Honolulu, Hawaiʻi – The Stone Soup Leadership Institute recently announced Representative Nicole E. Lowen as one of the recipients of the Cronkite Award for Climate Education. With this award, the Institute is honoring leaders who have led visionary legislation to integrate climate education into their state’s schools.
“It is truly an honor to be selected as a recipient of the Stone Soup Leadership Institute's Cronkite Award for Climate Education. Educating the public and younger generations on the urgent need for climate mitigation and adaptation is a prerequisite for effective action. Hawaiʻi is at the forefront of both experiencing the impacts of climate change and of implementing innovative policies to reduce the State's contributions to its causes; and the work and support of organizations like the Stone Soup Leadership Institute are an integral part of these efforts,” said Representative Nicole E. Lowen (D-7, Portion of Kailua-Kona, Honokōhau, Kalaoa, Puʻuanahulu, Puakō, portion of Waikoloa).
Other recipients of the award include:
· Connecticut: State Representative Christine Palm
· Massachusetts: Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer
· Massachusetts: State Senator Marc Pacheco
· New Jersey: First Lady Tammy Murphy
The Cronkite Awards will be presented at an official Earth Week event on April 20, 2023. Celebrities and VIP speakers will honor this year's award recipients at this hybrid live and virtual event in multiple locations. Global youth leaders will premiere a Call-to-Action video with an online pledge, inviting everyone to take action and bring climate education to schools. To register, visit the registration page here: Eventbrite link.
About the Cronkite Awards for Climate Education. Widely recognized as “the most trusted man in America,” Walter Cronkite believed that journalism was a higher calling. He felt a personal responsibility to use his platform as the anchor of CBS Nightly News to inform and educate ordinary people so they could make wise decisions about their future. Over 50 years ago he boldly covered the first Earth Day with the same passion he had for covering the moon landing, rallying more than 20 million Americans to join the emerging green movement. Mr. Cronkite served as The Institute’s honorary chairperson for over a decade. His wisdom, leadership, and vision of preparing youth as future leaders in their communities have inspired the Stone Soup Leadership Institute’s Cronkite Awards.
About Representative Nicole E. Lowen
Representative Lowen has served in the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives since 2012 and has chaired Hawaiʻi’s House Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection for the past five years. She has passed legislation to strengthen state policy on climate, decarbonization, energy efficiency, clean transportation, natural resource protection, and waste management; she founded Hawaiʻi's Environmental Legislative Caucus; and she is a member of the Hawaiʻi State Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council and the Sea Grant Advisory Council. In 2011, as staffer to Rep. Denny Coffman, she was the first person to support 16-year-old Trevor Tanaka and his Sustainability Resolution, which passed both legislative bodies in just 6 months, to require all public schools in Hawaiʻi to incorporate sustainability into their curriculum. In 2017, Rep. Lowen passed HR 30 to urge the Board of Education to create guidelines to incorporate climate change education in Hawaiʻi public schools curriculum, working with a class of fifth graders from a school in her district to bring this to fruition. Her advocacy of climate education is recognized by this award.
Why Climate Education? Scientists, universities, nonprofits, NGOs, concerned parents, and youth environmental leaders are working tirelessly to spread an urgent message: the next generation deserves the best educational tools to prepare them for their future – and to offset the impacts of the climate crisis. See IPCC Report.
Climate education affects us all: Business leaders of sustainability-oriented companies need help recruiting a trained sustainable workforce. Educators need educational tools and resources to train students for the transition to this sustainable economy. Young people want climate education in their schools so they can learn about how they can get green jobs to build a sustainable world. Media can educate ordinary citizens by spotlighting climate change and actions they can take in their communities.
About the Stone Soup Leadership Institute: The Institute has been a leader in developing climate education tools, trainings, and initiatives to build a sustainable world for over 25 years (See our Case Studies.) The Institute’s Stone Soup Climate Education Curriculum brings to life the 100 stories in the book, Stone Soup for a Sustainable World: Life-Changing Stories of Young Heroes. It is aligned with NGSS and state standards. It is distributed directly to schools nationwide in partnership with Barnes & Noble.
To learn more about the Stone Soup Leadership Institute, visit: www.stonesoupleadership.org and www.CronkiteAwards.com.
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