Approximately 1,000 Broward County Public Schools middle and high school students and teachers will attend the 2nd Annual Broward Youth Climate Summit on Jan. 10 at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale.
The Summit is a collaboration between Broward County Public Schools, Applied Learning Department and the Broward County Environmental Planning and Community Resilience Division.
It will focus on the effects of sea-level rise and how students can advocate for policy change and environmental sustainability. Students will participate in break-out sessions with professionals who are tackling the issue of sea-level rise. With the knowledge gained during the sessions outlined below, students will implement a Climate Action Plan at their schools.
- Engineering
Led by Florida International University, panelists will share how their profession is addressing sea-level rise and demonstrate the new equipment and technology being used to monitor and record data. - Law/Debate
The Broward Schools Debate Initiative, Active Voice Project, will be used to guide students in evidence-based decision making while providing them with strategies for using their voice to communicate, engage, and persuade as active, informed citizens. - Politics / Civic
Students will have an opportunity to interact with elected officials to learn how they are addressing sea-level rise. - Government / Planning / Traffic / Utilities
Government representatives will discuss how they plan infrastructure projects to address the more frequent flooding caused by the rising seas. Students will gain experience with using geographic information systems to visualize data. - Economics / Finance / Insurance / Real Estate
Students will learn the economic challenges increased flooding presents. Sea-level rise will affect the real estate market, insurance rates, the banking industry and more. A Broward County version of the role-play Game of Floods will be conducted as a planning exercise. - Arts / Entertainment
Artists will explore ways to present climate change, sea-level rise, and science to various audiences. As well as art, students will learn about coral ecology, how we’re trying to rebuild the reefs, the importance of the reefs, and how they can get involved in the future from the 1000 Mermaids. Lucinda Linderman will work with students to create art from recycled materials. - Communication / Media
Panelists will discuss the role of media in reporting about the threat posed by the warming climate. Students will work with museum staff, the Sun-Sentinel newspaper, the Invading Seas website, and Magic Leap with Xennial Digital technology and be tasked with communicating their Climate Action Plan through multiple modes. - Social / Human Services
Students will learn from experts such as Delaney Reynolds’ Sink or Swim Project and Catalyst Miami on the social implications of sea-level rise and participate in an activity to better understand the concept of resilience. - Technology / Science (Bio/Ecology)
Florida Atlantic University professors and students will discuss how the warming climate threatens the atmosphere, hydrosphere and the quality of life for everyone on the planet.
The Summit culminates with a community action project, called Rising Waters . It’s a conceptual art installation that will translate to a school-based project-based learning opportunity, spreading the impact of the summit across the county.
Students will participate in a Rising Waters installation at their school or in their community. They will use resources such as Broward.org’s Climate Toolbox and Citizeneyes.org’s app to research and calculate their school’s sea-level rise projected elevations for 2030, 2050, and 2070.
Students will measure and install the correlating lines for sea-level rise using colored fabric strips or paint. They also will create and install fish flags to represent the elevations for their location.
Throughout the project, students will document their steps of implementation using Flipgrid.com to post video clips and then create a story map using Esri.com ArcGIS StoryMaps.
School projects will be shared on social media using the hashtags #sealevelwise, #BCPSrisingwaters, #EarthDay2020, and @BrowardSTEM to amplify the message during the 50th anniversary celebration of Earth Day on April 22.
The summit will empower young people and create a climate-literate generation who:
- Understands the essential principles of climate science
- Communicates about climate and climate change in a meaningful way
- Makes informed and responsible decisions about actions that may affect climate
- Takes action on promoting and implementing climate change adaptations and resilience measures in their homes, schools, and communities.
For additional information, contact browardstem@browardschools.com.
“The Invading Sea” is the opinion arm of the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a collaborative of news organizations across the state focusing on the threats posed by the warming climate.
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