Now that the social and political contexts surrounding the need for a climate symposium have been established, understanding the background and details of the climate symposium blueprint will be helpful for those who are looking to use the blueprint as a guide to running the proposed climate symposium. Within this technical context, we will describe the steps taken to create the blueprint, establish the importance of the creation of a blueprint and give context and explain the ideas within the blueprint itself. These factors were explored via peer-reviewed research, as well as through conversations within the Lafayette community, and in conjunction with the Nurture Nature Center. This blueprint is meant to provide a frame of reference and starting point for the planning of the symposium. Our mission is to aid the Nurture Nature Center in meeting the goals laid out by the Easton Climate Action Plan and provide a framework for an event that could be scalable. The symposium would be made up of two main components: a keynote speaker and an interactive portion, similar to an activities fair, with activities and participation from local organizations and vendors.

Before we delve into the symposium blueprint, we want to begin by elaborating on three of our prior ideas that led to the creation of the blueprint. Our first proposal centered around a workshop focusing on Climate Change education for local K-12 teachers in the Easton Area. After looking at two studies (Ledly et al., Plutzer et al.), we concluded that teachers are not properly equipped with knowledge about climate change, and therefore cannot adequately teach on the topic. Currently, the Nurture Nature Center has workshops for teachers about data science education and we thought we could use the pre-existing template for workshops and apply Climate Change information to said templates to create new educational opportunities. The pitfall of this idea centers on not wanting to add additional work to educator’s already large amount of responsibilities. In addition, we believe that the same outcomes could be achieved outside of the classroom.

Our second idea was implementing a field trip series for students in the Easton Area School District. Parkinson et al (2003) studied how hands-on learning is an effective way to foster interest in students and can show long-term passion for a topic. Field trips are a great way to implement hands-on learning opportunities, as well as create a memorable outside-the-classroom experience. These field trips would be used to demonstrate local sustainability practices and climate change mitigation techniques that are being used in the Easton Area. Different locations could be used for different age groups due to the various levels of conceptualization. Some ideas of locations included the Allan P. Kirby Sports Center Solar Array, located at Lafayette College, the Nurture Nature Center’s Urban Garden, and LaFarm. The issue with a field trip series came with finding the time to take students to these locations, COVID concerns,  as well as cost impacts, not only on the school and the district, but on the students and their families. We believe that learning about climate change and mitigation techniques should be available to everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status. In addition, finding a time to visit these locations would require the planning and cooperation of a number of groups, and overall, the field trips may not end in a productive experience for the students and faculty that escort them. 

The third idea we had was to establish a sustainability club. The goal of the club would be to address projects that are student led to help the school become more sustainable. The downfalls with this idea is that it would require extra hours from both students as well as the faculty advisor for the club, and could potentially fizzle if there was a lack of student interest. In addition, funding would likely need to come from the school district, and this could pose an issue if there is a lack of funding, or too many clubs who require school funding. There could also be a partnership with Lafayette College’s student groups that focus on sustainability, but similar to the issue with high school students and interest, the same could apply at Lafayette. In addition, clubs are typically student driven at schools, and it would not make sense to place a faculty member at the helm. Similar to our first proposal, faculty members and teachers already have numerous responsibilities, which could mean the club may not get the attention due to the teacher being overworked. 

The Climate Symposium combines the best aspects of the prior three ideas without adding extra work to teachers, requiring funding through the School District, and finding time within the school day to teach about climate change. The Climate Change Symposium would be organized by the Nurture Nature Center, in conjunction with different groups at Lafayette College, which removes the burden from the Easton Area School District, would take place on a weekend, which removes the constraint of finding class time to educate students on climate change, and would contain both speakers and interactive activities to create learning opportunities for students. 

The Easton Climate Action Plan is taking a three-pronged approach to educating the community about climate change. These are sharing information “about new and expanded initiatives, public education campaigns, and important city actions with regard to the CAP”, “developing civic and environmental literacy in K-12 students”, and “continued transparency around the progress of the Climate Action Plan” (CAP). The symposium would fulfill the “developing civic and environmental literacy in K-12 students” and has the potential to fulfill the other two prongs of the initiative. 

In April 2022, the Nurture Nature Center hosted their first Climate Symposium, and our goal with this blueprint is twofold: to ensure the longevity of the symposium and its intention to meet the Easton CAP goals, and to ensure a lasting partnership between Lafayette and the Nurture Nature Center. This symposium is something that can not be done alone; collaboration between the Nurture Nature Center and Lafayette is crucial for continued implementation and success. As stated at the top of the blueprint, the desired educational outcome for the climate symposium is to inspire the next generation of students to combat climate change through increased education on the topic. In order to achieve this goal, it is important to have a strong organizational committee that represents the different stakeholders. 

The proposed Organization Committee is composed of the key stakeholders for the Climate Symposium. Kate Semmens and Madeline Squarcia from the Nurture Nature Center will likely be leading the committee and directing the organizational process. Dr. Cohen’s participation in the organizational committee is two-fold, first as the chair of the Engineering Studies Department and as the professor for EGRS 451, and second as a member of the Task Force. The Office of Sustainability is responsible for overseeing the Lafayette College Climate Action Plan as well as leading and implementing sustainability efforts at Lafayette. Their participation on the organization committee would be beneficial because they can provide insight into Lafayette initiatives as well as provide support to the Nurture Nature Center in the symposium. The Landis Center for Community Engagement at Lafayette can provide resources and aid to the planning process of the symposium. The Landis Center has a vast network that can aid in getting the word out about the symposium, utilize their community partners to help the symposium become a successful event, and help to get student volunteers from Lafayette College and the Easton Area School District. The proposed location for the symposium would be at the Nurture Nature Center, located in Downtown Easton. This location is easy to get to for Easton residents and has enough space for the keynote speaker, various booths, and other activities. 

For the keynote speaker, we wanted a local individual from Lafayette College who is focused on some aspect of technology or system that relates to climate change. The motivation behind bringing in a local speaker is three-fold: to showcase climate change and how it relates to Easton specifically, to bridge the Easton Community and the Lafayette Community, and to minimize travel costs and emissions for a speaker.

The list of proposed Lafayette College faculty each do research or work with students to mitigate climate change. All three of these professors fulfill this within different areas of scholarship, whether that be via a more technical route, such as polymer research, or a more sociotechnical route, such as education. By having a member of the Lafayette community speak at an event catered to the Easton community, it can create a new space of transparency between the two communities, and foster further communication in the future. Another reason for proposing a Lafayette College faculty member as the keynote speaker of the event is the benefit that it will have for Lafayette. It will not only provide positive press for the college and the department that houses the faculty member, but it also acts as a way to volunteer sustainably. 

Continuing with the theme of integrating the Easton Community, we are also proposing a list of Easton Partners who could play a role in the event, whether that be through sponsorship or by having a booth at the interactive portion of the symposium.

These potential partners embody different values that are important to the success of the Nurture Nature Center and/or are working to combat climate change. For example, Lehigh Valley Greenways is working through partnership to connect and conserve ribbons of green to enhance quality of life for those who live, work, and recreate in the Lehigh Valley. The United Nations has stated that “the number and quality of green spaces has the potential to mitigate short-lived climate pollutants that produce a strong global warming effect and contribute significantly to more than 7 million premature air-pollution related deaths annually” (UN). In addition to helping with climate change mitigation, greenspaces also increase the quality of life for those who benefit from them. The Karl Stirner Arts Trail states that “environmental sustainability and public stewardship of an urban infrastructure are defining factors in their philosophy” (KSAT). The arts trail aims to connect art and the urban environment with nature to promote a holistic view of the shared human experience. The KSAT is a unique area of Easton and uses a creative method to encourage the intersection of urbanism with nature, set in a unique location along the Bushkill Creek. The Easton Public Market is an initiative of the Greater Easton Development Project, an organization that strives towards making Easton “a national model of a livable and welcoming small city” (GEDP). Over the past two years the Easton Public Market has looked to become more sustainable, and has outlined some of their initiatives on their website, including adding solar panels to the roof. They outline what different vendors have been doing to become more sustainable and to be better stewards of the earth. We feel that these three groups would make excellent additions to the symposium, and could contribute more perspectives about climate change as well as what steps they have taken to become more sustainable. 

We have discussed the participation of a keynote speaker from Lafayette College, but we also wanted to ensure the participation of students at Lafayette. Below are a list of student organizations who we think would have a positive output for those attending the symposium, whether that be through tabling or a demonstration.

Other potential students who could make an impact within the activity fair would be students who are either in classes focused on sustainability or students doing research that has a sustainability component or focus. The class that immediately jumped to mind as a group that could aid in the symposium are the students in the EGRS 480: Sustainable Solutions class since, as part of the class, they undertake a project that aims to create a solution to a complex problem that has no defined solution. The symposium could be an excellent place for them to focus their time or for them to present the work they have done during the semester to a new audience.

In addition, the aforementioned professors would all be good contacts. The three professors to mention specifically are those who work within the Engineering Studies department at Lafayette: Professors Cohen, Nicodemus, and Sanford, since they have direct access to the Engineering Studies students and community.

When looking at who would work the event, we envision Alpha Phi Omega (APO) to promote the event and to provide volunteers for the symposium. APO is the service fraternity at Lafayette College, and after a conversation with President Ana DiFelice, they could provide volunteers for the event. Another source of volunteers, and one that would fulfill a CAP goal, is providing volunteer opportunities within the event to students within the Easton Area School District. Action item PE-2C in the Easton CAP states that there should be “volunteer opportunities for required community service hours and incentivize students to participate by getting a day off school or special honor at graduation” (CAP). By allowing Easton Area School District students the opportunity to volunteer, it will allow the Easton CAP to be one step closer to meeting its goals. 

Creating a partnership between Lafayette College and the Nurture Nature Center for the symposium makes sense for a variety of reasons. First, as stated before, this is a large undertaking and would only be made stronger with a partnership. In addition, the Nurture Nature Center already has tools and programs in place, such as a science division and an art division, and Lafayette has resources and different perspectives that lend well to the symposium. Also since this symposium is for the community of Easton, it makes sense to partner with an organization who is already recognized by the community. The Nurture Nature Center is known throughout the community and is respected for their work around climate change and flooding. The Nurture Nature Center does not currently have the staff to dedicate exclusively to creating a blueprint for the symposium, which is where the partnership between Lafayette and the Nurture Nature Center becomes beneficial. The desired outcome of creating a blueprint for the symposium is two-fold: lessening the work for the Nurture Nature Center and creating longevity for the symposium. As previously stated, the Nurture Nature Center is understaffed and would greatly benefit from someone else doing the legwork to get the symposium up and running.

The methods in which our group was able to finalize the symposium framework through a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach is indicative of the way climate change must be addressed. By using a collaborative approach and allowing students to put their mark on the problem, it creates new learning opportunities and can create a newfound passion within students. These students, who the symposium is targeting, are the future leaders and changemakers of the world, and it is our responsibility to give them the tools to succeed. This climate symposium is not the only way to educate students and their families about climate change, but it is a method that can be effective without burdening the school system or teachers. It also allows for more interaction and community building between Lafayette and Easton. This partnership can demonstrate to students a path forward in fighting climate change, as well as demonstrate to the greater Easton community some of the work surrounding sustainability that goes on at Lafayette. Furthermore, this symposium can demonstrate to students that they too can have an impact in their lives in fighting climate change, since, after our conversation with Kate Semmens, students understand climate change, they just don’t know how they can help in finding a solution.

Due to the increase in discussions surrounding climate change and with the recent creation of the Easton Climate Action Plan, it is important to look at the different ways to reduce the impact of climate change within Easton. By involving the community and educating them on not only climate change technologies, but also on how climate change will impact Easton, we are confident that it will inspire passion in the students who will become our future leaders. In addition, the work the Nurture Nature Center does is paramount to the success of the community becoming educated on climate change. 

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