Cooler Communities and Ener-G-save wish all our readers, collaborators and supporters, all teachers, students, administrators, activists, non-profit employees and concerned citizens, a safe, healthy, and joyous holiday season. May we all find gratitude and appreciation for the beauty around us, and the people that share our work and path.

We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to be working with or be in touch with all of you and to keep finding ways to constructively and creatively contribute to the world in times that are challenging us in many new ways. If you’d like to learn more about what this entailed this past year, you can find the full report of our work in 2020/21 here.

As we head into a new year, eight Cooler Communities engagements are in the works – in Pittsfield, Westhampton, Northampton, Sherborn, Framingham, at Greater Commonwealth Virtual School, and two in Springfield. We have also received new grant funding to develop “on-the-ground” community support in Pittsfield and Springfield to increase access to energy efficiency and other climate solutions for families that are generally underserved, yet affected most by climate change and pollution.

Please reach out if you are interested in learning more, in collaborating and/or in hosting a Cooler Communities program in your town or city!

All the very best from Daizha, Mary Jane, Susan, Stan and Uli at Cooler Communities and Ener-G-save.

In this newsletter:

• Mass Audubon’s Youth Climate Summit 

• The Power of Climate Education

• Learning how to speak about Climate Change over the holidays!

• Events and Programs

Artists and activists addressed close to 100 students from across the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley on the topic of “Making your Voice Heard”.

The Youth Climate Summit at Mass Audubon is available free of charge for middle and high school students and their teachers every year, and provides a wonderful opportunity to prepare for a Cooler Communities program at your school. Aside from listening to inspiring and challenging speakers, the students develop their own action plan for changes they want to effect in their schools, whether it is reducing water waste, installing solar chargers for e-bikes or setting up a food composting system in the cafeteria. Throughout the months following the summit, they will be supported in turning their plans into reality.

We recently came across a paper by the Brookings Institution that systematically and powerfully makes the connection between education and climate impacts. Here is an excerpt:

 “Recent research shows that if only 16 percent of high school students in high- and middle-income countries were to receive climate change education, we could see a nearly 19 gigaton reduction of carbon dioxide by 2050. When education helps students develop a strong personal connection to climate solutions, as well as a sense of personal agency and empowerment, it can have a consequential impact on students’ daily behaviors and decision making that reduces their overall lifetime carbon footprint.” (Brookings Institution)   

The full article from the Brookings Institution can be found here

• January teacher chat and webinar - antiracism and frontline communities

  • Climate Generation runs the Teach Climate Network which presents webinars for teachers.  January’s topic will focus on antiracism and frontline communities. The January 19th webinar at 1 pm on January 19 is free and will be recorded and shared with those who register.     

• Green Teams

  • School staff and parent volunteers from Massachusetts K-12 schools are eligible to register to create a Green Team. Registrants receive a GREEN TEAM Kit and are eligible for prizes, recycling and composting equipment, idling reduction signs and materials.  https://thegreenteam.org/ 

• FYI - DESE’s involvement in career training in green energy

  • DESE is recognizing the emerging employment opportunities in the green energy industry.  DESE, in partnership with Bristol Community College, is offering a free introduction course about wind energy. While designed for vocational technical education directors, others are welcome to attend. The course runs on January 11 and 12, 2022, from 8:00 – 10:00 AM and registration is on the BCC website. While not directly related to K-12 education, the course could be interesting!  And hopefully there will be future programs targeting younger students to excite and educate them about new career opportunities!