KICK-OFF EVENTS

To celebrate the kick-off of the Clayton County Public Schools Climate Justice Summit & Challenge, 300+ student ambassadors from more than 18 schools across CCPS gathered over two days for information and inspiration to start off their Challenge strong! Below are recordings of each session on both days for you to watch and share with your teammates.

Kick-Off Events: January 12 & 30

Opening Sessions

Welcome and overview with emcee of the day, Robin Okunowo from the Captain Planet Foundation. Robin is also a scholar of environmental racism and climate justice.

Sofie Armenakian is the Director of Sustainability of the Atlanta Hawks, and explains why sustainability is important for everyone, including sports teams!

Janetta Greenwood is the K-12 Science Curriculum Coordinator for CCPS and the designer of the CCPS Climate Justice Summit & Challenge. In this session, she introduces the Challenge.

Climate Justice Pillars

A key aspect of the Climate Justice Summit & Challenge is to explore the climate challenges we observe, and the solutions we are designing through the lenses of the six pillars of climate justice. In these three sessions, we explored pairs of pillars -- Labor & Democracy with Hermina Glass-Hill of OCEANA; Land & Water with Robin Okunowo of Captain Planet Foundation; and Energy & Economy with Courtney Kimmel of CPF & Virginia Tech.

Regina Wallace is the K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator for CCPS. In this session, she introduces the Pillars of Climate Justice and how science and social studies work TOGETHER to solve problems.

Labor & Democracy

Hermina Glass-Hill provides a powerful overview of the role of Labor & Democracy in a just and equitable society, how many BIPOC communities have historically seen injustices in both areas, and what climate justice could look like.

Land & Water

Robin Okunowo discusses the critical role of Land & Water in creating livable communities, the injustices many BIPOC communities have faced, and the opportunity for Climate Justice in the EARTH theme by focusing on healthy land and water for all.

Energy & Economy

Courtney Kimmel discusses the difference between renewable resources and non-renewable resources, and how we can shift our energy & economy towards a more equitable future by focusing on clean and affordable energy.

Closing Session

Daniel Blackman is the Region 4 Administrator for the US Environmental Protection Agency. That means he represents Clayton County and the whole Southeastern US in federal environment conversations and negotiations. He joined us to let us know how important the work we are doing is for our community and our future.

What's Next?