Engagement

The future of our climate is in the hands of our young people, many of whom have an innate passion for the environment, social justice, and equal opportunity for education, yet they rarely have a seat at the table. They seek meaningful change, have brilliant ideas, and bring communities together in ways that no other generation has been able to before. As cultural institutions, we have a responsibility to help support young people in their work and learn from them in the process. As the UNFCCC states, “Everyone, including and perhaps especially the young, must understand and participate in the transition to a low-emission, climate-resilient world.”  

There are many ways for organizations to provide youth with a platform to educate, engage, and ignite action surrounding environmental issues. It is important for youth to not only learn about specific problems in today’s societies, but to also hear different perspectives from those in different communities to evolve their knowledge and understanding as well. 

Methods of Engagement Include: 

• Forming a Youth Climate Action Committee. 

• Providing solutions-focused climate education for youth/teens/young adults. 

• Engaging schools and community groups in climate advocacy and environmental justice outreach programs. 

• Becoming a resource hub for climate education best practices and climate science.  

• Providing fellowship or stipend opportunities for youth climate activists.  

• Creating a platform to uplift BIPOC and marginalized youth (in environmental justice communities or under-resourced communities) voices around climate change. 

• Developing projects that directly impact and provide resources and support to surrounding local communities. 

The Climate Toolkit Youth Network (CTYN) serves as a resource and connector network for museums and cultural institutions that currently have activated youth climate groups or are interested in forming such groups. Modeled after the Climate Toolkit, the CTYN is a dedicated space for youth groups to connect with each other, trade case studies, climate positive inspiration, and resources, and generally act as a space of support for youth climate work. The CTYN also creates a platform for staff who work with youth groups to trade best practices for adult-youth allyship, discuss funding opportunities, share resources and tools, and form partnerships. The CTYN allows youth groups to have a larger impact by amplifying their work and allowing for robust collaboration between youth and between staff. 

Resources: 

YOUNGO – Official Youth Constituency of the UNFCCC 

The Wild Center’s Youth Climate Program Resources 

Climate Generation Teacher Resource Kit 

NAACP – Teaching Intersectionality and Environmental Justice 

NAAEE – Professional Learning 

LCOY – Local Conference of Youth 

Climate Justice Alliance 

UNFCCC Action for Climate Empowerment 

Cultural institutions hold unique positions of influence among their communities, serving as trusted hubs of education and knowledge dissemination for the people they serve. As such, museums, gardens, zoos, aquaria, science & nature centers, and field stations have an incredible opportunity to inform and motivate the public to action in the fight against climate change. By incorporating climate education and actionable solutions within our exhibits and site interpretation, we can collectively multiply the power of community to make change, inspire ideas, and create a new vision for the future. 

Resources:

• Climate Solutions at The Wild Center
• A Climate of Hope – Natural History Museum of Utah
• Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
• Climate Toolkit Webinar 14: How Museums Are Engaging Audiences on Climate Change

Climate change can feel daunting, but you can help your visitors take a big first step in living more sustainably by helping them transition their household to a green power energy provider.

Resources:

• Help Your Guests Track Their Carbon Footprints (Climate Toolkit)
• A Win-Win-Win: Getting Guests to Switch to Renewable Energy for Powering their Homes (Climate Toolkit) 

Fossil-free horticulture includes eliminating gas powered lawn and garden equipment, excluding pesticides and herbicides, and planting native and drought resistant plants. Practicing fossil-fuel horticulture helps to improve and protect the local ecosystem, connects individuals to their local environment and provides positive health outcomes for gardeners. Educating visitors about fossil-free horticulture will help them to enjoy gardening more responsibly.

Resources:

• Sustainable Horticulture: The Right Plants, the Right Places, the Right Practices (Climate Toolkit) 

Organic farming practices were created to work in harmony with nature by protecting the soil health without synthetic pesticides and herbicides, using crop rotations with cover crops, and composting. Teaching guests the importance of organic food systems will support the healthy building of the soil and further connect visitors to the food system.

Resources: 

• Growing Organic: Food That Is Good for You and the Planet (Phipps Conservatory)

Food choices can have a huge effect on the environment. Eating a plant-rich diet and reducing food waste can significantly diminish emissions and encouraging your guests to do the same can have an incredible multiplier effect.

Resources:

• Food Choices: Take a Bite Out of Climate Change (Phipps Conservatory)
• How your diet affects climate change (University of California)

Educating your guests is a starting tool to help them make sustainable changes in their lives. Botanical gardens, museums and zoos can encourage their guests to bring sustainability into their backyards and daily lives through gardening, eating, day-to-day activities and more.

Resources:

• Watch the Climate Toolkit Webinar: Climate Communication – How to Talk to Your Stakeholders About Climate Change Climate Action: The Time Is Now (Climate Toolkit) 
• Education Crucial to Accelerate Climate Action (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)
• Yale’s Program on Climate Change Communication (Yale Program on Climate Change Communication) 
• World Climate Simulation (Climate Interactive)
• Seeding the Future: Using a Youth Climate Advisory Committee to Inspire the Next Generation of Climate Advocacy (Phipps Conservatory) 

Green Teams are groups of employees who are actively interested in creating or managing climate action around campus. The committees can help to keep climate change initiatives top of mind and foster interdepartmental collaboration. Creating space and time for employees to become involved with sustainability brainstorming will improve involvement in projects and collaboration.

Resources about how to start and manage a sustainability committee, sustainable structures, examples, and brainstorming are listed below:

• Green Teams (Harvard University)
• To Engage Employees on Climate Action, Hillwood Brings the HEAT (Hillwood Museums and Garden)
• Going Green: Introducing the CAM Green Team (Cincinnati Art Museum)
• An example of a Brainstorming Workshop (Urbanista)
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