Hundreds of original research projects highlighted during the eighth annual RE Climate Symposium

“Tonight is a celebration,” said Head of the Middle School Pete Di Pace. “It’s an opportunity for learning and it’s an opportunity for our kids to showcase the skills and knowledge they have acquired over the past year, preparing for this evening’s events … This is a perfect example of what students can do  … to make the world a better place.”

Bond, an Associate Professor in the School of Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Howard and grandmother of RE student Olivia Rojas ’30, addressed students, parents and guests about her research on students’ changing attitudes toward sustainability. 

“I’m so impressed by the wonderful work being done here around climate change and climate education,” she said. “I give my congratulations to you.”

Before RE families departed to the Fernandez STEM Center, RE dance students performed “Into the Fire,” a piece inspired by the wildfires that devastated California and Hawaii, and Griffin Nelson-Montet ’25 read an original poem about coral bleaching inspired by his experience scuba diving with Coral Restoration Foundation with the Marine Field Research class. A number of sixth-grade students offered entertaining “project teasers,” stepping up to the podium to share glimpses at their research. Those students included: Ethan Siesel ’30, Dakota Hock ’30, Noah Lopes ’30, Marlo Sohn ’30, Elizabeth Fernandez ’30, Yifan Shen ’30, Gwyneth Rothfield ’30, Sasha Estefan-Coppola ’30 and Robby Thornburg ’30.

The audience also heard about students' efforts to promulgate their solutions from Luisa Abril '30, who described the social science endeavors including letters to representatives and public relations campaigns. She introduced the winning film from the sixth-grade environmental sustainability film festival, a short piece called “The Boy and the Otter,” by Estefan-Coppola that starred Izzy Greengrass ’30.

The student works displayed throughout the evening touched on dozens of topics, many involving interdisciplinary work, including reforestation, recycling, reducing methane gases, alternative energy sources, composting and much more. Find details about the student projects here.

“Tonight we are here to celebrate the environmental stewardship of our students, and showcase the incredible work that’s being done throughout Ransom Everglades curriculum, and to look ahead to our collective future, one that has not been written yet,” Director of Environmental Sustainability Kelly Jackson said. “As you will see by the hundreds of students’ projects on display tonight, a future full of hope, regeneration and innovation across nearly every aspect of our current lives.”

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