In this workshop, participants will identify an environmental issue on which they want to work.  They will then create a story detailing why it is important to them so they can share their stories with policy makers. Participants will also learn who makes policies at the City, State and Federal levels and how to contact them.  Finally, participants will understand the importance of personal stories in advocating for policies that will lead to a better society.

Using our “Lighting the Way” LED project as a model, participants will follow a community project from brainstorming to completion. They will understand how to move an idea to a plan, and a plan to a project by breaking it down into manageable steps and engaging others. They will learn how to scale up a sustainable solution to impact their wider community and become influencers for community engagement.

Have you ever thought about the significance of bees? What about what would happen if bees were to disappear? This workshop focuses on the importance of pollinators, Colony Collapse Disorder, and the other threats facing the population of bees. Students will discuss the consequences of bee loss as well as the possible solutions, and learn more about how they can implement these solutions in their daily lives.

We know climate change is real, but how it works and how human influence contributes to it can sometimes be lost in the politics. This is where climate models come in. Climate models are crucial to our understanding of how anthropogenic (human) influence is contributing to global warming. They allow us to combine both technological advancements and science to make predictions and forecasts for future climatic conditions. This workshop will go over how models are developed, and how you can gather and interpret data to create models that portray climate change accurately. This workshop will be lead by Cindy, a student studying and creating atmospheric models to observe weather and convective processes.

In this workshop, students will learn how to make fun, hands-on games that teach about sustainability. In a group of 2 to 4 people, students will be provided with fact sheets and arts and crafts materials to make a simple game that teaches about an aspect of sustainability such as energy conservation, renewable energy, food, carbon footprint, waste management, transportation, or green building. At the end of the workshop, you will have a chance to play another group’s game and critique it.

In this workshop, EYES attendees will have the opportunity to hear how the Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO) effectively connects and engages with communities across the globe, and how tools like social media and Whatsapp can elevate the positive impacts of advocacy and give a voice to the voiceless. Attendees will break out into small groups, or ‘Campaign Committees’, where they will create their own unique three-part digital media campaign for one current issue, event, or topic related to diversity & inclusion within environmental justice. The committees will have the opportunity to present their advocacy campaign and will share how it reaches the goal of transforming ideas into real action.

In this workshop, we will explore the general foundation of how to understand the catastrophic nature of this global crisis, uproot certain misconceptions that are delaying solution implementation at the individual, community, and governing level, and discuss foolproof solutions that can begin to reverse global warming in less than 5 years after reaching a critical mass of participants. Some topics we will cover are topsoil building, holistic and intermittent grazing, bio-gas, regenerative farming, agroforestry, massive food production, aquaculture, marine habitat, biodiversity, linguistic diversity, open source technology and education systems.  And, as a bonus, we’ll get our hands dirty if we have time by making seed balls as a hands on first step to being part of the long term solution.

In this workshop, you will learn valuable lessons on how to effectively use politics and diplomacy to make your community more sustainable. These lessons include how to react to opposition, how to convince administrators to support you, and more. Whether it is meeting with politicians, school district officials, or your peers, the art of diplomacy will come in handy during every part of your journey as a young environmental advocate.

This workshop will teach you how to organize and run a campaign to get your school to commit to 100% renewable energy. We will talk about how to develop a campaign – from conceptualization to planning to execution. Finally, we will have a few tactical trainings to teach participants how to table actively and lobby decision-makers. Amy, the host of this workshop, has coordinated a 100% renewable energy campaign for two years at Rutgers University, where she studies environmental policy, and is also the campaign coordinator for 100% renewables and State Board Vice Chair of the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group Student Chapters, the largest student-run, student-funded nonprofit in New Jersey.

Use mini wave tanks to evaluate the impacts of water forces like sea level rise and increased storm surge on different types of coastlines, then use government data to add in the additional factors of social and infrastructure concerns on the waterfront. Put it all together in an advocacy exercise evaluating real urban coastlines and making resiliency recommendations for the communities there. Be prepared to get your hands wet while thinking about how to keep dry for the future!