Letter from the Executive Director
Team members Abby Fenton, Savannah Duby and myself attended the RE-AMP annual meeting in Detroit, MI in early July where we focused on how we can build a bolder, better Midwest Network through increased collaboration. RE-AMP is an active network of 160 nonprofits and foundations across eight Midwestern states working on climate change and energy policy with the goal of reducing global warming pollution economy-wide 80% by 2050.
Climate Generation is proud to be a long-standing RE-AMP member. Abby, our Youth Programs Director has been the RE-AMP Youth Caucus Coordinator since 2009, engaging youth across the Midwest in the RE-AMP Network. In 2013, I was elected to the RE-AMP Steering and Executive Committee.
We said farewell to our super efficient and hard working Administrative Assistant, Meriah Jacobs-Frost who shepherded us through our re-branding initiative (complete with securing new t-shirts for staff!) and a very busy spring and summer. We will miss you Meriah!
How about ending the summer with the finest wine event of the season? Join us on Saturday August 29 (6-8 pm) for our newest fundraiser, Wine & Dine for Climate, at Minnesota’s oldest operating winery, Alexis Bailly Vineyard! Enjoy a selection of organic wines from the vineyard, local food, and live music in an evening that celebrates local solutions to climate change – all while supporting our innovative climate change programming. Tickets can be purchased online, along with luxury coach transportation round trip from the Twin Cities to the vineyard.
Thank you for your year-end support as we close our fiscal year on August 31st!
Sincerely,
Nicole Rom, Executive Director
Education
Summer Institute is Online
Didn’t make it to our 10th annual Summer Institute for Climate Change Education or public forum at the Science Museum of Minnesota? Visit it virtually through our recap page at climategen.org/summer-institute. Follow through our interactive agenda with speaker’s presentations, resources, and a list of our curricula that are free to download from our website. We are already getting ideas for planning next year’s Institute!
GO Minnesota Launches this month
In cooperation with GO Minnesota’s Innovations in Environmental Sustainability Enrichment Seminar, our Director of Education, Kristen, is leading a two-day climate change and energy education program and tour of green facilities in the Twin Cities metro area for 10 Australian exchange students. The Climate Literacy program for GO MN will draw on our expertise in youth empowerment, curriculum development and direct engagement in climate change solutions.
Sustainability Man is Burnsville’s newest superhero
The City of Burnsville’s new mascot, Sustainability Man has an episode on climate change from our Climate Minnesota Convening. “Faster than compost, taller than a rain barrel and more powerful than an LED light bulb – Sustainability Man is in search of green projects and sustainable resources in the City of Burnsville, MN.” Follow Sustainability Man on his latest adventure as he visits our recent Climate Minnesota: Burnsville Convening, and learn about climate change impacts and local solutions from Dr. John Abraham, Professor of Thermal Sciences at the University of Saint Thomas and Climate Generation’s Education Coordinator, Jothsna Harris.
Emerging Leaders
Climate Generation Convenes 11 Youth Climate Orgs at RE-AMP Annual Meeting
Home to the RE-AMP Youth Caucus, Climate Generation convened a meeting of eleven Midwest youth climate organizations earlier this month at the RE-AMP Annual meeting in Detroit. The meeting was held off site at the East Michigan Energy Action Council’s community space to develop a set of guiding principles for the Youth Caucus and a strategy that integrates short-term policy wins and long-term movement building across the RE-AMP Network.
YEA! MN Program Ramps Up with New Funding!
With financial support from the Carolyn Foundation, Laura Jane Musser Fund, Elmer and Eleanor Andersen Foundation, and Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board’s Community Power grant program, our YEA! MN program is poised for a year of activity and growth. New funds will allow us to expand our policy engagement, engaging youth at the legislature, deepening our mentorship of school leaders and student-led action projects at our ten participating schools, and integrating environmental justice so that we can continue to make our program relevant and available to low income students of color.
Announcing! Midwest Youth Climate Convergence
Climate Generation is excited to announce the Midwest Youth Climate Convergence to be held in Minneapolis, October 30-November 1. The Convergence will bring together committed youth organizers across the region from the tar sands and fossil fuel divestment movements, to build capacity for youth campaigns, build a stronger Midwest youth climate movement, and build a deeper strategy for re-investment in just and sustainable solutions. We are convening key youth organizers in the belief that we cannot create the innovative breakthroughs we need without a systemic and coordinated approach to grassroots organizing. We believe that youth bring the creative genius, the collaborative spirit, and the courage we need to secure a just and sustainable future for all. For more information contact Youth Programs Director, Abby: abby@climategen.org
In the News
Climate change educator: School classrooms must catch up with the science
In his keynote address at our 10th annual Summer Institute for Climate Change Education, NOAA Climate Education Coordinator Frank Niepold highlighted the need for schools to focus more time and resources on climate change education.
Will Steger, YEA! MN leader call for strong Clean Power Plan in Minnesota
On June 17, Will Steger and YEA! MN co-chair Kendra Roedl joined clean energy business leaders at the state capitol to call for Governor Dayton to advance a strong Clean Power Plan in Minnesota. News coverage of the event included video footage on The Uptake, a Southwest Journal article, and a Forum News Service article that ran in the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, the Bemidji Pioneer and the Grand Forks Herald.
Action
As the nation prepares for the first-ever limits on carbon – the Clean Power Plan – with the final ruling to be released at the end of the month – we’re going to make history – and you can help.
Power plants are responsible for 40% of US carbon pollution contributing to climate change and the EPA is proposing national standards to limit these emissions. Show your support for limiting climate-changing pollution from power plants by joining a national day of action us on July 30. Support a strong Clean Power Plan!
Photo of the Month
We said farewell to our super efficient and hard working Administrative Assistant, Meriah Jacobs-Frost who shepherded us through our re-branding initiative (complete with securing new t-shirts for staff!) and a very busy spring and summer. We will miss you Meriah! (Pictured L to R: Janet Brown, Associate Director, Meriah Jacobs-Frost, Administrative Assistant, Jordan Pinneke, Education Intern)
