EARTH DAY BOSTON

April 2024
see. hear. act.

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A Visual to Share For Earth Day 2020 Boston

Hello Earth Day 2020 Boston Supporters –

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and if you celebrated Easter, you found a way to connect with family. Attached is our flyer for Earth Day 2020 Boston. Please share widely!

Thank you to all of our partners, volunteers and donors. Without you, we would not be ready to go live next Saturday. I can’t wait to see you!

Michael

Going Forward

Hello Earth Day Supporter-

First, I hope you are staying healthy and social distancing. We must get through this “together at home.” Second, happy Passover for those who are celebrating this week.

Please continue to post pictures of nature to help build anticipation for the Earth Day 2020 Boston online event on April 18th with the hashtags #earthday2020boston, #earthrise and #strikewithus. Seeing these beautiful pictures lifts my spirits and I’m sure yours as well.

I hope to see many of you on Thursday at 7 pm for our Zoom call. We will be decided on some budget items and finishing our plans to Earth Day. Please RSVP at earthday2020boston@gmail.com so I can send you the Zoom link.

All my best,

Michael

Councilor Michelle Wu, Sierra Club MA, $$$ and March 12th

Tabling with one of our co-sponsors at the Local Environmental Action conference at Northeastern University. On the right – Vernon K. Walker, Board Member

Hello friends of Earth Day,

This is a good news/bad news message. First the good news: we continue to gain momentum for a huge turnout on April 18th and throughout Earth Week in Boston. This week Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu agreed to speak and the MA Sierra Club, Speak for the Trees Boston and the Islamic Society of Boston joined us as a co-sponsors.

The bad news: we urgently need your financial support. We are not reaching our financial targets. Bills are coming due and without your support, we will not be able push for a just transition away from fossil fuels. Help us send a strong message ahead of the 2020 election that climate change must be a top priority. Please donate here. If you’ve already donated, we thank you and ask you, can you add $5, $10, $20 to your contribution? Help send a message to the climate denier-in-chief that we can’t deny science any longer. Our future is at stake.

Speaking of science – Earth Day 2020 Boston and the March for Science Boston are joining forces! We stand with scientists in calling for climate action. As Greta Thunberg and the youth climate strikers have been saying – “we must listen to the scientists!” We look forward to organizing with them.

If you want to help us spread this message, there are two opportunities – this Thursday, March 12th at 5:30 pm and next Tuesday, March 17th at 5:30 pm at the Church of the Covenant to plan the 50th anniversary of Earth Day kick-off event. See you there.

Sincerely,

Michael

P.S. If you are wondering how the new Coronavirus will impact Earth Day events, we are too. We are monitoring the situation and will make plans accordingly.

Senator Markey, Sponsorships and Spring!

Dear Supporters,

I’m writing with some thrilling news about our most recently confirmed Earth Day speakers and sponsors, and with an urgent request for your help in raising the funds we need to pull off this event.

We are excited to announce that Senator Ed Markey will be one of our keynote speakers for the April 18th kick-off rally! Senator Markey is the Chair of US Senate Climate Change Task Force and chief sponsor of the Green New Deal in the Senate. He has been a leader on the environment for almost 40 years and we are exciting to hear his inspirational message for the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day.

We are also excited to announce that the American Federation of Teachers (MA) has endorsed our effort. That means we have the support of all public school teachers unions in the state. If you are a teacher and haven’t signed up to participate in stopping climate change, make sure you visit our “Take Action” page here to find out how.

At our last meeting, we endorsed business sponsorships because of our increased costs and short fall in our individual donations. We still need to raise $13,000 to make this event viable. Will you help us? Here is how:

  1. Make a direct donation or start your own donation page by clicking here.
  2. Help us find business partnerships willing sponsor the event. There are three levels of sponsorship:
  • Premier @ $10,000 for naming rights to the stage.
  • Sponsor @ $5,000 for a full page ad in the program
  • Co-sponsor @ $2,000 for 1/2 page ad in the program
  • Supporter @ $1,000 for a 1/4 page ad in the program

All of the above comes with exhibitor space at the event. Below is an example of the advertising available for the Premier-level sponsorship.

For business partnerships we are looking for businesses that:

  • Have a record of sustainability
  • Are not fossil fuels companies
  • Their mission and guidelines support sustainability
  • Support our agenda of stopping climate change
  • Support diversity and racial, economic and environmental justice.

If you know of a business that would be good for our event, please be in touch at earthday2020boston@gmail.com.

We hope you will join us as we continue to raise the alarm about climate change and seek to move forward with the agenda of frontline, faith and youth communities at the center of our efforts.

We have two meetings in March – on the 12th (Thursday) and 17th (Tuesday) to help us prepare for April. Both meetings are at 5:30 pm. Please let me know which you can attend.

Michael

P.S. The Massachusetts Presidential Primary is this Tuesday, March 3rd. Make sure you are educated about who will be a climate leader and vote!

Meeting Tuesday and New Location

Getting out the message in Chinatown this week.

Dear Earth Day Supporter,

We have our rescheduled February meeting for this Tuesday, February 25th at 5:30 pm at the Church of the Covenant.  We will be discussing and making decisions on a number of topics, including:

  • Fund Raising Goals:  
    • Where we are and where we need to be.
    • What kind of business donations to accept
    • We still need people who will start a fundraiser with us or make direct donations.  You can do this here
  • Finalizing the program. 
  • The Local Environmental Conference:  On Saturday, March 7th, we have a table and one free entrance to the Local Environmental Action conference.  Please email earthday2020boston@gmail.com if you would like to go and help us on that day.
  • Location – our permit for the Hatch Shell was denied, but we now have a space at the English High School in Jamaica Plain.  This has some advantages including being close to communities we hope to engage.

60 Minutes had a good story on the bushfires in Australia, where the Conservative former Prime Minister states “The right wing climate deniers treat an issue of science and physics and fact as though it was a question of ideology, and their conduct is not just idiotic,” Turnbull said. “It is downright dangerous. Dangerous for us here in Australia and around the world.” 

Check out this inspiring video and the invitation to educators below that helps support the work of young people.

I hope to see you Tuesday!

Sincerely,

Michael

Dear Colleague,

It is my pleasure to invite you to a new educational opportunity called YouthInFront: Understanding and Supporting Student-Led Activism, a free online learning offering to help educators support youth activism. You are among a special cohort of educators whom we believe would be interested in this opportunity, and have valuable feedback to offer.

If you’re interested in this free online learning offering, click here and answer a brief survey. 

We begin this endeavor on March 4, 2020, with an offering of the pilot Unit 1: Normalizing Student Activism. In this unit, we consider the history and importance of student activism, the rights of students as civic actors, and first steps in supporting youth civic leadership. The pilot is three weeks in length, self-paced, and offered on the CatCat platform. We estimate the amount of effort to be 2-3 hours per week, in addition to the completion of a final assignment. We are pleased to offer a stipend of $75 for those who participate in this pilot fully (completing all videos, readings, discussion, and activities) and complete a feedback survey and/or interview. 

The course is led by Meira Levinson from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Justin Reich from MIT’s Teaching Systems Lab, and Doug Pietrzak from FreshCognate LLC, with contributions from youth leaders, adult allies, and other experts who care deeply about youth activism. The project builds upon an online educational resource called YouthInFront.org, which was developed by volunteer youth and educators to support youth activism following the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida. 

Through documentary cases about youth activism, activities and exercises you can do in your own context, readings and resources, and a supportive online community, you will broaden your understanding of youth activism and learn and practice strategies for supporting youth. 

Thanks in advance for considering this exciting way to learn and engage with fellow educators. Your participation and feedback in this pilot will be invaluable as we continue to build the full course this spring. I hope many of you join us! 

— 

Justin Reich (he/him)

Mitsui Career Development Professor, MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing

Director, MIT Teaching Systems Lab

Google Scholar | @bjfr | 978-831-3046

Presidents and Meeting Wednesday

Dear Earth Day 2020 Boston Supporters,

I hope you had a great Presidents’ Day. The above image of President Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir, the “Father of the National Parks,” reminded me that protection of the environment is not, and does not have to be, a partisan issue. Republican President Teddy Roosevelt was an avid outdoors person and conservationist, thanks in part to his trip to Yosemite with John Muir in 1903. Richard Nixon proposed and signed into law the establishment of the EPA after the first Earth Day in 1970.

50 years later and two months before the Earth Day 2020 Boston, we are working to make sure that stopping climate change is at the top of the agenda of every politician – Democrat, Republican and Independent. Join us this Wednesday, February 19th at 5:30 pm in the Church of the Covenant at 67 Newbury Street to help make this goal a reality. This must be the year for strong climate action and with your help, we can make it happen.

You can also help us reach our fundraising goal by clicking here. We need your support as we go into the final phase of organizing the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. These donations help us make sure this event pushes our leaders to take action.

If you can’t come on Wednesday, please support our co-sponsors. Many groups have actions in the coming weeks. Please check out their websites for more information.

I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

Michael

P.S. If you can’t make it in person on Wednesday, but would like to call in, please let me know earthday2020boston@gmail.com.

Lunar New Year, Mass Teachers Association and Next Meeting

Signing up new members at the Lunar New Year Festival sponsored by Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. Welcome to the 25 people who signed up!

This weekend was an excellent weekend for Earth Day 2020 Boston. We had a great afternoon on February 2nd interacting with people during the Lunar New Year Festival sponsored by one of our partners – Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. Besides watching some great performances and sharing food, we connected 25 new people to Earth Day events.

We also earned the endorsement of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the largest union in the state with over 100,000 members. We look forward to working with educators K-12 and throughout the UMASS and community college system to take action for the climate. Our website already has a special section for educators to be connected to committees that focus on curriculum, supporting the youth climate strike movement, collective bargaining and partnerships with other unions.

Join us at our next meeting on Wednesday, February 19th at the Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street at 5:30 pm. Please let us know if you are coming so we can make sure to have enough chairs. (Earthday2020Boston@gmail.com)

Thank you so much for your continued support of our fundraising effort. With your help we can engage more people in climate action.

Michael

Lobby Opportunity

Hello Everyone –

A quick email to make you aware of a lobbying opportunity this coming Tuesday. Mass Power Forward (Sierra Club, 350 MA and others) is holding a lobby day at the State House to push for a clean energy future. If you are not working, check out this link for more information.

Also, please let me know if you can make our January 22 meeting so we can plan for your attendance. Details: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center at 100 Malcolm X Blvd. Roxbury. We will continue to work on our program, fundraising and outreach.

All my best,

Michael