Dear Friends,
As the year 2019 comes to a close, we are thankful for all the people that are working towards a more sustainable future for all of us. We are proud to work with such amazing teachers and to partner with inspiring organizations to educate and empower students to take action to tackle the climate crisis.
We would also like to say thank you again to all of the individuals and businesses that supported us during Give Miami Day and helped us to surpass our goal for the year. We hope to continue to maintain your support as we develop new lessons and organize events to educate our community.
The 2020 year is now a few weeks away and we have been busy planning and organizing new and exciting opportunities for our students to participate in authentic experiences that put to action what they are learning through our Green Schools Challenge. Our partnership with the Ocean Conservancy and the City of Miami in their newly launched
Shores Forward
gives us an opportunity to engage not only local students through the City of Miami Mayor's Challenge, but also additional community outreach events through the WE-LAB workshops.
We invite you to read more about some of our upcoming initiatives and events below.
Sincerely,
Barbara Martinez-Guerrero
Executive Director
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City of Miami Mayor's Challenge
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The City of Miami and Ocean Conservancy have partnered with DIG to launch a Mayor's Challenge that will encourage students in Miami to explore water quality and conservation. This challenge will encourage schools within the City of Miami to participate in ocean conservation education.
The Mayor's Challenge invites schools to propose a project to promote water conservation and present their ideas through a 3 minute public service announcement (PSA) video. Top videos will receive up to $1,000 grants for implementation.
Click here to learn more.
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Climate change is one of Her Majesty's Government (HMG)'s priority policy areas. There is a significant amount of work being done across the US network to promote UK values on environmental issues through various channels to influence the public and private sector stakeholders. Despite these efforts, only 44% of US adults say dealing with global climate change should be a top priority for the president and Congress, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey.
Both the UK and US share the understanding of the need for quality environmental education for K-12 students. Therefore, starting in 2020, the
UK-US Green Schools Partnership Project will aim to create a collaborative program for students, in the US & UK, to engage them on issues of climate change, environment and sustainability, and to educate them on career opportunities in clean growth.
The
British Consulate gives advice and practical help to British companies looking to enter the US market, and to US companies looking to invest or establish operations in the UK. The Consulate works with leadership figures from across the region in politics and business to promote the exchange of ideas, policies and experiences ranging from climate change and low carbon economies to discussing the best ways to tackle the narcotics trade between the Americas and Europe. The Consulate also supports the work of the Governor in the United Kingdom's Caribbean Overseas Territories and provides consular and emergency preparedness assistance to British nationals visiting and residing in Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
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Parent Advisory Committee
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As our Green Schools Challenge program continues to grow, we are looking for parents of pre-K through 12th grade students that would be interested in helping us continue to improve the program. For the 2019-2020 academic year, we are creating a Parent Advisory Committee that will help spread the word about our program, advise with content, and help us fund-raise and plan events. If you are interested, or know someone who might be, please fill out the
Parent Advisory Committee Application Form
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DIG Team - Environmental Leaders
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Kayann Levien was born and raised in South Florida and is currently serving as a Public Ally. She graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2018 with a B.A. in Sociology. While at FAU she studied topics related to social issues like immigration, labor, class, and gender. These studies led her to develop a passion for nonprofit work, and the desire to help an organization spread their mission and vision. Prior to working at DIG, Kayann worked at many different nonprofit organizations throughout South Florida where she worked in a variety of roles ranging from communications to membership management.
Kayann joined Dream in Green through Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that develops the leadership capacities of young people. She is here to support the Green Schools Challenge in recruiting schools in underrepresented areas and creating a database of schools to help expand DIG’S reach. Kayann is excited for the opportunity to help Dream in Green’s mission to empower students to make changes in their communities, to respond to climate change, and find solutions to environmental issues.
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Briana Rushton is a senior at Florida International University (FIU) studying Sustainability & the Environment, with aspirations to become a Sustainable Architect and help development environmentally beneficial structures. She gained this interest in her 3rd year of high school while taking an Advance Placement Environmental Science course.
Briana has advocated for environmental justice and more advance sustainability initiatives on FIU campus and in the local community. She also grew her interest in environmental awareness through hands on volunteering in the Peruvian Amazon Jungle, doing jungle conservation.
For her Fall semester she decided to continue this interest by interning with Dream in Green, through FIU's Tropical Conservation Institute internship. Briana focused on the WE-LAB program while working with DIG; helping find essential information for presentations and workshops. She believes that through environmental education one can educate oneself while educating others.
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End of year Giving Campaign
(Dec. 16 - Dec. 31)
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Your generosity has the potential to make a big difference during this holiday season. When you make a donation to support our cause, you join a growing network of environmental stewards and leaders.
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Mid-year Meeting for Teachers
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Educators participating in this year's challenge are invited to join us on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 for our mid-year meeting. This two-hour workshop at the Center for Social Change will provide additional resources for teachers, host presentations by guest speakers and discuss successes & challenges of implementation.
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Thank you to our partners and supporters!
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