Looking to start your journey to sustainable living as a family? Begin this coming Earth Day weekend with a series of virtual workshops and events all about the what, how, and why of environmentally conscious living. Eight educators, scientists, sustainability advocates, and parents have teamed up to create the Sustainability & STEM Virtual Earth Day Summit, sharing practical activities and engaging lessons for kids and families!
About the Sustainability & STEM Virtual Earth Day Summit
The summit is a 3 day virtual event, offering a variety of programming and workshops for all ages, from preschoolers to grandparents. Our amazing team of presenters have put together lessons, guided experiments, activities, storytelling, and family challenges to explore sustainable living, the science behind it, and why it matters to our communities and the planet.
Ticketing Information
All proceeds from the Sustainability & STEM Virtual Earth Day Summit will be donated to Backyard Basecamp, a non-profit organization based in Baltimore, Maryland. Their mission is to inspire Black, Indigenous, and all People of Color (BIPOC) across Baltimore City to find nature where they are and empower them to explore further.
There will also be great prize packs available for attendees to win! Stay tuned for more information.
Donation-Based Tickets: Includes access to all virtual events including printables and post-event recordings. Participant families can “pay what they wish” for this ticket. We recommend a $5 donation per participant but welcome you to pay what works for you and your family.
VIP Tickets: Access to all live events, printable materials, and post-event recordings, PLUS a swag box filled with supplies needed to conduct all of the hands-on STEM workshops (building a solar powered bug, building and growing a sprout house, mining for “coal” and cleaning up an oil spill), as well as some awesome surprises for the whole family! Purchasing this ticket provides you with an organized box of all materials needed for each hands-on workshop, with a few added surprises, delivered directly to your mailbox prior to the event! VIP Tickets are limited and offered at a cost of $35 USD.
Programming and Schedule
From hands-on science activities and engineering challenges for children of all ages, story-times for preschoolers, discussion forums on intersectional environmentalism, workshops to guide you on going zero waste with kids and composting 101, our program of events is filled with informative, interactive workshops.
- Story-Time for Preschoolers: Read aloud of some curated children’s books on sustainability and Earth Day, as well as reading suggestions for your young environmentalists. (Ages pre-K to 2nd)
- Composting for Kids: A hands-on investigation of nature’s recycling system, complete with a sorting activity and “what doesn’t belong” game! (Ages pre-K thru 5)
- Get Growing: Build and grow a sprout house to discover the wonders of planting seeds and growing your own food. (pre-K thru 5)
- How to Become an Eco-Activist: Join the discussion with young environmentalists on why they’ve chosen to take a stand for Mother Earth and how you can, too! (Ages middle school/high school)
- Family STEM Challenge: Gather up your family and get ready to upcycle household materials into a windmill in this engineering challenge! (All ages)
- Science Exploration of Non-renewable Resources: Mine for “coal” and clean up an oil spill to learn the negative effects that these sources of energy have on our health, and the health of all species that reside on this planet. (Ages pre-K thru 5)
- Going Zero Waste with Kids: Learn how to lessen your impact on the planet with easy-to-implement tips, including introducing your family to a trash audit. (All ages)
- Composting 101: Learn all the ways in which you can compost at home or in your community, as well as tips and tricks from a self-proclaimed composting nerd! (All ages)
- The Science of Solar Power: Build a solar powered bug in this hands-on science workshop and learn how solar cells work. (All ages)
- Intersectional Environmentalism: Learn how environmental pollution disproportionately affects BIPOC community members and how the demand for environmental justice and social justice are tightly linked in this candid Q&A session. (Ages middle school and up)
- Science is Everywhere, Science is for Everyone: Listen to marine microbiologist Dr. Jeanette Davis read aloud her children’s book and then learn about becoming a marine biologist. (Book: pre-K thru 2nd grade; Discussion – all ages)
Meet the Presenters
Medinah Eatman
Medinah created the Earth Day Virtual Summit. She is an educator, content creator, wife to her superman and mom of 2 boys. She’s passionate about sharing a love for science through fun, hands-on and adaptable activities for children of all ages!
Through her business, Science Teacher Mom, she delivers high-quality and engaging STEM Kits to help homeschooling parents and teachers to engage students in learning!
Jess Purcell
Jess, the founder of Thoughtfully Sustainable, is a Chemistry teacher turned stay-at-home Mom who is passionate about making the science of sustainability accessible to all learners. She creates simple sustainability science experiments that can be done at home in an effort to teach students of all ages how interconnected humans are with the rest of the natural world.
Brittany Jefferson
Brittany is a Black Indigenous woman, parent, and teacher based in Los Angeles, California. She also advocates for sustainable living and environmental justice through her lifestyle and education brand, Teacher Mom Chronicles, a lifestyle brand with a focus on exploring the interconnectedness between identity, sustainability, intersectional social justice, and climate education.
Jen Panaro
Jen, creator of Honestly Modern and founder of WasteWell, is a self-proclaimed composting nerd and advocate for eco-friendly living for modern families.
Honestly Modern is home to myriad ideas about how families can incorporate low waste and sustainable habits into everyday living. Through WasteWell, she aims to make composting cool and more accessible to everyone.
Sajeeda Chin
Sajeeda is an HBCU grad, educator, avid traveler and lover of all things sustainability. She studied Civil Engineering at Howard University then moved on to earn a Masters in Sustainability in the Urban Environment.
She is passionate about spreading the love of STEM and STEM education to all students, so she switched gears and currently teaches Precalculus and Calculus to high school students in the Bronx to bring all her knowledge and experience to students in NYC.
Maranda Miller
Maranda, a Kentucky native, resides in the Bronx, New York, with her two children (ages 11 and 16). Maranda loves being outdoors, doing yoga and works in higher education specializing in academic support and STEM education.
The family started a zero waste and plastic-free journey in December 2018 to ensure that Mother Earth is around for them and future generations. Maranda turned her passion into EcoBronx, a zero waste online shop and store in the Bronx, to help others pursue low waste living.
Dr. Jeanette Davis
Jeanette is a marine microbiologist, ocean policy advisor, and author of the bestselling children’s book Science is Everywhere, Science is for Everyone created to explore and diversify science. Her specialty includes using environmental DNA (eDNA) and other molecular tools for marine drug discovery. Currently, she uses these tools and other scientific skills for decision making and management of ocean resources in government.
Sarah Robertson-Barnes
Sarah, founder of Sustainable in the Suburbs, is a freelance writer, educator, and consultant. She lives with her husband, two sons, and their rescue dog in the Toronto suburbs. Sustainable in the Suburbs is a blog about living low waste with kids in a culture of convenience.
sustainable in the suburbs 
Sustainability & STEM in Virtual Earth Day Summit will be crucial. Thank you 😊
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