher, The Town School
Room 201, 2nd Floor
Presented by: Chris Whitney, teacher, The Town School
Room 201, 2nd Floor
- Hundreds of millions of dollars of New York City independent school endowment funds are invested in various financial institutions and instruments. Are the funds invested in organizations that are aligned with the school's mission and values? Come to this workshop to learn about the movement to divestment and how to take action at your own school!
Climate Communication, strategies for diverse communities
Presented by: Amanda White and Luca White, Climate Reality Project
Presented by: Amanda White and Luca White, Climate Reality Project
- Communicating about the climate crisis is a movement in its own right, and a critical force for ensuring that people know what’s happening and how they can usefully act to be prepared, to help, and to stay informed. Climate communication is happening on multiple platforms and through multiple channels, including community meetings, social media, art and interactive experiences and exhibits. This workshop invites participants to discuss effective communication strategies for diverse communities. How do we know what’s working? Is climate communication reaching all people, or limited to the privileged? Is it urgent enough?
What is Plastic?
Presented by: Meglena Zapreva, teacher, Cathedral School
Room 203, 2nd Floor
Presented by: Meglena Zapreva, teacher, Cathedral School
Room 203, 2nd Floor
- The session is about teaching the unit What is Plastic? in 3rd grade. We have conducted a composting experiment, following the scientific method, we studied how plastic is made and recycled, and explored recent alternatives to plastic, local and global policies regarding plastic, as well as the environmental impact of plastic production and disposal locally and globally. In the last part of the unit was devising an action plan to reduce plastic consumption and encourage recycling used plastic. As a result, students wrote letters to government officials, gave speeches in school, are in the process of producing a video and a theatrical skit to be played at School Assembly.
"Sustainabilizing" the Curriculum, Unit by Unit
Presented by: Jaimie Cloud, The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education
Room 202, 2nd Floor
Presented by: Jaimie Cloud, The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education
Room 202, 2nd Floor
- Our ability to thrive over time while addressing the unique challenges that define our era—requires fundamentally new ways of thinking and acting. Participants will become familiar with the Education for Sustainability (EfS) Framework, and will learn how to align and embed EfS Enduring Understandings, Content and Performance Indicators into existing units of study, assess for them using performance criteria, and eventually generate student work as evidence of "the different level of thinking" Einstein called for when he said, "The significant problems we face cannot be solved with the same level of thinking we used to create them.
Are You Overshooting the Earth? How big is your footprint, how can we drawdown?
Presented by: Brian Filiatraut, Director of Sustainability and Juliette Berg, Lower School Science & Lower School Sustainability Coordinator Poly Prep
Presented by: Brian Filiatraut, Director of Sustainability and Juliette Berg, Lower School Science & Lower School Sustainability Coordinator Poly Prep
- In this workshop, participants will gain an understanding of how their actions on a local level affects the global level, and how to take daily actions to lessen their carbon footprint. They will also learn how to measure their school’s carbon footprint and ways that they can draw it down.
Redefining Sustainability: Broadening our Scope and Improving Buy-in
Presented by: Nikki Vivion, Director of Strategic Initiatives, and Frank Barros, science teacher and sustainability coordinator, The Nightingale-Bamford School
Presented by: Nikki Vivion, Director of Strategic Initiatives, and Frank Barros, science teacher and sustainability coordinator, The Nightingale-Bamford School
- Very recently, The Nightingale-Bamford School has intentionally redefined sustainability for the entire community to ensure it is mission-driven, well coordinated with already-existing global citizenship initiatives, and monitored with a well-defined series of metrics that extend far beyond the traditional (albeit very important) environmental lens to include both social and economic aspects as well. Participants in this workshop will gain an understanding of how to redefine and expand sustainability in a school community and engage community members in the process. They will also learn how to monitor progress in established goal areas over time.
Afternoon Workshops: 11:30AM - 12:15PM
Love Your Street Tree
Presented by: Melissa Elstein, Love Your Street Tree Day
Presented by: Melissa Elstein, Love Your Street Tree Day
- Participants will learn how stewarding NYC street trees can create community while addressing the environmental, health, aesthetic and economic concerns of a neighborhood. Attendees will also learn about the importance of street trees, how to properly care for them and how to organize community events.
Creating Your Own Co-Op // The Dos and Don'ts of Co-Op Organizing
Presented by: Lily Fittinghoff, Radhika Goyal, Elaine Tanel, students, The Brearley School
Presented by: Lily Fittinghoff, Radhika Goyal, Elaine Tanel, students, The Brearley School
- In this workshop, participants will examine a successful model for running a successful farm coop at school. Presenters will share their insights on all stages of starting and running a co-op from finding providers to overseeing the business side to communicating with the school community. During the workshop, participants will start research on their own co-op and learn about potential obstacles and how to overcome them.
Curriculum: Immersive Project Ideas for Elementary Students
Presented by: Deja Williams, The Cathedral School
Presented by: Deja Williams, The Cathedral School
- This workshop explores ways to introduce elementary school students to the concept of sustainability. Water, arguably our most essential natural resource, is used as a vehicle to engage first grade students in immersive projects and rich discussions about pollution awareness, excessive waste, human access, and recycling. The students participate in water advocacy and feel empowered by making posters educating their school community about the importance of this work.
Environmental Shark Tank, back by popular demand!
Presented by: Emma Vernarde, Emily Power, and Spencer Lott, students, Ethical Culture Fieldston School
Room 200, 2nd Floor
Presented by: Emma Vernarde, Emily Power, and Spencer Lott, students, Ethical Culture Fieldston School
Room 200, 2nd Floor
- Are you passionate about the environment, but unsure how to make your voice heard in your community and beyond? If so, join the Fieldston Environmental Club in this workshop as they briefly discuss past environmental movements, and teach you how to start your own in the future. During the workshop, you will form an an organization, product or movement and a plan to help solve a pressing environmental issue. Next, teams will present to the whole group and a panel of “esteemed environmental judges" who will determine whether your plan is plausible.
Making a Global Problem Local: Reducing our Single-Use Plastic Footprint at the Hewitt School
Presented by: Tim Clare, teacher, and Hewitt Middle School Service and Sustainability Committee
Room 201, 2nd Floor
Presented by: Tim Clare, teacher, and Hewitt Middle School Service and Sustainability Committee
Room 201, 2nd Floor
- Concerned about the ever growing problem of plastic pollution in our oceans and its impact on marine ecology, The Hewitt School has made determined efforts to limit its local impact on this global problem. Through creative initiatives, peer teaching, and consistent communication, students are aiming to make single-use plastic waste a thing of the past. In this workshop, students in Hewitt’s Service and Sustainability Committee will engage participants around the issue of marine plastic pollution and share their experiences in reducing their single-use plastic footprint.
Auditing Your Ecological Footprint
Presented by: Brandon Kraft, teacher, The Spence School
Presented by: Brandon Kraft, teacher, The Spence School
- Corporate Sustainability Reports, Eco-Labels, Third Party Certification, Oh My! Have you tried to live more sustainably but feel overwhelmed by the amount of information? In this workshop, participants will learn the tools by which they can understand eco-labels, press releases, advertisements and annual reports to make sustainable purchasing decisions.
The Tourism Industry's Not So Photogenic Impact On The Environment
Presented by: Taryn Chung, student, The Brearley School
Room 202, 2nd Floor
Presented by: Taryn Chung, student, The Brearley School
Room 202, 2nd Floor
- In this workshop, participants will learn about the repercussions of tourism on local communities and on a global scale. The facilitator will debunk the myth that traveling automatically helps a local community. The hope is that by attending this workshop that participants will be influenced to be greener travelers and think about their actions when traveling.