ReMark
Turning climate education into a sustainable fate, all while reducing paper waste
Empowering tomorrow's leaders to take action through hope
*Insert alarming global warming statistic* Although fear-filled messages are intended to create urgency, they often create the opposite effect: they leave people petrified and immobile. While understanding the facts and solutions can mitigate the effects of doom-and-gloom news, the lack of climate education curricula worldwide leaves today's youth, our future leaders, even more susceptible to the harmful effects of the media's scare tactics. ReMark was founded to address the lack of climate education and empower the youth to act collectively through hope, not alone in fear.
The mission of ReMark is to empower the youth to take climate action by providing engaging and accessible climate change education and leading innovative, sustainable initiatives in our communities. We inspire teenagers to take action through engaging climate education that introduces hope into the media's prevalent "doom and gloom" narrative.
Our Remark
Need for Climate Education
Why we founded ReMark
With less than a third of middle school teachers and less than half of high school teachers educating their students about anthropogenic climate change, how can we expect our children to understand how to survive on an increasingly inhospitable planet?
ReMark was founded to address this dire need for climate change education worldwide. According to the United Nations (UN), climate education can encourage people to change their attitudes and behaviors, make informed decisions, and especially empower the youth to take action. Although education is key to addressing climate change, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) found that 47 percent of the national curriculum frameworks out of 100 countries reviewed did not reference climate change; those that did only included climate education minimally. Only about one-fifth of teachers could explain how to take action, while fewer than 50 percent reported that their schools had an action plan to tackle climate change. The United States, one of the top carbon dioxide emitters in 2014, has no national consensus on the importance of climate change education or national climate education standards. Currently, only two states, New Jersey and Connecticut, require climate change to be taught in schools.
To address the lack of climate education, ReMark features an engaging and educational climate change site. Here, youth will be able to learn about community-centered environmental issues and current solutions. Unlike typical climate education websites, ReMark equips the youth with directly applicable knowledge, recognizing that local examples make environmental concepts more relatable and impactful. Our leaders saw the need for a form of media to communicate effectively to younger audiences, choosing to incorporate simple language, concise bullet points, media, and many colors. Crafted by passionate local teens for other teens and younger children, ReMark transcends mere instruction; it empowers. By nurturing a comprehensive understanding of environmental issues and presenting actionable solutions, ReMark inspires users to take meaningful climate action - starting with their local community.
Sustainability
Learn about our recycled, plantable bookmarks!
Our bookmarks are made of recycled paper, which, on top of conserving natural resources, reduces the number of recyclables that end up in landfills. Because our bookmarks have seeds and are plantable, they can be recycled twice! Infused in our bookmarks are lavender, chive, geranium, wildflower, and other seeds that can be planted indoors to prevent the introduction of potentially invasive plants. During local community-based bookmark-making events, we also include native seeds that can be planted outdoors! Simply break the bookmark into pieces & plant it in the soil! In addition, these plants can benefit the mental health of users, as studies have shown that people are happier in indoor spaces with houseplants.
We've hosted bookmark-making events in schools, community fairs, and libraries, where we teach participants how to make these sustainable and handy crafts! In addition, our bookmarks can be found in schools and public libraries in the U.S., Canada, and the UK. Please reach out to ourremark@gmail.com for inquiries on our events!