The Bridge: This Earth Day, let’s talk about roots
As educators and as advocates for girls, we’re a lot like gardeners. Just like flowers need sunshine and water to thrive, our girls need structure and support to grow into their best selves and to blossom in STEM fields! We see seeds of potential, seeds of curiosity and brilliance and joy, and we give those seeds the resources they need to grow.
This month, we’re thinking about all the ways we tend our gardens. We do it through educating our kids, by building community with our neighbors (human and otherwise), and by protecting and nurturing the seedlings in our care – even when the weather is stormy.
In this newsletter, we’re highlighting stories from the natural world, from forests to lizards. We hope these stories remind you that we’re grounded, we’re resourced, and we’re going to keep on growing!
Best,
Jen Stancil, Techbridge Girls Director of Development
P.S. – A very cool documentary about environmental justice is below…keep on reading.
Deep Roots
One of the best things about working in this community is connecting with talented and committed folks from many different fields. I am lucky to be friends with Jennifer MacArthur, a brilliant documentary filmmaker who debuted her new film last year at Durham’s Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. In that film, Family Tree, Jennifer explores family, forests, and legacy through the stories of two Black families in North Carolina fighting to preserve their land while facing challenging family dynamics, unscrupulous developers, and a changing environment. Despite setbacks, they work to create sustainable land to pass on to the next generation. You can read an interview with Jennifer here and watch this film with your class, afterschool program, or family here.
Bridge Building: Upcoming Programs
Registration for our spring STEM Equity Learning Community is now closed. Registration information for our fall cohort will be released this summer. If you are a program manager, administrator, or site director for out-of-school-time STEM learning, we welcome you to join us in the Fall to explore how to create equitable learning spaces for Black, Indigenous, and Latina girls and gender-expensive youth. Reach out now to info@techbridgegirls.org or join one of our free and open Community Meetings the first Friday of every month.
Pathways: Role Models and More
Dr. Earyn McGee is herpetologist and nature communicator. She runs the very popular social media game #FindThatLizard, which teaches people cool facts about the lizards she makes a career of studying.
Earyn earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Howard University and a Master of Science in Natural Resources with an emphasis in Wildlife Conservation and Management from the University of Arizona. Her graduate research focused on the impacts of climate change on lizards in the Southwestern United States.
Follow Earyn at Twitter.com/afro_herper and Instagram.com/afro_herper, and find her on the Ologies podcast with Alie Ward discussing “everything from tiny chameleons to drooling dragons, venomous thiccbois, legless lizards, geckos’ antigravity grip, festering dragon mouths, gila monster sightings, close encounters with lions, tangles of snoozy lizards, virgin births, and blood shooting from eyeballs” here.
[https://www.ifthencollection.
Intersections: Techbridge in Conversation
May 5th- Open to All: Techbridge Girls Programs Team Community Meeting
Kelsey Norton, Manager of Youth Programs at YWCA National Capital Area, will join TBG to share her journey into STEM and her experience identifying and overcoming challenges in STEM equity work. Kelsey was part of the inaugural cohort of our STEM Equity Learning Community and is a partner in TBG’s work with the Smithsonian.
The TBG team will also facilitate an open session for participants to discuss challenges they are facing and to share resources (and requests!) as we wrap up the academic year.
Free registration is here or connect with us at info@techbridgegirls.org to learn more.
The View: Earth Day edition!
What we’re reading, using, and finding inspirational here at Techbridge Girls
- Podcasts:
- Educator resources and classroom activities:
- The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators
- Climate Justice Toolkit for Youth (from Women Engage for a Common Future)
- 17 Meaningful Climate Change Activities for Kids
- Inspiring projects:
- Equity-focused, neighborhood-based climate activism: Greenlining the Block Initiative
- Black Women for Wellness
- Western Mining Action Project – Community Stories