Environmental Literacy and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): A Conference with Rotary International
- Planet Bee Foundation
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 3 minutes ago
Planet Bee Joins Rotarians and Global Leaders!
On December 11th, the important milestone event, “Global Goals, Local Action: Rotary Commemorates the United Nations at 80,” was held to honor 80 years since the signing of the UN Charter and Rotary’s longstanding partnership with the United Nations.
Rotarians, UN leaders, and community organizations were brought together at the San Francisco War Memorial, where the UN Charter was first signed in 1945, with the goal of connecting and discussing how local action can accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
Planet Bee was given the exciting opportunity to participate in the event, with Dr. Jamie Chan, Executive Director of Planet Bee Foundation, speaking on a Rotary panel to discuss our shared values of preserving biodiversity and the power of community science in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Sharing Planet Bee’s Values
During the panel, Dr. Chan was able to share the importance of community science to
Planet Bee’s mission, emphasizing a core principle that guides Planet Bee’s work:
“Environmental literacy is an equity issue, and when young people collect real data about their local ecosystems, they begin to see themselves as scientists, problem-solvers, and stewards.”
In the audience, we had the privilege to be joined by Planet Bee Board member Dr. Lawrence Horvath, as well as Rotarians from Cupertino and Los Altos; future partners who offered great support of Planet Bee at the panel, and deepened the conversations around sustainability on a local level.
Sideline Support
Alongside the panel, Joelle Dugay, Program Coordinator & Educator at Planet Bee Foundation, was on site to table and engage with attendees, connecting directly with
Interact and Rotaract members. She participated in a breakout session that highlighted the ways youth leadership, environmental STEM education, and community science intersect in practice, and shared how Planet Bee’s work with youth-led community science, pollinator conservation, and coding can drive real environmental impact. Planet Bee understands the power that environmental literacy and citizen science hold in the advancement of worldwide sustainability, and is grateful to have been able to share these ideas with like-minded community members and leaders.
New Partnerships, New Beginnings
In exciting news, Planet Bee Foundation’s Rotary Global Grant with the Rotary Club of
Worldwide IMPACT and the Rotary Club of Woodinville, WA have officially been funded, supporting the launch of our pilot Coding for Conservation in Washington State. This program will bring environmental literacy to classrooms and teach students vital digital literacy skills as an exciting way to engage in community science. Our team of dedicated staff and interns has been working hard to bring this new program to life, and we look forward to sharing more about this partnership and its impact in the near future! Learn more about our pilot program here.
We are honored to have been given the opportunity to engage with such a dedicated and motivated community, and we are always grateful for Rotary’s leadership in partnership, education, and measurable environmental action as we work together to make local actions have a global impact.
Support Bee Conservation Today
Join us in educating the next generation of environmental stewards by donating a Native Bee Home to a local school. Each donated home creates vital nesting habitat for up to 320 solitary bees, delivering the pollination power of more than 32,000 honeybees!
Your donation goes even further. Every Native Bee Home also funds STEM education for five students, providing hands-on, inquiry-based lessons that connect young learners to bees, conservation, and the science behind healthy ecosystems.