On March 13th, Alameda County schools closed in response to COVID-19. Earth Team followed suit, cancelling all weekend outdoor and community events and moved weekday meetings online. While interns can no longer take part in the original plans to test water quality and learn about sea level rise at Hayward Regional Shoreline, they can still continue to work in teams and further their environmental education remotely.
Earth Team has chosen to use Zoom to hold online meetings. Zoom has some excellent features, including allowing Earth Team staff to put interns into small groups, check to see which interns are paying attention during the meeting and share screens during presentations. Zoom meetings are recorded to allow Earth Team’s supporters to gain insight into the success of Earth Team’s meetings. Below are two videos that showcase the online meetings Arroyo High held in March.
The first online Arroyo Earth Team meeting focused on teaching interns how to use Zoom. They practiced their Zoom skills by working in small groups to create educational science stories. This different way of communicating science taught interns how to make science relatable to broader audiences. This lesson was adapted from a workshop run by UC Berkeley PhD student Sara ElShafie and Pixar.
The second online meeting focused on Earth Overshoot Day. Interns were sent a recorded lesson explaining how humanity uses more natural resources than Earth can produce in a year. They were then tasked in calculating their own water and ecological footprints. During the online meeting, interns worked in small groups to create project ideas that can lower humanity’s footprint to push back Earth Overshoot Day.
Earth Team will continue holding online meetings until schools reopen. Check back next month to see what the Arroyo interns are working on!