Climate Toolkit Symposium 2026 Agenda

FEATURING SPEAKERS FROM

Botanical Garden of the Piedmont · California Nature Art Museum · CambridgeSeven · Duke Farms · Environment & Culture Partners · Green Jay Strategies · Historic New England · LENS · Missouri Botanical Garden · Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens · Reykjavik Art Museum · Rivers of Steel · San Jose Climate Art Program · 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 shared vision for what becomes possible when climate action succeeds, setting the stage for the conversations and collaboration ahead.

Thursday, October 29

Frühstück
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.

Mittagessen
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

Frühstück
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.

Mittagessen
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.

Noch Fragen? Kontakt alampl@phipps.conservatory.org oder rufen Sie 412-622-6915, Durchwahl 6752