Climate Toolkit Symposium Resources

OCT. 26 – 28, 2025 | PHIPPS CONSERVATORY AND BOTANICAL GARDENS; PITTSBURGH, PA

Thank you for helping to co-create our inaugural Climate Toolkit Symposium, presented by Phipps Conservatory and Duke Farms. What an incredible two and a half days of learning, collaboration, connection, and conversation. We were thrilled to be in-person with such an inspiring collective of cultural institutions and look forward to the work ahead.

How to Use This Resource

The Climate Toolkit Symposium was structured in three plenary sessions, five breakout discussions, a keynote address, and three climate action workshops, each with its own set of presentations. On this page, you’ll find each session represented by a video recording, presentation slide deck, and links to further resources and literature. Get started below!

Plenary Session One: Energy and Decarbonization

Cultural institutions are stepping up as climate leaders by reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to renewable energy. In this panel, Richard Piacentini from Phipps Conservatory, Jon Wagar from Duke Farms, Rachel Novick from The Morton Arboretum, and Rafael de Carvalho from New York Botanical Garden shared how they are implementing ambitious decarbonization strategies, offering lessons learned from real-world successes and challenges.

Video Recording: (in progress)
Presentation Slides:

Plenary Session Two: Climate Interpretation & Engagement

How can institutions engage with the public on a changing climate? This panel presentation brought together Anais Reyes from The Climate Museum, Casey Mink from Natural History Museum of Utah, Jen Kretser from The Wild Center, and Mark Wourms from Bernheim Forest and Arboretum to highlight creative approaches to interpretation and engagement that inspire audiences to participate in climate solutions.

Video Recording: (in progress)
Presentation Slides:

Breakout Focus Areas I: Waste Management and Nature-Based Solutions

Breakout tracks offered participants an opportunity for focused conversation on specific areas of climate action. Each session began with a short presentation from a subject expert, followed by a facilitated, round-table discussion to support knowledge sharing and problem-solving. Allie Tilson from National Aquarium led one breakout room through engaging thought exercises on streamlining institutional waste practices; and Jeff Downing from Mt Cuba Center and Dr. Christy Rollinson from The Morton Arboretum led another breakout on utilizing our community platforms to accelerate nature-based solutions through native plant conservation, habitat restoration, and urban tree planting.

Waste Management and Staff Engagement

Presentation Slides:
  • National Aquarium – Allison Tilson, Senior Manager of Sustainability and Conservation Operations

Nature-Based Solutions

Video recording:
Presentation Slides:

Breakout Focus Areas II: Climate Research; Conservation and Action; Facilities Management

Round two of breakout focus areas featured three discussions: Dr. Chelsea Miller and Dr. Lara Roketenetz from the University of Akron Field Station led a discussion on the intersection of education, community science and academic research; Dr. Shafkat Khan from Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium facilitated intimate round-table discussions on conservation and action beyond our campuses; and Jim Hanson and Joe Zalenko from Duke Farms engaged facilities and sustainability staff on electrification equipment, operations software, and best practices for facilities management.

Climate Research

Presentation Slides:

Conservation and Action – Bridging the Gap and Breaching the Boundaries

Presentation Slides:
Further Resources:

Facilities Management

Presentation Slides:
  • Duke Farms – Jim Hanson, Manager of Sustainability and Technology, and Joe Zalenko, Facilities Manager

Plenary Session Three: Youth Climate Advocacy

Amplifying youth voices is critical to advancing the climate movement and driving action within communities. In this panel and Q&A session, we heard directly from Emma Ehan, Anwita Maneish Nithya, Cortlan Harrell, and Marley McFarland, leaders of Phipps’ Youth Climate Advocacy Committee, on how to battle climate anxiety while activating the next generation of young changemakers.

Video Recording: (in progress)
Presentation Slides:

Keynote Address: “Our Finest Hour: Looking Back from the Year 2276”

In this keynote address, David W. Orr, Professor Emeritus at Oberlin College, provided a sobering outlook on the current state of the intertwined political and climate crises while offering key perspectives on how we as a society can advocate for climate action during turbulent times.

Video recording: (in progress)
Presentation Slides:

Essence as Compass: Guiding Climate Action with Regenerative Thinking

This session, led by Richard Piacentini from Phipps Conservatory and Sonja Bochart of LENS / Shepley Bulfinch, invited participants to explore the power of working from essence—connecting with the unique core of who they are and what truly matters. From this foundation, our actions become more regenerative, our strategies more aligned, and our potential for lasting impact more fully realized.

Presentation Slides:
Resources and Worksheets:

Climate Action Resiliency Planning

This session, led by Stephanie Shapiro and Al Carver-Kubik of Environment & Culture Partners, engaged participants through institutional baseline climate and community assessments, planning and implementation exercises, and prioritization frameworks to help form the basis of resiliency plans.

Presentation Slides:
Resources and Worksheets:

Civic Engagement: Becoming Your Community’s Climate Resource

Our final climate action workshop of the symposium, led by Rose Hendricks of ASTC’s Seeding Action Network, engaged participants to think deeply about strategies for civic engagement and community action to improve planetary health.

Presentation Slides:
Resources and Worksheets:

Photography

CHECK OUT THE FULL SET OF PHOTOGRAPHY HERE

Questions? Resources to share? Contact alampl@phipps.conservatory.org or 412-622-6915, ext. 6752

PRESENTED BY

About Phipps: Founded in 1893, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA is a globally recognized green leader with a mission to inspire and educate all with the beauty and importance of plants; to advance sustainability and promote human and environmental well-being through action and research; and to celebrate its historic glasshouse. Encompassing 15 acres including a historic 14-room glasshouse, 23 distinct indoor and outdoor gardens and industry-leading sustainable architecture and operations, Phipps attracts more than half a million visitors annually from around the world. Learn more at phipps.conservatory.org.

About Duke Farms: Duke Farms is a living lab where we develop model strategies for nature restoration, wildlife conservation, and clean energy transition.  Located on 2,700 acres in Hillsborough, New Jersey, our campus is a gathering place for global decision-makers and local neighbors to spark change. Duke Farms is a center of the Doris Duke Foundation which strives to build a more creative, equitable, and sustainable future. Learn more at dukefarms.org.