Me presenting about biomimicry at NNC! 🙂

I did a cool thing! On 04/30/22, I gave a 10-min presentation for the Nurture Nature Center’s (NNC) annual Youth Climate Summit on Biomimicry and Sustainable Development. The Nurture Nature Center (NNC) is an environmental nonprofit in Easton, PA that works to build “community resiliency to environmental risk by leveraging the power of informal science education, art-centered approaches to learning, and community dialogue and networking” [1]. For the past three years (including this one) they have hosted a Youth Climate Leadership program that strives to educate and empower middle and high school-aged students to become environmental changemakers in their community. Throughout the year, NNC holds monthly discussions and presentations on various climate and environmental topics. The program ends with the Youth Climate Summit which is a bigger one or two-day event. I had the honor of speaking at this year’s event alongside three other young inspirational women who share a passion for sustainability and climate justice. I am so grateful to have met each of these powerful women and learned so much from their talks. 

One of my independent study objectives was to spread awareness of my research in an accessible and engaging way. I attempted to do this through my brief presentation. Melissa Benzinger McGlynn, an Environmental Studies student at ESU, presented her vulture art pieces that change our understanding of them and all birds for that matter. Louisa Durkin, who manages an international climate data community, spoke about climate metrics and our social responsibility and ability to enact sustainable change. Finally, Melissa Morales, a former park ranger and Environmental Science major at Moravian University soon to be a master’s student at CSU, presented on the environmental conditions of the Delaware Water Gap. 

The recording for all the presentations can be accessed HERE. The diverse presentation topics and time slots are listed below:

  • Madeline Squarcia – Biomimicry and Sustainable Development [6:35-17:05]
    • If you would like to see the slides I used for my presentation (with minor adjustments), you can access them HERE. 
  • Melissa Benzinger McGlynn – Climate, Birds, and Art [17:30-28:45]
  • Louisa Durkin – What Success in Climate and Biodiversity Actions Look Like [29:00-40:30]
  • Melissa Morales – Climate Change and the Delaware Water Gap [42:35-54:00]
  • ***For more info on these talks and the Youth Climate Summit visit: HERE.

If you are ever in Easton, I HIGHLY recommend you check out NNC! If you’re not in Easton then check out your local environmental/justice-focused nonprofits that are making a difference in the community!