As the impending threat of a climate crisis looms over humanity, some have taken a stand. On February 17, Rachel Arbor, a K-8 teacher and former Director of Environmental Education at the Garrison School District, and Clara Schimming, a former student of Arbor’s and a current freshman at Haldane High School, spoke at the Green Schools Conference in San Diego. The topic: how to make schools more environmentally friendly.

After leaving Garrison School in 2024, Arbor started Gaia Scholastic, a company dedicated to teaching educators how to handle the climate crisis from a classroom perspective and how to better support students interested in helping the environment. Arbor’s efforts have inspired many students like Schimming to advocate for the next generation and speak out against our current climate situation. At the recent conference, Schimming spoke to about 200 spectators about the various STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) and civic action projects that Arbor led in Garrison. Schimming commented, “I am living proof of [Arbor’s] efforts. I have learned so much through the STEAM and civic action projects we would do!” Arbor stated that Schimming’s testimony about her student experience with environmental education was a “key part” of the conference presentation. Schimming’s student STEAM project, which she shared with the room, was on the importance of recognizing and preventing bird collisions. She presented the same project at the American Museum of Natural History on Sep. 26, 2025.

In addition to showcasing Schimming’s student work as an environmental advocate, the group’s presentation aimed to show more educators how to make their schools more environmentally friendly. “Things like composting programs for School Lunch programs, electric buses, school gardens, LED lighting, solar panels, and refillable water stations are all examples of infrastructure changes that can make a big (and positive) environmental impact,” Arbor noted in her part of the presentation. She continued, “The cool thing about these environmentally-focused changes is that, once made, these almost always save the school money in the long run, by making their facilities more energy- and resource-efficient.”