Letter from the Executive Director
As many of you begin your summer vacation, the Will Steger Foundation is preparing for a summer of learning opportunities. Be sure to mark your calendar for some great events!
June marks the first day of summer and we are definitely feeling the effects of a change in season with the onslaught of extreme weather in Minnesota and across the country. You’ve probably noticed a lot of media coverage on this topic and yet there is confusion around the difference between weather and climate. Kristen has written a great blog about the topic.
Our office is full this summer with two new undergraduate interns – Libby Fones who is supporting our Education Program and Summer Institute and Christy Newell who is collaborating with our Youth and Policy Programs to continue our work to defend the Clean Air Act from congressional attack.
We were proud to see that Governor Dayton vetoed a bill in late May that would have allowed more coal pollution in Minnesota, continuing our state’s clean energy path. You can read more about his action and the bill here. As part of our policy efforts, we are going to be focusing on the health implications of dirty air from global warming pollution this summer. We recently collaborated with a health professional and mother of two sons with asthma to participate in a series of education-related events for media and the general public. Coming up next week, Shawna Hedlund, MPH along with Representative Erin Murphy and Assistant Commissioner Aggie Leitheiser will join WSF and Environment Minnesota on June 21st for a Clean Air Green Ideas & Ham breakfast and discussion about the Clean Air Act. Please join us! Read more about the health implications from global warming.
Kind Regards,
Nicole Rom, Executive Director
Save the Date
August 11th: Panel Discussion with Don Shelby, J. Drake Hamilton, and Will Steger, moderated by MPR’s Kerri Miller. This summer we will host the panel discussion, Sense of Place in a Changing Climate at 7:30 pm, August 11 at the Town and Country Club in St. Paul. The purpose of the free public event is to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change on our state’s natural resources and what we as citizens can do through the personal stories and “testimony” of prominent Minnesotans.
Kerri Miller, MPR, and Don Shelby
Education
WSF Receives Donald Weesner Foundation Grant for Explore MN Biomes Kits
WSF is happy to announce that we have received a grant from the Donald Weesner Foundation, which will fund resource kits for each educator who attends our Summer Institute this August. The kits will include a digital camera, field guides and other outdoor observation tools. These resources will encourage students to spend time outdoors and give them tools to record their observations of the world around them. They can then upload these observations to our new online classroom, which will be launched this August. Participate in this exciting new project by applying for the Summer Institute today. The Summer Institute is free to attend and remaining spaces are limited. Please contact Ann Benson, with any questions about the Summer Institute.
Minnesota’s Changing Climate
Many thanks to Angela Rosendahl who helped align our new Minnesota's Changing Climate Curriculum with Minnesota Science Standards. Angela is a pre-service teacher in the National Center for STEM Elementary Education at St. Catherine's University.
Announcements
Congratulations to Dr. Naomi Oreskes who was recently named Climate Communicator of the Year 2011! We were lucky enough to have Dr. Oreskes as a keynote at our Summer Institute for Climate Change Education in 2010. Watch her talk at last year's Institute here.
Hear Will Steger speak and find the Will Steger Foundation booth at the 2011 National Education Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL on July 1!
WSF would like to recognize Paul Thompson who donated over 600 hours through his support for the YEA! MN program. Paul is the founder of Cool Planet, which he launched after 20+ years in Minneapolis public schools. The recent YEA! MN delegation to Power Shift would not have been possible without Paul's support, and is just one example of the invaluable contributions he has made to empower emerging leaders on the local front. Thank you Paul!
Emerging Leaders
YEA! Celebrates 4 Years of Youth Action
YEA! MN hosted it's year-end celebration and steering committee retreat, June 13-14, marking four years of successful youth engagement and leadership on climate change solutions. With a robust network of 25+ high schools across the Twin Cities metro, YEA! MN is connecting youth with mentorship, project resources, and access to policy makers, and providing unique opportunities for leadership development and action on a local, regional and national scale. The 2011-12 program year will kick off again in September and feature opportunities for youth leadership on the Clean Air Act, participation in the 350 Day of Action, and a focus on student-led projects on the high school campus. Stay tuned! Watch this video to see our YEA! MN students speak up at this year’s Living Green Expo.
Pittarak Expedition Crosses the Northwest Passage
Sarah and Eric McNair-Landry, members of our 2008 Ellesmere Island Expedition, arrived at Pond Inlet this past weekend, completing their expedition across the Northwest Passage. Relive their journey...
Sarah and Eric McNair-Landy - 2011 Pittarak
Northwest Passage Expedition
In The News
TPT-Almanac
TPT's Almanac program attends the 1986 North Pole Expedition reunion event at the MN History Center. David Gillette tracks Will Steger and other team members during the event.
Expedition News
For the first time in 25 years, the eight-person Steger North Pole Expedition team reunited in St. Paul for a two-day reunion slash love fest attended by hundreds of Minnesota fans.
Edina Patch
Will Steger Foundation Talks Climate Change. The organization spoke about climate change in the Arctic at the May meeting of the Morningside Women's Club. Their message: Earth's climate is changing.
Action
Protect Minnesota’s State Bird, the Loon, from Mercury Poisoning
Common Loons and their young are in jeopardy from toxic mercury pollution that contaminates the freshwater fish they depend on. Mercury pollution from coal-burning power plants settles into rivers and lakes, poisoning fish in the lakes where loons breed and raise their young. A damaging neurotoxin, mercury can harm the health and development of loons--as well as people--that eat contaminated fish.
Right now we have the chance to protect loons and other wildlife from toxic mercury pollution, because the Environmental Protection Agency is deciding whether to limit the mercury pollution that comes from power plants.
Speak up for the Common Loon, urging the Environmental Protection Agency to set strong limits on mercury pollution from power plants. Take action with the National Wildlife Federation.
Photo of the Month
As the school year closes, we wanted to share this video made by the Green Team from the High School for Recording Arts, one of our partners that uses our climate change curriculum during the day and works with YEA! Minnesota in their out of school time.
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