Getting AHA chapters and affiliates informed and engaged is a great way to be HERE for Climate. A few ideas:
- Open your next chapter meeting with a climate change ice breaker.
- Word Association Game – Start off with the word “climate.” The first person says one word they associate with climate (i.e. pollution), the person next to them says a new word that they associate with pollution (i.e. coal). Continue until every person has said a word without repeating words that have already been used. Close the exercise with a quick debrief: where did the words take you? What did you struggle with? What words did people want to repeat?
- Timed Round Robin – When people arrive, ask them to sit with folks they don’t usually sit with in groups of 3-5. Then, using a timer, instruct the small groups that each person speaks for 30 seconds without stopping on ways we can locally impact climate change. At the end of the 30 seconds, the next person in the circle builds upon what the previous person said. Continue until everyone has had a chance to speak. At the end of the timed session, take 5-10 minutes for the small groups to report back to the whole group on what was discussed.
- Host a movie screening that shows a TedTalk on climate change.
- Organize a public cleanup event for Earth Day on April 22.
- Invite a climate scientist or climate activist to speak to your group.
- Organize an in-depth discussion (like a Living Room Conversation) on Environment and Pollution, Climate Change, or Energy and the Environment.