Artists for the Earth is a global campaign that aims to bring people and communities together to address environmental issues. Artists and art organizations have worked to reach the public on a personal level through art. This enables people to gain a deeper connection and understanding about what's currently happening to the planet. Artists for the Earth hopes to inspire many to start taking action. Here are some of the featured artists that have done breath-taking work through a wide range of media. 

In this piece, Jacki paints in virtual reality to capture nature in darker times. Watch the video below to see her work.

Amanda is an upcycle artist from Miami. She mixes yarn and different paints to create stunning pieces of plants and animals! Learn more about Amanda here.

Cath created PLOYS Apparel, which is a fashion brand that repurposes pool toys and keeps PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) out of landfills. She has made beach bags, lunch bags and much more! Check out her Facebook page here.

Jordan B. Jordan is a singer from Toronto who has released his debut single "Feast of May". This song is about how humans have destroyed the beauty of Earth over time, and how we can turn this around.

There are several ways you can use the arts to inspire change for the planet! Anyone can be an artist and has the power to create something impactful from nothing. If you need ideas on how to teach your students about sustainability with the arts, visit our arts page here. It's filled with amazing lessons plans, songs, raps, arts and craft activities, and much more!

Earth Day's 50th is coming up quickly, so why not celebrate by testing your knowledge of the planet? How much do you know about our own home? Find out in these amazing and fun quizzes from Earthday.org. Do these with your family at home or as an activity for your students!

Think you know all about whale conservation? Whale, go on and test yourself in this quiz! Learn about the threats to whales and the effects of commercial whaling. 

Species worldwide are facing many threats and are even on the verge of extinction. Take this quiz and discover issues you never knew could badly effect animals like sea turtles, coral reefs, elephants, and more.

Climate change is the planet's greatest threat, so it's important that everyone is aware of this. Test yourself on the Greenhouse Effect, food waste, and fighting climate change. 

Plastic is a huge problem that is negatively affecting our oceans. Microplastics are small particles that are being consumed by marine animals and also by humans. Find out how much you know about plastic pollution and discover things you never knew before in this plastic and pollutions quiz.

If you want to help the planet, try to learn about it first! Environmental literacy will help you understand the world around you and guide you to where and how you can save the planet. Learn all about Earth Day and environmental education in this fun quiz!

Deforestation is another one of the many threats to species worldwide. Learn all about the negative effects of deforestation and how it impacts animals and their homes. 

Clean energy is another important factor when it comes to saving the planet. It helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and helps climate change. Test your knowledge on all things clean energy with this quiz.

​With Earth Day's 50th coming up on April 22nd, it's important that we look back on what and who started this environmental movement and appreciate those in the past who started to fight for the future. Our future. 

There were multiple environmental issues going on leading up to the first Earth Day in 1970. Massive automobiles released high amounts of leaded gas, which was being consumed by million of Americans. Smoke and sludge began to pollute the environment due to manufacturing and production. This was a new idea at the time; previously, thick air pollution symbolized prosperity for the country and was not recognized as a concern for planet or human health. 

This is an original video from Earth Day 1970 Part 1: Intro (CBS News with Walter Cronkite). Earth Day was the result of action by people, who used entrepreneurial thinking to change the way things were done. 

Put on your entrepreneurial thinking cap. What are some environmental pollution problems that exist today? What are some things you can do? Be a part of history and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day! Earthday.org made it possible for everyone to participate right from their mobile device. Click here to learn more about how you can celebrate Earth Day's 50th from home!

Earth Day is on its way (April 22nd), and the world needs people to participate in celebrating its beauty and all the things it provides! Earthday.org created "Earth Challenge 2020", a global initiative that aims to engage millions of people worldwide to become a citizen scientist!

Earth Day was once the largest protest in the whole world back in the 1970s. A passionate movement, scientists, citizens of the world, and policy leaders have improved the environment by fighting for clean air and clean water laws. The environmental  threats we face today, like climate change and air pollution, are massive, overwhelming issues. Earthday.org and its partners are letting the entire world join the movement with "Earth Challenge 2020". 

​The Goals

Here are the two main goals of this initiative.

Do Your Part 

All you need is a mobile device! Download the Earth Challenge 2020 app, available here in the Apple app store and Google Play store. This app will enable you to become a citizen scientist by identifying the sources of problems like plastic pollution and climate change and contributing to existing data. Collect data by taking photos and report your findings. It's that simple! Your research will be submitted and displayed on a map in a database of over 1 billion data points.

Put on your entrepreneurial thinking cap. How can you convince others to think differently? This is your opportunity to become a part of an essential point in history by celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day! Students, teachers, parents, and organizations are teaming up to become citizen scientist, advance environmental research, and save the planet.

Learn more about "Earth Challenge 2020" in this interview with Kathleen Rogers, President of the Earth Day Network. 

Keeping our air clean is equally important for human health and the planet. According to EarthDay.org, harmful particles and chemicals have been infiltrating the air and continue to increase each year. This leads to serious health issues in the long term and has even caused millions of premature deaths throughout the world. This occurrence has also resulted in biodiversity loss and climate change. What exactly is causing these problems?

PM2.5 is a fine, particulate matter that enters the air due to things like dust and vehicle exhaust. At high levels, this creates a hazy appearance in the air. The bigger issue is that PM2.5 can travel very far across borders and regions. Clean air is declining overall, which poses a great threat to humans and the environment.  However, there have been some recent improvements of air quality.

With people worldwide social distancing and staying at home due to COVID-19, there has actually been an increase in cleaner air. Forbes Magazine reported on a study by Stanford scientist, Earth Systems Professor Marshall Burke. He stated that the worldwide lockdown may have saved more lives from air pollution than from the virus, especially with the decrease of air pollution in Wuhan, China. Moreover, Burke estimated that the decrease in PM2.5 may have saved 77,000 lives. 

​Scientists have estimated that over 100,000 people in the U.S. die each year from air pollution. Data from the the World Health Organization shows that 9/10 people breathe high levels of pollutants from the air and that air pollution kills 7 million people each year.

Earthday.org challenges everyone to become a citizen scientist and be part of the movement to improve air quality and save lives! 

First, download the Earth Challenge 2020 app, available here in the Apple app store and Google Play store. Take a photo outside and test your air quality, while learning about air pollution. You can even track air quality worldwide using the Citizen Science Air Quality Monitor. Also, sign the petition to demand that the United Nations prioritizes climate change and air pollution in the app! 

Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth who are working to limit the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as a whole to make a difference for the planet. ​

In this film, a young, indigenous Siberian girl named Anya notices that her home is melting right before her eyes due to the CO2 emissions causing global warming. With her passion to help preserve the beautiful nature of this region, she joins a team of scientists and collects data. She even shares her research findings with her school and teaching them about global warming. Watch the video below to learn more about Anya!

Entrepreneurial Thinking to Achieve the SDGs

Anya was not afraid to aim high and do what's right for her home and the planet. She used entrepreneurial thinking by joining the team of scientists and researchers in order to share the news with her students. This was a creative way to spread awareness in her community. 

How can your students spread awareness about the changes caused by global warming? They don't have to team up with scientists. There are many other ways they can reach out to their community. It could be something as simple as handing out flyers or creating programs and clubs at their school. Using entrepreneurial thinking is how they can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

For additional resources on teaching sustainability to your students, visit our page full of multiple resources here. Follow us on social media for updates, tips, facts, and more! Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all @usfstavros.

Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth who are working to limit the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as a whole to make a difference for the planet. ​

In this film, a group of passionate girl scouts visit homes to give away energy efficient light bulbs, while educating people how to save more energy. They gave away CFL light bulbs to spread awareness about energy use and encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint. Watch the video below to learn more about their efforts to combating warming!

The girl scouts gave away 5,000 CFL light bulbs to people in their community and even educated to them the importance of saving energy. Most people do want to help the environment, but don't know how. By physically handing people energy-saving light bulbs, they are solving the issue! 

They girls used their creative entrepreneurial thinking to solve a global issue. Entrepreneurial thinking is the ability to look around what's normally expected or think outside of the box. Encourage your students to do the same in a class activity!

​For additional resources on teaching sustainability to your students, visit our page full of multiple resources here. Follow us on social media for updates, tips, facts, and more! Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all @usfstavros.

Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth who are working to limit the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as a whole to make a difference for the planet. ​

In this film, a group of children from Rivertown sing with folk idol, Pete Seeger, who writes and sings songs about topics addressing social justice and planet action. He inspired and guided these children to understand the importance of having environmental awareness and responsibility. He visited the children's classroom where they learned about the Hudson River and how to protect it. Watch how Pete Seeger and these students use music to make a difference for the world! 

With Pete's teaching and positive energy, the children were able to participate in a concert and even wrote their own songs! One of them was titled "We Sing Out!" and proved that children's voices matter. After a few concerts, Pete created an album with the students, and they even won a grammy award!

This is one way you can incorporate art into teaching sustainability. Whether you're an art teacher or not, you can give your students an activity where they can write their own songs about the planet. This is also teaching them to use entrepreneurial thinking because they are engaging in non-traditional strategies to solve a problem while using their creativity and artistry.

For additional resources on teaching sustainability to your students, visit our page full of multiple resources here. Follow us on social media for updates, tips, facts, and more! Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all @usfstavros.

Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth who are working to limit the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as a whole to make a difference for the planet. 

In this film, a 12-year-old boy named Alec Loorz couldn't stand the fact that kids will one day be highly affected by climate change. He made a presentation and website meant specifically for kids, which included fun graphics and animations for younger audiences to be excited about it. He even founded the organization, Kids Vs. Global Warming, where he educates them on how they can take action. Watch the video below!

What strategy would they use to solve it? What creative way would they do to bring awareness? Ask them questions that will make them use their thinking cap! 

​For ideas on teaching sustainability topics, visit our resources page where you can find many topics with several videos and lesson plans to help you guide your students.

Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth who are working to limit the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as a whole to make a difference for the planet. ​

In this film, high school students use entrepreneurial thinking to come up with ways to improve the quality of school lunches. They noticed that students were not satisfied with the school's meal options. Much of it was processed, not fresh, and the choices for people with dietary restrictions were extremely limited. They decided to tap into their natural resources and use local food markets and farmers for fresher and healthier lunches. Watch the video to see their journey!

These students worked diligently to improve their school lunches for everyone. Now, they have a greenhouse nearby to grow vegetables and use those for the cafeteria. They were able to come up with a successful project using entrepreneurial thinking.

Entrepreneurial thinking is the ability to look around what's normally expected or think outside of the box. These students created Project Sprout and spoke with school officials to partner up with local markets for fresher lunch options. What do your students think about their school lunch? How could they improve it? How would they bring this awareness to school officials? What kind of project would they start? 

This could be a potential activity you could do with your students. Have them create their own project or campaign. What environmental problem would they want to solve? What strategies would they use? Show them the Sustainable Development Goals for ideas on what issues they feel most passionate about and use our resources to help you guide them through the lesson!