Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Start:Empowerment (S:E) was founded in 2019 when co-founders Kier Blake and Alexia Leclercq realized that while Climate Change Education (CCE) existed, most of it was focused on climate science and was situated primarily in STEM settings. Thus, S:E chose to center environmental justice (EJ) and cover environmental racism, rather than bolt on these perspectives (as many CCE programs did post-2020), thereby, defining S:E's unique approach. 

Moreover, the purpose of this approach demands accountability and answers to contemporary EJ issues through their organizing with frontline communities, in addition to their co-creation of program materials with affected and historically marginalized groups.

Situated at the nexus of EJ organizing and climate ed, we bridge the gap between education and action by creating accessible pathways for participants to not only learn conscious climate organizing but also build their awareness of the social-political-economic hegemonies that largely contribute to the climate crisis.

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How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

Replaces/avoids GHGs (e.g., projects that replace sources of GHGs, such as the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, transport, or other energy uses), Reduces GHGs (e.g., projects that reduce sources of GHGs, such as through efficiency or other changes in consumption), Removes/stores GHGs (e.g., projects that capture, sequester, or otherwise enhance the "sinks" that accumulate and store GHGs)

Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

Our project empowers those traditionally underrepresented in the climate movement by co-creating curriculum and educational events with what we call praxis educators ‚Äî knowledgeable women, BIPOCs, and youth organizers who come from environmental justice communities or historically marginalized backgrounds and have been applying emancipatory frameworks in their everyday work. 

Furthermore, we honor the communities we serve and the knowledge they have in both our curricula and educational events by emphasizing open discussion between praxis educators, Start:Empowerment (S:E) organizers, and learners. As such, learners, who tend to have a wide range of backgrounds (scholars, organizers, activists, concerned citizens) are able to be a part of the knowledge co-creation and exchange process alongside affected community members. 

Once learners have matriculated through our public educational events, skills training and/or in-school programming and curriculum, they enter our Youth Vanguard program. Here we convert engaged learners into mainstays in environmental organizing. By making critical environmental justice education, mentorship, and organizing skills training accessible, S:E fosters a cohort of organizers from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. Not just any fellowship, our Vanguard program offers organizers a $500 stipend to help them ideate, develop, and implement community-based projects alongside S:E to achieve change. Our Vanguards participate in further virtual foundational courses between NYC and ATX curated by BIPOC organizers, connect with both hyperlocal and well-known intergenerational environmental justice (EJ) networks, and gain access to pooled resources and mutual aid for themselves and their communities.

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