Climate Action Week

About

Join us for the inaugural Climate Action Week at Case Western Reserve University, March 18-25, 2022. The basis for hope is the urgency of action. Help us broaden the discussion on climate action on campus and in the community. Want to link a relevant event already planned to Climate Action Week, email the details to climateactionweek@case.edu.

Commit to personal actions during Climate Action Week here.

In advance of Climate Action Week we are hosting an Art & Multi-media Contest, cash prizes available, submissions were due March 11, now extended to Sunday, March 20, 11:59 pm, details below.

2022 Climate Action Week Schedule

Friday, March18

• CWRU Climate Action Week Keynote Event
  3:30-4:30 pm, Strosacker Auditorium
  Please mark your calendars and plan to join us to hear from Sonia Aggarwal, Senior Advisor on Climate Policy and Innovation at the White House. 
  Registration

Saturday, March 19

• 2022 Liberation Lab: A Social Justice Teach-in on Abolition and Environmental Justice
  Join CWRU's Social Justice Institute and the InterReligious Task Force on Central America to learn about critical human rights issues and to practice hands-on organizing and communication skills to work for peace, justice and human rights—here and across the hemisphere.
  11-3:00
  Link for more info.

• CCEL Student Volunteer Opportunity with MedWish
  8:30 am -12:30 pm Off-campus
  MedWish collects and delivers medical supplies to those providing medical care in developing countries. Volunteers will help sort materials into categorized bins for future shipments.
  Register

Sunday, March 20

• Sunrise CWRU Orientation & Skills Training
  Will feature modules on the politics of the climate crisis, building a movement that can win, and effectively using key organizing skills. We hope this training will be an opportunity for folks to spend part of climate action week taking a deep dive into the root causes of the climate crisis and how we can fight for a livable future through collective action.
  10-5:00 or as much time as you can give
  Register

Monday, March 21 - Mobilization

• Student Climate Activism at CWRU
  12-1:00, Tink, Senior Classroom
  Sunrise CWRU and other student groups that focus on sustainability, activism, advocacy, and organizing will host a lunch discussion on the past, present, and future of student climate action on campus.
  Register

• Student group tabling opportunity in Tink
  11:00-1:00 pm, Tink Atrium
  Come visit the many sustainability & climate related student groups on campus
  Email sustainability@case.edu to reserve a spot

• Green Bag Lunch — Join us to Talk about Starting a School or Department Green Team
  12-1:00, Virtual
  Register

Tuesday, March 22 - Transportation 

• Swetland Center for Environmental Health Seminar: Increasing Our Understanding of PM2.5 Particulate Pollution Monitoring Through a Network of Low-Cost Air Quality Monitors
  9:00-10:00 am, Virtual
  Particulate air pollution, especially fine particles (PM2.5), can have a profound impact on health. Unfortunately, existing particulate pollution monitoring systems are limited. The presenters will share their experience deploying and operating 50 air quality monitors across the region and building an integrated data and visualization website.
  Register

• Introduction to Transit Activism
  11:00-12:00, Tink, Senior Classroom
  The quality of transportation and its potential impact on sustainability is deeply tied to policy and advocacy. This event will familiarize attendees with the current state of transportation activism and empower them to have an impact in creating a more accessible, equitable, and sustainable transportation future.
  Register 

• Climate, Transit, and Societal Implications Panel Discussion
  12:00-1:30, Tink, Senior Classroom
  This conversation will center the intersections of transit and mobility access with housing, environmental justice, and sustainability. Through a dialog that presents these topics in a regional context, attendees are invited to envision a more sustainable future and identify opportunities for next steps.
  Register

• Transit Action Plan Workshop
  3:30-5:00 pm, Virtual
  This workshop will serve as the first in an ongoing conversation about transportation-focused sustainability initiatives at CWRU. Beginning with stakeholder mapping and goal setting, we will begin identifying a path forward to help induce meaningful cultural change around mobility and accessibility.
  Register

Wednesday, March 23 - Water 

• Research Lunch: "1492 & the Beginning of Planetary Injustice"
  11:30-1:15,  Crawford Hall, Room A-13 
  Join the second spring 2022 Social Justice Research Lunch Series w/ Jeremy Bendik-Keymer, PhD of CWRU (Professor of Philosophy; Senior Research Fellow, Earth System Governance Project, Universiteit Utrecht) 
  Please RSVP to socialjustice@case.edu (preferred) or 216-368-7568. Space is limited.
  Link to SJI Events Page

• Cleveland Tap Water vs. Bottled Water Taste Test
  11:00-1:00, Tink atrium table
  Come and take the taste challenge and learn a little about the positive benefits of tap water

• Mend Not Spend 
  6:00-8:00 pm, ThinkBox, 3rd floor
  Tired of buying new clothes? Come join the Student Sustainability Ambassadors and other student groups to learn how to mend your own clothes! Bring clothes that need a fix or update.
  Register

• Climate Change and Health General Body Meeting, Partners in Health Engage
  8:00-9:00 pm, Thwing 301
  Join Partners in Health for conversation on climate change & health
  Register

Thursday, March 24  - Energy 

• The Media and Energy in the Age of Climate Change and Disinformation; a Conversation with Kathiann Kowalski
  12:00 -1:00, Tink, Senior Classroom
  Register

• Electricity Diet Afternoon Event, TBA

Friday, March 25  - Food 

• Clean Catering at CWRU: Healthy & Low Carbon
  12:30-2:00 pm, Tink, Senior Classroom
  University Wellness guest experts & the Office of Energy & Sustainability are teaming up to share info on reducing your catering impact on people and the planet.
  Register

• CCEL Student Volunteer Opportunity with MedWish
  1:00-5:00 pm Off-campus
  MedWish collects and delivers medical supplies to those providing medical care in developing countries. Volunteers will help sort materials into categorized bins for future shipments.
  Register

• Queer Craft Circle
  2-4:00 pm, Tink, Gaming Room
  The Student Sustainability Council is partnering with the LGBTQ Center to turn old food tins into flower pots, no RSVP needed

Climate Art & Multimedia Contest

Click here for all the details, submissions were due March 11, now extended to Sunday, March 20, 11:59 pm, cash prizes will be awarded. Thank you to the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence and our judges for partnering.

More Opportunities

• Participate in two new GOhio Commut challenges in which all participants can win great prizes! 

  • The Commute Mode Shift Challenge starts Climate Action Week and ends on April 1. Participants can accrue points by carpooling, working remotely, riding public transit, or utilizing active transportation options such as biking or walking.

  • The Bike Commute Challenge also begins during Climate Action Week and will remain open until April 22. Participants can accrue points by replacing their vehicle trips (commuting, running errands, etc.) with biking or an alternate non-carbon mode such as walking or e-scooter for up to 4 trips per day.

• Check out Spring into Cleveland with CCEL, amazing March 19 - April 2 volunteer opportunities for students, Link for info
   
• Volunteer with the Food Recovery Network (FRN)
  Food Recovery Network's mission is to fight waste and feed people. FRN recovers unserved food from dining halls around campus, then donates/serves it to shelters and churches in the community. Volunteers are needed to assist with recoveries and serving shifts during Climate Action Week. There are currently volunteer shifts available during the week and on the weekends. Weeknight shifts are at Leutner, Friday afternoon shifts are at Tink/Tomlinson, and Saturday shifts are at a local church. No prior FRN volunteering experience is needed! Email frnexec@case.edu with any questions.
  • Link to sign up for shifts or go to the website for more details

Opportunities to Engage After Climate Action Week

• Group Bike Ride to the Westside Market (Student Sustainability Ambassador Event), Saturday, April 2, 10-12:00
• Annual Rockefeller Park Stream Sweep (Student Sustainability Council & Doan Brook Watershed Partnership), Saturday, April 9, 12:30-3:00
• Campus Garden Community Event, Friday, April 15, 4:00 pm
• Group Bike Ride to Euclid Beach (Student Sustainability Ambassador Event), Saturday, April 16, 10-12:00
• Earth Day Event, Friday, April 22, 12:30-2:00
• CWRU Farm Vegetable Plant Sale On Campus, Mid May TBA
• CWRU Farm Volunteer Day, Saturday, May 28, 10-12:00

Special thanks to this year's Climate Action Week interns Paola Van Der Linden Costello and Benjamin George!