Empowering the Future: Alliance for Climate Education visits Savannah, Georgia

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Inspired. That’s how I left Savannah this past weekend.

As an Educator for the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE), I get the opportunity to go to high schools and educate students with our award-winning presentation on the science behind climate change. But the best part of my job is inspiring these students to take action and find solutions, because we believe these students can have a meaningful impact now.

With that in mind, The Volta Collaborative invited me to come down to Savannah to present to some local high schools and attend the Design Ethos conference. So when the opportunity to present for a class at Savannah School of Art & Design (SCAD) came up, I pounced on it. These college students really amazed me with me their ability to take complex ideas and map them into a story. I left that classroom inspired by knowing that their innovation and creativity are our future.

Immediately after presenting at SCAD, I went over to Windsor Forest High School. Due to excitement in the air at the end of the presentation, I could tell we really inspired some of the students. But not only the students, the teachers as well. Several of them came up afterward to thank me for the work ACE is doing. They even gave me an Earth Day t-shirt. Score! The eagerness and excitement radiating from that school inspired me.

The Design Ethos conference blew me away. I never thought about how sustainability, social change, and design intersect in real life, but after attending this conference, I have a much better idea of how all those puzzle pieces fit together. Hearing some of the most prolific and world-renowned designers, authors, professors, and inventors, I have to ask; how could anyone leave that conference uninspired?

Being around all the creativity in Savannah left me truly inspired and ready to engage the ethos of the next generation.

About JD Prater

JD is the newest addition to ACE Colorado. In 2009, he completed his undergraduate career with a degree in History. While at Oklahoma State, he served as a research assistant in the Plant & Soil Science Department. Working alongside university professors, he conducted research on sustainable bio-fuels. In this capacity, he became exposed to the academic side of global climate change and gained a deeper understanding of the practical agricultural solutions that were being developed to combat the problem. JD spent the 2009-2010 academic year living in Egypt, first starting a Masters degree at the American University in Cairo, and then teaching history, geography, and drama at the International School of Choueifat. Studying in Egypt provided him with a fresh worldview and unique insight into Middle Eastern culture. In his free time, JD is an aspiring coffee roaster and an avid cyclist and runner. He looks forward to educating and engaging with Colorado youth in carbon reducing projects.