United States

About Vanessa Barela

Vanessa (she/her) was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where her love for nature was first ignited by her family. As a child, she spent much of her time in the wilderness fishing, camping, and hiking. She has been an educator since 2008 with experience teaching students from preschool through college age as a formal and informal educator in various positions focused on science and the environment. Her education includes degrees in Technical Writing, Environmental Engineering, Geology for Science Teachers, and a master's in Curriculum and Instruction in Science. Vanessa has worked at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Sandia Mountain Natural History Center, Cottonwood Montessori School, and currently is an Outdoor Learning Specialist at the New Mexico Public Education Department. She has previously served as the Secretary for Environmental Education New Mexico and currently volunteers as a leader with Latino Outdoors. 

Vanessa’s Community Action Project (CAP)

In New Mexico, we often experience climate change issues with an intersection of water scarcity, farming, and community impact. This project will support rural communities and the impact on the economy, student outcomes, and engagement in relation to agriculture. It will bridge the gap between environmental education and agriculture. Students will participate in a community of practice called the "Eco-Squad," where they can foster a sense of responsibility and leadership to become climate champions, especially with water.

About Sarada Sangameswaran

Sarada (she/her) is the Director of School Programs at Communitopia, a small nonprofit in Pittsburgh dedicated to climate change education. She has a bachelor's degree in biology from McGill University, and a master's in ecology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She has worked in environmental consulting and environmental education, including stints at Chicago Botanic Garden, the Three Rivers Park District, and Pittsburgh Botanic Garden. In her various roles, she developed environmental curricula and taught hands-on programs for all ages, helped design interactive exhibits and spaces, developed a docent program, and worked with educators to ensure a great experience for students. She believes environmental education should be equitable, and is part of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators DEI Committee. Sarada loves spending time in beautiful natural spaces in all types of weather, going on long hikes or curling up with a good book and a cup of tea. She is passionate about creating a bright, sustainable future for everyone while preserving nature for generations to come.

Sarada’s Community Action Project (CAP)

Communitopia’s mission is to empower young people to be agents for transformation in the climate change movement. The organization works at schools, delivering climate change workshops to classrooms, leads climate action teams, provides teacher workshops, and plans the annual Pittsburgh Youth Climate Action Summit. As the organization’s work continues to evolve, Sarada realized the importance of breaking down climate change into smaller modules that allow students to study a topic in depth, and use that knowledge to create solutions. Central to this effort is for students to recognize the value of nature and nature-based solutions at a local level to promote climate resiliency.
 
Sarada plans to create focused modules that would allow students to take a deep dive into a topic and then take an action in their school or community that relates to this topic. The range of topics is wide but could include green spaces in schools, water quality, air quality, or healthy food systems. This process of discovery would include fact-finding sessions, research, hands-on data collection, and engagement with stakeholders such as community leaders or school officials. Communitopia will create curriculum, and provide the curriculum knowledge and tools to study the topic at hand and craft an action plan. Sarada would work with teachers to implement the curriculum over 4-8 weeks. Her goal is to create environmental civics programming infused with science/citizen science opportunities. This would enable Communitopia to reach students at their level and focus on a topic that is relevant to them and their community.

About Patricia Tolly

This will be Patricia’s (she/her) 29th year teaching at Forest Hills Public Schools in Ada, Michigan.  She has taught sixth grade for the last 13 years, and currently teaches all subjects. Teaching outside has become a passion for Patricia, and for nearly 11 years she has been involved with GroundswellMi.  This year she was awarded their "Grounds SWELL" teacher of the year award. She loves giving students opportunities that they couldn't get somewhere else. Design thinking and problem-based learning (PBL) have also had a huge impact on the opportunities for her students.

Patricia is the mother of three children. This summer, her oldest child got married in Germany.  Patricia spent 17 days with her family traveling through Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, spending time in the beautiful countryside and towns of Europe. 

About Patricia’s Community Action Project (CAP)

In this engaging and comprehensive environmental education project, students will go on a journey of discovery and action. With a strong emphasis on hands-on learning, collaboration, and critical thinking, the project aims to instill a deep understanding of environmental issues and the importance of becoming responsible stewards of our planet.

Students will delve into the chemical composition of water, explore the various phases it can undergo, and investigate the sources and effects of pollution, whether it's related to water or air. The ultimate challenge for these young environmentalists is to devise innovative solutions to address a specific pollution problem.

Short-term goals include mastering the academic standards integrated into the project and developing essential soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and decision-making. However, the long-term vision extends far beyond the classroom. By actively engaging in solving environmental issues, students will recognize the urgency of becoming guardians of the Earth and appreciate the profound impact of human activities on our environment.

About Margaret Beetstra

Maggie (she/her) is a social science researcher and environmental educator with a passion for community engagement in science. She is the senior climate and education researcher at the Nurture Nature Center, a nonprofit in Easton, Pennsylvania that focuses on the intersection of science, art, and community through local projects and national research.

In her current role, Maggie conducts social science research with National Weather Service partners about how people use flood forecast information. She also engages with local food initiatives, contributes to municipal climate planning processes, and works to build resilience to climate change across the Lehigh Valley. Before joining the Nurture Nature Center, Maggie was a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Education.

Outside of work, you can usually find Maggie outdoors going for a long walk, running, hiking, biking, or playing tennis. 

Maggie’s Community Action Project (CAP)

The Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania has many colleges and universities with programs and offices for the environment and climate change. However, there is minimal coordination across these institutions or convening of students for environmental civic engagement.

Maggie’s community action project works to identify gaps within and between Lehigh Valley colleges in the environmental, sustainability, and climate spaces. It involves interviews with faculty, staff, and students at multiple Lehigh Valley colleges and universities to understand the environmental and civic engagement efforts happening on campuses, what is not happening, what is planned, and what additional support the colleges might need. The Nurture Nature Center (NNC) will use this information to determine how and where to best use their limited resources to support the colleges and universities and to build local community relationships. As an independent non-profit in the Lehigh Valley, NNC could become a convener across local colleges and universities in this space.

In addition, civic engagement will be a focus of the 2024 Lehigh Valley Youth Climate Summit hosted by NNC. Maggie will foster youth participation in civic engagement activities at the summit. Additionally, other CEE-Change Fellows will be involved in the summit to share information about their careers to date and encourage the youth to continue learning and engaging in environmental and civic action work together.

Maggie’s project will conclude by sharing findings with internal and external audiences. The hope is that by laying the groundwork of identifying local college and university needs and interests, plus engagement with hundreds of area youth, NNC can identify and develop future opportunities and mechanisms for continued collaboration beyond the project period.

About Kim Botelho

Feeling grateful to have spent over 25 years doing what she loves in the field of environmental education, most of Kim Botelho’s time has been spent as a Director of Education for environmental, science, and history based nonprofit organizations including the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association. Kim has served on the Rhode Island and Massachusetts state environmental education boards, on the New England Environmental Education Alliance, and as a partner representative for the National Informal STEM Education Network. 

With degrees in both science and art, Kim combines those interests as much as possible in her work. In her free time she loves hiking, hanging with her dog, taking nature photos, drumming, spinning poi, and is an avid boogie boarder.

Kim’s Community Action Project (CAP)

As the new Education Director of the Westport River Watershed Alliance, Kim’s project involves updating the 5th grade curriculum to include climate education and connecting that to a dune restoration effort in which students will plant dune grasses. As part of this effort, she will connect with other local Scout groups, homeschools, etc. to form more permanent partnerships in which they can provide this same climate and community service-focused opportunity. 

There will also be interpretive hikes for the public to discuss the dune restoration efforts, the impact of rising sea levels on local coasts, and how a local causeway may be effecting this coastline.

About Katherine (Katie) Russell

Katie Russell has worked as the Communications Coordinator for Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition since July of 2022. The Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition was founded in 1971 to protect public access to Oregon’s beaches. It empowers citizens through education and conservation action to learn about, enjoy, and defend the Oregon coast. Katie earned her master's degree in environmental studies from the University of Oregon with a focus on education and nonprofit management. 

In addition to her work with Oregon Shores, she also serves as the board secretary of The National Network of Ocean and Climate Change Interpreters and sits on the board of The Elakha Alliance, which works for the restoration of Oregon's historic sea otter population. Before moving to Oregon, Katie graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Natural Science and worked as a marine mammal trainer and zookeeper in Hawaii for almost ten years.

Katie’s Community Action Project (CAP)

Katie’s project aims to engage Oregon schools, particularly those in underserved coastal communities, in outdoor learning and community science on the Oregon Coast through an extension of the CoastWatch volunteer program. Presently, they offer a "CoastWatch in the Schools" (CWIS) program but do not have the staffing to standardize the program and create official, comprehensive materials to provide to schools.

The project goals include creating pre-trip, field trip, and post-trip lesson plans for elementary, middle, and high school students—a “menu” of additional activities or lessons—which will highlight connections to local groups and nonprofits actively working to protect the Oregon coast. This menu will allow teachers to customize their experience based on the coastal habitats they can access, increasing relevancy to students.

Katie plans to recruit more schools to participate in CWIS, help more teachers incorporate ocean and environmental literacy into their curriculum, and provide more opportunities for outdoor learning. This will help Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition achieve its vision of helping schools develop their own community science projects, increase students’ understanding of climate change and solutions, and cultivate hopeful, resilient, and active communities.

About Jeff Geist

Jeff is the Manager of Continuing Education at Duke Farms, a Center of the Doris Duke Foundation. In this capacity, Jeff spearheads the development of high-level courses, workshops, and conferences tailored for conservation and stewardship practitioners seeking to enhance their technical expertise and accrue continuing education units. Jeff has successfully established and currently oversees an internship program aimed at retaining diversity within the environmental field. Additionally, he manages a proficient team and oversees the operation of Duke Farms' expansive 5-acre Community Garden.

Beyond his role at Duke Farms, Jeff serves as the Board Secretary for the NAAEE State Affiliate, the Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education (ANJEE) and works to offer comprehensive professional development opportunities to formal and informal educators across New Jersey.

Outside work, you can usually find Jeff hiking, biking, gardening, or cooking. Jeff is passionate about nature and ecosystems, and values the importance of being outdoors and making nature a welcoming and safe space. 

Jeff’s Community Action Project (CAP)

Jeff’s community action project will be to design a professional development program geared towards municipal managers to gain an understanding of conservation-forward and sustainable practices that can be adopted by their towns. Municipal managers are not typically from a conservation background, yet are the ones managing landscapes, bioswales, roads, and impacting the environment of their towns. Jeff aims to empower municipal employees and public officials to adopt these changes and engage with their communities by providing resources, education, and hands-on experiences.

About Jaeydah

Jaeydah Edwards (she/her) is the Citizen Science Program Director at Groundwork Ohio River Valley, where she works to connect Cincinnati communities to their local environments through various programs and community engagement events. A majority of her work focuses on educating both youth and Cincinnati residents on air pollution hazards and how to operate air quality monitors. One of her favorite projects has been teaching youth how to build their very own air quality monitors. Some of her other projects include water quality, green infrastructure, and environmental justice. She has also been a youth leader for three years, teaching Cincinnati youth about native plants, invasive species, gardening, green infrastructure, trail maintenance, and much more. She has experience working with local communities, partner organizations, and City of Cincinnati Officials. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, nature walks, reading, and visiting local thrift stores with her sister. 

About Jaeydah’s Community Action Project

The city of Cincinnati is comprised of 52 neighborhoods, each with their own history of vulnerability due to the effects of climate change. Due to this vulnerability, Jaeydah has chosen to work with residents of Cincinnati neighborhoods to help them understand how climate change is impacting their communities and what they can do about it. The first activity for her project is an air pollution hazard training, which will discuss the major sources of air pollution in their neighborhoods and what negative effects they have on health. Following the training, residents will be given an indoor air quality monitor to take home for seven days to monitor for various pollutants in their homes. After seven days, the residents will participate in a plant swap activity where they will each get to take home multiple plants. Following taking the plants home, they will do seven more days of monitoring. Jaeydah and the residents will then compare the results from before and after introducing plants and have a discussion about how plants affect air quality. The second activity will introduce residents to the idea of the urban heat island effect. They will use a thermal camera to collect baseline temperature measurements of how much heat is given off in different parts of their neighborhoods and discuss why certain areas are hotter than others and why this occurs.

About Hannah

Hannah Barg (they/them) is the Youth Climate Program Manager at The Wild Center. They support the international Youth Climate Summit Network of over 160 summits in 9 countries that have used the Youth Climate Summit Toolkit & resources to start summits all over the world! Hannah hosts monthly Network meetings and travels to other summit sites with the climate team and regional high school climate leaders.

Hannah studied environmental science at Goshen College and holds a Masters degree in Experiential and Outdoor Education from Western Carolina University. For their Masters thesis study, Youth Got the Power: Building Youth-Adult Partnerships for Climate Action, Hannah worked with 3 high school students to design and implement a climate action project. Hannah is passionate about several climate topics including climate justice, climate fiction/music, and climate action planning. Three words to describe Hannah's role in the climate movement include: reader, bike organizer & singer/ songwriter. 

About Hannah’s Community Action Project (CAP)

For Hannah’s project, they will be working on connecting young people with their local governments to take climate action together. The Youth Climate Program is in the final stages of developing 2 youth guides related to this topic (one is New York State specific, the other is for youth in other states) which will be disseminated to adults and young people in NYS and beyond as a part of this project. They see this as an opportunity to build out a model for intergenerational civic engagement and climate action. Youth and local governments may seem like unlikely partners, but they have so much to offer each other in terms of capacity building, career exposure, inclusive community engagement, and generating unique ideas to increase local climate resilience.
 

About Hamza

Hamza Malik (he/him) is a STEM Education Ph.D. Candidate at UMass Dartmouth and holds an MBA in Environmental Policy (UMass Dartmouth) and a BS in Economics and Communications (FC College, Lahore, Pakistan). He has five years of experience in environmental education programs and outreach with WWF-Pakistan (World Wide Fund for Nature) and WWF-South Pacific Fiji Islands. He currently holds a Teaching and Research fellowship at the Lloyd Center for the Environment. 

About Hamza’s Community Action Project (CAP)

As a part of the NAAEE CEE-Change Fellowship project, Hamza plans to develop and implement a new education program highlighting human-induced climate change effects on coastal birds and their habitats while utilizing nature photography components. 

The first pilot program will be offered during the school spring break of April 2024, and the second pilot program will be offered in August 2024. This program will be open for students from grade level 5 to 8. The class size for this program will be up to 12 students per session. The course will be divided into three parts. The first part will focus on teaching students about different birds, their habitats, and climate change's impacts on them. Lloyd Center for the Environment (LCE) experts will conduct this session. The second part will include teaching students about various tips and techniques related to bird photography. Students will be given individual point-and-shoot cameras for the day. The third part will consist of a trail walk throughout the LCE's property for the students to take pictures of the various birds and their habitats. 

Implementing nature photography in this program will promote critical thinking for solutions to prevent and highlight human-induced climate change effects on coastal birds. Students will be engaged in activities outside of traditional classroom settings.