Boston Climate Dialogues: 3 Fall Events
By Ruth Wong
EGC is excited to partner with Northeastern University and Vibrant Boston to promote practical dialogue on climate change and resilience in Boston communities. We are opening three of our fall sessions to the public, to broaden community knowledge and collaboration with Christian leaders engaged in climate resilience work.
ABOUT OUR COLLABORATION
EGC is one of Northeastern University’s Service Learning Opportunity sites, and this fall we are learning alongside students in a Climate Change & Society class, taught by Sociology Professor Sharon Harlan. We are exploring together the possible impacts of climate change in a Boston neighborhood and how the community can become more resilient to environmental change.
Northeastern also has interest in engaging youth and residents from a Boston neighborhood. With our existing collaboration with Vibrant Boston, EGC helped facilitate a three-way partnership for this class.
Vibrant Boston is a free drop-in program based in Boston’s Lenox-Camden neighborhood of the South End /Lower Roxbury area. They provide the youth and their families living in this well-documented high crime community with support, enrichment, and opportunities based in a Social and Emotional Learning approach. Vibrant Boston programming covers a broad spectrum of services, including homework help, sports activities, career exploration, job opportunities for both teens and adults, and therapeutic classes in the arts.
OUR GOALS
Our three-way collaboration seeks to:
empower Vibrant Boston, and the residents of housing developments surrounding it, to learn about the potential impacts of climate change on urban communities, including their own
become more informed about climate change and how we can support Christian leaders’ involvement with the city of Boston’s climate change initiatives
promote a constructive dialogue about resilience within the community, with other communities, and with city government
provide opportunities for Vibrant Boston youth to interact with Northeastern students for mutual learning and relationship-building that are beneficial to both groups.
encourage Vibrant Boston youth’s aspirations for a university education
EGC staff and Vibrant Boston youth will attend eight sessions of the Northeastern Climate Change & Society class to learn and dialogue about climate change and its impact on urban communities.
“Decisions are being made now about climate mitigation and adaptation that affect how people will live in the future climate. There are significant social justice problems involving human capabilities and adaptive responses to climate change that must be addressed at local, national, and global scales. We will examine how communities are striving to adapt and prepare for the climate of the future. - excerpt from the Climate Change & Society course syllabus, Northeastern University
You're Invited!
Three guest speaker sessions are open to the public. We welcome residents from Boston and area churches to participate with us as we hear from key Boston leaders addressing this issue.
Learn with us! Join us in becoming more informed and ready to support local leaders doing important climate resilience work in our neighborhoods and city. Please mark your calendars for these fall events!
1. Is Boston’s Climate Changing? Are We Prepared?
Mia Mansfield
City of Boston Office of Environment, Energy and Open Space
Reading Assignment: Climate Ready Boston Report
Monday, October 23 @ 3:15PM
2. Connections: Race and Climate Justice
Rev. Mariama White-Hammond
Bethel AME Church
Reading Assignment: Bridging Boston’s Racial Divide by Blanding
Monday, October 30 @ 3:15PM
3. Resilient Communities: East Boston Sets an Example
Gabriela Boscio & Melinda Vega
Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, East Boston
Wednesday, November 8 @ 3:15PM
Take Action
RUTH WONG
Ruth is passionate about creating learning communities for churches and leaders across racial, socio-economic, and denominational lines. Director of the Boston Education Collaborative, Ruth collaborates with the Boston Public Schools to foster partnerships between schools and faith-based institutions. Every summer, Ruth also teaches at an engineering program at MIT for high school students.
How Are We Doing?
