Letter from the Executive Director

This month we are hosting a small group of European students studying climate change and sustainability through the University of Minnesota at Will Steger’s Homestead in Ely, MN, revising our Educator Resource binder in preparation for our Summer Institute, and gearing up for August’s educational events and Midwest youth summit.

With your support, we can continue to fight climate change and push for solutions. You can support us this month in a variety of ways!

Support our work through Chase Community Giving – vote for us on Facebook – we only need 900 votes to be in the top 200 nonprofits that are eligible to receive $20,000 – Expires Today.

Know an educator? Tell them about our Summer Institute for Climate Change Education – participants can join in person or via webinar.

You can also contribute to us directly – online or in the mail.

Finally, if you are in Minnesota, join us as we host Dr. Naomi Oreskes, climate historian, on Wed. August 11th at 5 p.m. at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs for a private reception preceding a free public forum at 6 p.m. Learn more about our special guest and her newest book in this article.

Thank you for your interest and support of our work!

Nicole Rom
Executive Director

Emerging Leaders

WSF Hosts Youth Coordinator for Green Schools Summit

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Ethan Buckner back to the Will Steger Foundation for the summer! As a high school senior, Ethan worked closely with us to co-found YEA! MN and organize Minnesota Powershift in 2008. Now a sophomore at Vassar College in NY, Ethan is continuing to pursue his passion for climate justice. As a member of the Sierra Student Coalition, Ethan helped orchestrate a youth delegation to the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen last December, and in a similar vein, organized a volunteer delegation to Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake devastation. Ethan will be working closely with our new YEA! MN Coordinator to plan a youth climate leadership summit in partnership with the Will Steger Foundation, the Alliance for Sustainability and the Green Charter Schools Network, to be held in Minneapolis, Oct. 24. For more information contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Meet our new YEA! MN Coordinator!

We are proud to introduce our new YEA! MN Coordinator, Richmond Appleton, who will be working closely with the student steering committee throughout the coming school year, supporting student led projects in high schools across the metro, and engaging a wider circle of schools in the YEA! network. Richmond is a recent graduate of Augsburg College, pioneering a major in Environmental Sustainability. He has a background rich with experience in youth work, community service, and sustainability initiatives. Welcome Richmond! For more information on the YEA! MN program contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Midwest Youth Gathering, Chicago - August 3

Key student leaders from colleges and universities across the Midwest will gather at Loyola University in Chicago, August 8th, in conjunction with the RE-AMP Annual Meeting and Energy Action Coalition National Training, for a day of resource sharing, coalition building, and strategic planning. The Will Steger Foundation has played an integral role in regional youth collaboration on climate change solutions, through our Emerging Leaders Program and partnership with the RE-AMP network. For more information on the Midwest Youth Gathering contact Abby Fenton.

Education

Top Five Reasons to register for the Summer Institute for Climate Change Education!

1. Be the first to try out a lesson from our new curriculum project, Minnesota’s Changing Climate funded by Minnesota's Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund!
2. Fabulous food donated from Valley Natural Foods, Birchwood Cafe, Linden Hills Co-op, French Meadow Bakery & Cafe, Peace Coffee, and Stonyfield Farm.
3. Keynote speaker Naomi Oreskes; climate historian and author.
4. A new presentation by Will Steger on his history in online adventure education.
5. Networking with other educators integrating or hoping to integrate climate change education into their classroom.

Register today at www.willstegerfoundation.org

In The News

Will Steger gives the Hamline University commencement address for both the undergraduate and graduate classes of 2010. In addition, Will is presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Science degree from the University's president.  Here is a short segment of Will's presentation to the undergraduate class of 2010.
Nicole Rom, Executive Director of the Will Steger Foundation is featured on the Medicom Newsleaders program with host David Gillette. Click here to video Nicole's segment.
Will Steger will be a featured speaker at the Education Minnesota Professional Conference. The Education Minnesota Professional Conference takes place Oct. 21 and 22 at Saint Paul RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul. It is free and open to the public; no registration is required. Click here for more details.
Kristen Poppleton, K12 Education Program Manager for the Will Steger Foundation is featured on the Mediacom Newsleader program with host, David Gillette. Click here for more details.

Action!

Help support the Will Steger Foundation this month by voting for us in Chase Community Giving’s contest, which expires July 12th! 5 million will be shared by 200 local charities…but which 200? Your votes will help decide! Get all of your Facebook friends involved! Click Here to cast your vote.

Mark your calendar for the 10-10-10 Global Work Party with our friends at 350.org!

From Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org:

“Circle 10/10/10 on your calendar. That's the date. The place is wherever you live. And the point is to do something that will help deal with global warming in your city or community. We're calling it a Global Work Party, with emphasis on both 'work' and 'party'. On 10/10/10 we'll show that we the people can do this--but we need bold energy policies from our political leaders to do it on a scale that truly matters.  The goal of the day is not to solve the climate crisis one project at a time, but to send a pointed political message: if we can get to work, you can get to work too--on the legislation and the treaties that will make all our work easier in the long run.”

Photo of the Month

Will Steger sends a report back to schools during the International Arctic Project expedition in 1995, while crossing the Arctic Ocean.