Around the world, Cornell fellows guide climate action

In 1990, half of Burundi – in southeastern Africa – was covered in trees; today, it’s only 5% to 10%. Its citizens live on maize, beans and tubers grown on small farms, with yields hampered by intense soil erosion and climate change.

“Our vision is to reforest Burundi and make our world free of climate crisis,” said Niyoyabikoze, whose group works with children, teens and young adults to plant trees. The Greening Burundi Project has set up environmental clubs in the country’s schools.

Last year, the Greening Burundi Project planted 40,000 seedling trees. The group is a long way from its goal, and Niyoyabikoze – whose social network are the participants of the Greening Burundi – said environmental education for children and teens is key.

“We often focus on young people,” he said, “to inspire them to take care of our planet.”

Other examples of fellows’ work:

• Sharin Naomi, professor at the Asian University for Women, and who lives in Bangladesh, chose as her social network women throughout central and southeast Asia attending her university, and worked with them to adopt a plant-rich diet.
• Avinash Acharya, a management professional from Bangalore, India, organized “Climate Save November” – a campaign to reduce the carbon footprint among 25 of his friends. They reduced food waste, ate locally, used mass transportation, walked and avoided using energy for food delivery.
• Fatima Delgado, a doctoral student from Ecuador, living in Barcelona, convinced local grocery stores to support plant-rich diets. She started the “Sustainable Tapas” brunches among her friends in an effort to change unsustainable eating habits. In three months, her climate-change social network grew to 34 participants, three events and 157 members.

“This is a unique experience for in-depth training and discussions with Cornell faculty and climate-concerned citizens from around the world,” Krasny said.

Marine biologist Gail Woon, founder of Earthcare in the Bahamas, finished the spring 2019 cohort last May, all while working to educate children and consumers on the benefits of LED lighting. But late last summer, Woon witnessed real devastation from the warming ocean, as it fed massive Hurricane Dorian. On Sept. 1, the Category 5 storm hit Grand Bahama Island.

Inside the whirlwind, Woon told the climate fellows on social media how the harrowing events and water surges unfolded. The Washington Post quoted Woon in three separate articles, even as the roof on the church shelter where Woon and others took refuge collapsed.

The Cornell fellows – through WhatsApp – kept tabs on Woon’s 40-hour ordeal.

“I am still living it,” she said. “I still cry … for my friends who did not survive this horrific climate-changed Hurricane Dorian. We must adapt, be resilient and drawdown this climate crisis. Try hard to convince government and company leaders that they have an important responsibility to listen to the youth and hold politicians to [task] on the climate crisis. We are living and dying proof of the climate crisis.”

This article also appeared in the Cornell Chronicle.