5th Annual Brookline

Youth Climate Adaptation Challenge 

Hosted by the Pierce PTO at Pierce School Cafeteria (50 School Street, Brookline)

Saturday, March 28th, 2020
11:00am - 2:00pm

Present your new idea, concept, theory or experiment that pertains to one of these categories: 

Healthy Oceans/Rivers: 

  • What solution do you have to alkalize or restore oxygen in the ocean? Or,
  • What solution do you have to remove or reduce plastics/micro-plastics in the ocean? Or,
  • What solution do you have to reduce the impact of melting glaciers on the ocean ecosystem? Or,
  • What solution do you have to protect ocean and river ecosystems from waste or to reduce impact from salt run-off in the winter?  

Eco-Art:

  • Share an artistic expression regarding climate change, adaptation or restoration (music, dance, poem, song/rap, drawings or other);  

Eco-Solution: Present a sustainable solution to an issue of your choice!

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Additional resources on the Healthy Oceans/Rivers theme:

[forthcoming]

 

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Guidelines:

  • Be creative and have fun!
  • Spend up to $20 on materials
  • Grade categories: K-12th
  • Entry Type (Individual, family, group, class, team)

To register, please fill out the Google Form with your student's name, grade, school, and project category. (Form forthcoming)

TAKING ACTION NOW after Climate Week

Climate Week Brookline is designed to keep climate progress going forward with determined action by citizens at grass roots levels despite federal level retrenchment. What follows is a list of actions individuals can take to continue forward progress. These actions involve personal activity and activity that impacts the political process at the local, state, and national levels. See below or download a hardcopy.

Personal Engagement

  • Reduce your carbon footprint – Mass Save home audits? 100% Mass Energy Wind? Healthy garden soil? Plant trees? New technologies? Electric vehicle?
  • Stay informed and donate to climate organizations and candidates local, state, national
  • Invest? Divest? Get a green credit card? Is your bank green?
  • Join a house of worship, or a secular organization that advocates for social/political/environmental issues at local/state/national levels.
  • Some (not an exhaustive list) examples of local Brookline orgs include:
    • Climate Action Brookline www.climateactionbrookine.org
    • Mothers Out Front Brookline www.mothersoutfrontbrooklinema.nationbuilder.com
    • Brookline GreenSpace Alliance www.brooklinegreenspace.org
    • Friends of the Muddy River www.themuddyriver.wordpress.com

Actions Focused at the local level

  • Run for a position in your town. In Brookline, run for Town Meeting Member; two Town Meetings per year; 16 precincts with 15 Town Meeting Members per prec. (3 yr. term)
  • Run for Town Selectman (5 Selectman each with 3 year terms)
  • Submit or contribute to Warrant Articles before Town Meeting
  • Attend open public meetings/hearings – of Selectmen, schools, town committees.
  • Many Town Committee members are not elected officials but appointed. www.brooklinema.gov/27/Government

Actions Focused at the state level

  • Join organizations. Some (not an exhaustive list) examples of state orgs are:
    • Environment Massachusetts www.environmentmassachusetts.org
    • 350MA www.350mass.org
    • Massachusetts Climate Action Network www.massclimateaction.org (CAB is a member)
    • Mass Energy www.massenergy.org
    • Mass Power Forward www.mapowerforward.com/join-the-fight (CAB is a member)
    • Mothers Out Front www.mothersoutfront.org/massachusetts
    • Progressive Dems of Mass www.progressivedemsofmass.org
    • Resist the Pipeline www.resistthepipeline.org
    • Soil4Climate, www.soil4climate.org
    • EldersClimateAction,www.eldersclimateaction.org
    • League of Women Voters, wv.org/get-involved/local-leagues/massachusetts
    • Environmental Voter Project, www.environmentalvoter.org
  • Work with MA Power Forward, a coalition of 150 organizations around the state. Join the MA Power Forward lobby days & energy bill hearings. Call your state reps and senators and governor. Write letters to the editor, social media, Facebook & Twitter
  • www.malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/www.house.gov/representatives, www.malegislature.gove/People/Senate, www.Mass.gov
  • Run for MA State Representative or MA Senator, or other elected state offices. For Brookline see http://www.brooklinema.gov/135/Elected-Officials
  • Apply for open positions in state government. See http://www.mass.gov/anf/employment-equal-access-disability/masscareers/masscareers.html

Actions Focused at the national level

  • Attend events/marches in Washington DC or local sister events. This April 29th -www.peoplesclimate.org/ Washington DC/Boston
  • Join organizations. Some (not an exhaustive list) examples of orgs (that also have local or state chapters) are: -350.org, www.350.org -Sierra Club, www.sierraclub.org -Union of Concerned Scientists www.ucsusa.org -Progressive Democrats Of America www.pdamerica.org
  • Call legislators, email, sign petitions on behalf of national climate groups. www.usa.gov/elected-officials
  • Donate to in state and out of state candidates who advocate climate policies.
  • Apply for open positions in Federal government located locally. www.federalgovernmentjobs.us/job-location/massachusetts-ma.html