A US-based class connected with peers in France and French Territories to learn how they can be part of the solution for our shared, sustainable future. Their teacher, Maria Isabel Alonso, answered a few questions with her class at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami, Florida, about how they used the Smithsonian in France program to incorporate global sustainable goals into their curriculum and daily lives.
Heidi Gibson works to develop engaging and future-forward curriculum for the Smithsonian Science Education Center. Recently, she developed the Sustainable Communities guide as part of the Smithsonian Science for Global Goals project for use in the #SmithsonianInFrance program. Learn more about this guide and how a sustainable-centered curriculum supports global students on their paths toward creating an equitable, sustainable, and connected future.
The Smithsonian Office of International Relations is always finding new and innovative ways to showcase how the Smithsonian is part of a shared, sustainable future for the Earth. Aviva Rosenthal, Director of the Smithsonian's Office of International Relations, shares how the Smithsonian Institution-wide legacy, resources, and goals can also help foster a sustainable learning path for students around the globe.
David Dussort and his Seconde 6 students at Sainte Marie Bastide High School in Bordeaux, France, participated in the U.S. Embassy in Paris and Smithsonian's cross-cultural program #SmithsonianInFrance. Learn more about their experience and how the lessons have shaped their way of thinking globally and acting locally.
U.S. Ambassador to the French Republic and to the Principality of Monaco, Ambassador Denise Campbell Bauer, reflects on the Smithsonian-France partnership that has helped students reach across the globe to connect on important issues facing our planet.
Students from the U.S., France, and French overseas regions are working together with the support of the Smithsonian and the U.S. Embassy in France to focus on fostering a sustainable future for all.
The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation offers undergraduate students a chance to dive head-first into the world of conservation and discover possible career paths.
Clark Farley is a graduating senior at George Mason University with interests in climate change, conservation, environmental justice and science communication.
2021 was another trying year for Earth and its inhabitants. The pandemic has lingered on, and yet again, there were disappointing climate responses from global powers. But there's still reason to be hopeful as we look ahead to the new year.
An overcast stroll on a rocky, oil-stained shoreline is probably not your idea of a day at the beach. It didn’t bother us. We were wandering up and down Qatar’s coast to find the bones of recently dead marine mammals.
These stories celebrate success, uncover a spark of hope, share a new idea, or might just make you feel good about Planet Earth – this week with a focus on COP26.
Ashton and Zara are a brother and sister pollution-busting superhero duo from the UK. Together they founded the Hidden Plastic, an initiative that teaches other kids about our planet's plastic predicament and how they can be part of the solution.
Earth Optimism has partnered with Pelecanus on a podcast that highlights stories from interdisciplinary facets of the conservation community on the idea of possibilism. Here, Taylor Parker, who protects and restores habitats as a conservation social scientist and co-founder of Pelecanus, introduces his organization and the creation of The Possibilists.
Chanté Davis is a youth organizer with Sunrise Movement, the founder of a multifaceted and intersectional environmental campaign, as well as an OH-WAKE youth editor.
A childhood rooted in Costa Rica's resplendent nature has given Sara Cognuck a life full of passion for saving our planet – and showing others that they can also be part of the solution.
Member States of the UN have struggled to meet targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015. A student in Nigeria recognized this dire problem and how it affected her local environment and people in her community. But she didn't just wait for change, she took the initiative, and her solutions and enthusiasm have spread through Africa and beyond. Meet Oluwaseyi Moejoh, founder of U-recycle Initiative Africa, National Geographic Young Explorer, current law student, and all-around force for positive change and a sustainable planet.
Paine Makko is the executive director of the Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT) and a committed advocate for Indigenous Peoples in Tanzania. UCRT is a non-profit environmental and social justice organization that aims to empower Indigenous communities and secure their rights to land and sustainability. Makko combines both her experience as a pastoralist and her educational background in social work and sustainable development to develop solutions that work for both people and the planet. In addition to supporting Indigenous groups as a whole, Makko is also passionate about female empowerment in conservation and Indigenous spaces.
Vatosoa Rakotondrazafy is a passionate advocate for conservation and sustainability along Madagascar’s coastline communities. After working on small-scale fisheries research supported by the United Nations Nippon Foundation, Rakotondrazafy joined the Madagascar Locally Managed Marine Area Network (MIHARI), an organization that aims to represent marginalized fishing populations and work with them to create locally managed marine areas (LMMAs). Through these LMMAs, local communities can manage and protect both their own fishery practices and biodiversity by combining their traditional knowledge with the support of conservation practitioners.
Let’s make this new, even-more-digital-than-before time we are in an opportunity to create a global, online conversation and remind our fellow citizens of planet Earth that there are so many things both worth celebrating and fighting for
Water insecurity is an increasingly relevant issue for many people around the world and here in the U.S. as a result of our changing climate. Inspired by both droughts in California and water access in India, Shreya Ramachandran has made it her mission to tackle these problems through the use of greywater. In addition to conducting her own research, she has created her own nonprofit, The Grey Water Project, to educate and provide resources to diverse audiences on water recycling at home and in the workplace.
Sophia Kianni is a college freshman who already is making big strides in the world. While visiting family in Iran, Sophia witnessed first hand the gap in knowledge about climate change due to information being solely in English and differences in media coverage. Last year, she founded Climate Cardinals, a nonprofit that through the work of global volunteers translates climate science and research in an effort to break down language barriers. Kianni’s involvement does not stop there as she is also a member of the UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change and hosts her own podcast on the intersection of fashion and sustainability.
Sruthi Gurudev’s love for the ocean has led her to pursue a career in saving it. From serving as a Global Goal ambassador in her community to becoming a National Geographic Young Explorer, Sruthi’s commitment to the sea and the planet has helped her find a path into conservation. She is currently heading up an exciting project in the form of an e-magazine called “An Hour in the Deep,” which uses eco-journalism to promote youth engagement and innovation in ocean conservation.
James Miller is a first-year University of Cambridge student with a passion for wildlife and conservation. An aspiring nature presenter and filmmaker, James has put his interests into action by helping to engage others in the protection of biodiversity. He has also become an avid youth climate advocate, leading him to get involved in environmental policy within the UK and globally.
Fred Tutman has dedicated decades to grassroots efforts to keep the Chesapeake Bay region's vast waterways clean. He is the longest-serving Waterkeeper in the Chesapeake Bay region and the founding Patuxent Riverkeeper. There are over 300 Waterkeepers on six continents with nearly half located in the United States – and Tutman is the only African-American Waterkeeper in the country! He's shared his experiences in this field with Smithsonian's Earth Optimism both at our 2020 Digital Summit and during a Folklife Festival collaborated event. Here we talked to him once again about how grassroots causes can empower communities and promote diversity in environmental movements.
In this multi-part series, the Smithsonian's Conservation Commons takes a look at how capacity building and local community involvement are key to continuing conservation during the current pandemic.
We know that story of what will happen in the coming decades and centuries... what's different about where we're going has to do with the rate of these changes and the biodiversity at hand.
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