When I was the Head of Head-Royce School in Oakland, I worked closely with a gifted architect, Jeff Horowitz, who as chair of the board of trustees helped inspire our effort to make the school greener and more environmentally sustainable.  After his service at the school, Jeff created a non-profit in 2007 called Avoided Deforestation Partners (http://adpartners.org/) along with a group of internationally recognized tropical forest experts.  They understood that one of the best ways to mitigate the impact of climate change is to stop cutting our forests.

 ADP has had a significant impact in the movement to address climate change, most recently screening a short, powerful film at the COP21 Climate Summit in Paris called “Stop the Burning.” 

 ADP has just announced the release of a new film about climate change, “Time to Choose,” directed by Academy Award winner Charles Ferguson (“Inside Job”) and executive producer Jeff Horowitz.   This film describes the crisis we face, and presents the strategies we need to implement to mitigate climate change.

While it is clear climate change is already having a significant impact on the global ecosystem, it is the students in our K-12 schools who will grow up in a changed world.  Recently I spent a week in the tropical rain forests of Costa Rica, and while there was inspired to see the Children’s Rain Forest, a project begun by Scandinavian school children in the 1970s who were concerned about the environment.  By helping our students become environmental stewards, we will empower them to be leaders in the effort to ensure that planet is sustainable.