Climate Toolkit Symposium 2026 Agenda

FEATURING SPEAKERS FROM

Botanical Garden of the Piedmont · California Nature Art Museum · CambridgeSeven · Duke Farms · Environment & Culture Partners · Getty · Green Jay Strategies · Historic New England · LENS · MASS MoCA · Missouri Botanical Garden · Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens · Reykjavik Art Museum · Seneca Park Zoo · South Ken ZEN+ · Taft Museum of Art · The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History · The Henry Ford · The Wild Center · Visual Thinking Strategies Institute

Wednesday, October 28

Opening Reception and Keynote: Visualizing the Future
5 – 8 p.m.
The symposium begins with a keynote address by Elizabeth Bagley, Ph.D., Managing Director of Project Drawdown, sharing a vision for what becomes possible when climate action succeeds, setting the stage for the conversations and collaboration ahead.

Elizabeth is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist and learning scientist with experience spanning academia, business, and the nonprofit sector. As managing director, Elizabeth guides Project Drawdown’s overall strategy and keeps programs and operations functioning smoothly across the organization. Before joining Project Drawdown, she led higher education-focused climate workforce development at SEI, directed sustainability efforts at the California Academy of Sciences, and designed the science content for video games at LeapFrog.

Thursday, October 29

Snídaně
8 – 9 a.m.
Enjoy breakfast and connect with fellow attendees before the day’s sessions begin.

Plenary: Regenerative Thinking
9 – 10:30 a.m.
Explore how regenerative thinking can help climate leaders reconnect with purpose, move beyond burnout, and build more resilient approaches to their work.

Breakout
10:45 a.m. – noon

• Climate Education Programs
  Discover practical approaches for connecting educators and developing engaging, effective climate education programs.
• Leadership and Change
  Examine how leaders at every level can make climate action an institutional priority and navigate both top-down and bottom-up change.
• Community Partnerships and Relationships
  Explore how partnerships among cultural organizations, artists, governments, and communities can expand the reach and impact of climate action.

Oběd
Noon – 1 p.m.           
Continue the conversation with fellow attendees over lunch.

Plenary: Funding Climate Action
1 – 2 p.m.              
Learn how organizations can approach fundraising, capacity building, financial planning, and capital investment to advance sustainability goals.

Breakout
2:15 – 3:30 p.m.              

• Youth Climate Action and Advocacy
  Explore creative approaches that help young people participate in climate conversations, advocacy, and meaningful action.
• Climate Storytelling for Visitor Engagement
  Learn how compelling stories can make climate issues more accessible, relevant, and actionable for visitors and communities.
• Ecological Restoration
  Examine ambitious restoration and reforestation efforts and how institutions can align ecological restoration with broader climate and biodiversity goals.

Plenary: Living Systems at Duke Farms
3:30 – 5 p.m.              
Experience Duke Farms’ climate work through guided tracks focused on restoring natural systems, demonstrating climate solutions, and engaging communities.

Optional Cocktail Hour
5 – 6 p.m.
Relax with fellow attendees and continue the day’s conversations in an informal setting.

Friday, October 30

Snídaně
8 – 9 a.m.
Gather for breakfast before the symposium’s final day of programming.

Plenary: Buildings, Energy, and Decarbonization
9 – 10:30 a.m.
Explore how cultural institutions are reducing building emissions through retrofits, new construction, renewable energy, and long-term capital planning.

Breakout
10:45 a.m. – noon

• Electrification Strategies
  Learn how organizations at different stages of electrification can assess their needs, build a roadmap, and manage the transition away from fossil fuels.
• Visitor Experience: Tools for Engagement
  Explore participatory tools that use observation, inquiry, and climate data to strengthen visitor learning and engagement.
• Sustainable Exhibits and Resource Management
  Examine practical approaches for reducing the environmental impacts of exhibitions, materials, and institutional resource use.

Final Share-Out and Reflection
Noon – 12:30 p.m.         
Reflect on key ideas from the symposium and identify insights, connections, and actions to carry forward.

Oběd
12:30 – 2 p.m.            
Close out the formal program over lunch with fellow attendees.

Optional Peer Time and Duke Farms Exploration             
2 – 3 p.m.              
Continue conversations with peers or take a deeper look at selected restoration, landscape, and building projects at Duke Farms.

Your $250 admission ticket includes full symposium admission and all food and beverages.

Máte otázky? Kontakt alampl@phipps.conservatory.org nebo volejte 412-622-6915, ext. 6752