2020 in review: Spring Forward
As the holiday season approaches and the year comes to a close, Spring Forward wants to thank you all for making our goals possible!
In April of this year, Spring Forward started with 4 high schoolers who had a mission to educate other youth on climate change and environmental justice. By the summer time, we were running our first series of workshops to get our message out. Since then, we have been able to reach nearly 500 students through our workshops and partnerships with schools and other organizations. We now have over 20 team members and are still growing, so click this link if you are interested in getting involved. No matter age, experience level or amount of availability, everyone is welcome and needed! Here’s to making next year even better than this one!
2020 in review: the Earth
Though the Covid-19 pandemic has definitely been at the forefront of the news and all of our minds throughout most this year, there have been many notable events, both good and bad, in terms of the environment. This year started with rampant wildfires throughout Australia, which scientists found were 30% more likely to spread because of climate change and the resulting high-risk conditions (NYT). Throughout this year, we’ve seen fires closer to home in California, with such extreme weather events such as fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes becoming notably more frequent throughout recent years. Around March and April, we saw fleeting drastic drops in carbon emissions, especially in Asia, due to the pandemic. We also saw a glimpse of hope during this election season. Not only did debates feature the topic of climate for the first time, MA climate champion Senator Markey was re-elected, and Former VP Joe Biden became the President-elect, with his platform centering his climate plan. Recently, Biden chose former MA Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry to be the first Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change. These promises by Biden give hope for the future, but so much more work is left to be done. By promoting climate education, Spring Forward hopes to center our local communities first in the fight for climate action.
Click the image to see the full "2020 Wrapped" graphic on Instagram.
Drop-in workshops are ongoing!
After successful online summer workshop sessions and fall activity workshops, Spring Forward is excited to launch our free drop-in workshops! The workshops will cover a range topics such as climate change 101, the science behind climate change, sea level rise, deforestation, renewable energy, climate policy, fast fashion, health and climate, climate justice, redlining, how to help, an overview of climate change, and more. We hope to see you there!
More info here: https://www.springforwardclimate.org/workshops
Being sustainable this holiday season
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… And the most wasteful! Americans discard 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day than any other time of the year, amounting to one million tons more trash each week, according to an article from Stanford University. We encourage that you be mindful of your waste this holiday season and try to avoid unnecessary waste, such as wrapping paper (which is non recyclable!) and ribbon. Some other ways to reduce holiday waste include: switching to LED lights, buying from small and sustainable businesses rather than large-scale corporations such as Amazon, choosing organic and local foods for your holiday feast, and recycling or composting your tree. Being sustainable this holiday season
Sarah Pralle, Ph.D., an associate professor of political science at Syracuse University who specializes in environmental policy, climate change and energy says "Despite our individual efforts, we can’t forget where the greater responsibility lies. Individual actions are important for improving sustainability, but projects and programs are needed as well." Some ways that you can help to make a change are writing to local officials, signing petitions and attending community meetings to keep pressure on our leaders to enact climate policy at the federal and state level.