Gen Z Claps Back at Climate Doomers: Youth-Led Activism in Education Reform
Season 3: Episode 10
Climate and social systems are profoundly connected.
Interconnectedness, in turn, can be an overwhelming double-edged sword—an ‘infobesity’ that buries clear paths forward to act against the systemic climate inequities rippling across society. In Sage Lenier’s justice-oriented activism, she has come to find that environmental education is largely non-existent. Perhaps, the biggest stopgap is that no one knows about the problems that make up the larger problem. This is what Sage sees as a barrier to the climate movement gaining traction: a lack of quality education.
Sustainable & Just Future salvages the demoralization within climate change into an educated understanding of the ecological systems that sustain us. On this episode, we are joined by a Time's 2023 Next Generation Leader and YPCCC Public Voice Fellow, whose work creates huge strides within Project Drawdown’s Education and Equity by reforming education systems with student-led climate initiatives and advocacy campaigns, educator-led curriculum (re)design and digital programming. For-youth-by-youth dissemination of knowledge translates Gen Z solutions into meaningful shifts toward reforming the ways all generations sustain the health, equity, and quality of our natural resources and the planet.
Listen to this episode on: Spotify, Apple, Google and other places you get your podcastsAbout our guest
Sage Lenier is a young climate activist focused on justice-oriented environmental solutions. At 19 years old, she founded Sustainable & Just Future, which has enrolled 1,800 students and counting at UC Berkeley. In 2023, Sustainable & Just Future is now a nonprofit rapidly expanding to bring the vision to a global audience.
On the web
Resources from the episode
Cradle to Cradle book
Solutions for a Sustainable & Just Future Course
Find more about how to teach climate design in your classroom at www.climatedesigners.org/edu
Music in this episode
Nature sound effect by bbc.co.uk – ©2023 BBC
Theme music by Casual Motive
Design Team
Consulting
Climate Design Assignments
At the end of each episode, we ask our guests what their ideal climate design project would be. They have four weeks with a class full of design students. We translated their response into a project brief that you can use for your class.
