The Joy of Project-Based Learning

Last chance to get 50% off Climate Art 101

Writing the curriculum for my Climate Art 101 course has been such a joy. Have you ever had a moment where it feels like everything you’ve learned in your career has prepared you for one exact moment? I’ve been having one of those moments and it’s been magical!

A few things you may not know about me

1. I co-founded a coding program for kids before I worked in climate.

2. I studied elementary education for the first 2 years of college before switching to communications and entrepreneurship. 

Giving a talk at a conference wearing my Javascript dress (and a brief red hair phase)

While running The Coding Space, I spent years learning about alternative education. I learned about Democratic Free Schools, unschooling, and project-based learning. We taught coding using the socratic method, asking our students questions to foster their critical thinking skills and a growth mindset. It was very different from a traditional coding environment or lecture, and we wanted it that way!

During that time I ran a class called Code for Change, where students learned about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and created a coding project to brainstorm a solution to this topic. 

so fun to dig up some old marketing materials from nearly 10 years ago!

Looking back, I see how finding creative ways to teach a complex topic like computer science was perfect practice for making art that communicates climate science.

Creating Climate Art 101

So when I began designing the Climate Art 101 course, I wanted to incorporate my years of education background into a holistic learning experience for adults. The intention of the course is to learn how to use art as a tool to simplify topics in climate change. I thought about how I learned to make climate art, broke down those skills, and reverse engineered a curriculum around those best practices. 

Project-Based Curriculum

The heart of this course is the Creative 30 Challenge. It’s 30 minutes of creativity, everyday for 30 days. This includes 10 minutes meditation, 10 minutes journaling, and 10 minutes of making art. By the end of the first month people will have made 30 pieces of art, meditated for 5 hours, and written about 100 pages. Even if they ignored all the other curriculum in the whole course, I’d call that a huge win! 

The final 2 weeks are focused on a capstone project where folks dive into a topic area and create a piece of art, host a real-world experience, or make a portfolio of their work. 

Throwback to my first year of making art. I made 100 watercolors and had an art show + made a coffee table book to celebrate!

There are many other mini-activities and projects within the 6 weeks as well. I’m so excited to bring this curriculum to life and combine my love of education, climate solutions, and art. 

Tomorrow is the last day to get 50% off the course. This is an asynchronous course and the curriculum becomes available on May 20. You can learn more and register for the early-bird discount here!

Art of the Week

I did this painting for Sunrun called “Explain how a Virtual Power Power Plant works like I’m a 5 year old.” It was such a fun mental challenge to come up with a metaphor that could relate to everyone and we’re really happy with how it came together!

Upcoming Events

• My next free climate art workshop will be about public transportation on May 3. RSVP here.

• For Mental Health Month, I’m hosting a free art workshop for climate anxiety on May 23. We'll have a relaxing afternoon of art activities and learn how to channel our big feelings about climate change into art. RSVP here.

• I’m co-hosting a Eco.Art Workshop with Eco.Logic on May 31. The proceeds will support Eco.Logic's climate education and art programming. RSVP here.

Ways to support me:

• I host climate art workshops for teams. These have been magical to see groups explore their creativity.

• Buy yourself something from my shop- a mug, a onesie, a print

• I’m open for commissions. I help climate organizations transform their complicated work into simple, beautiful visuals.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Nicole