NYC HUB
Our NY hub is a generator of centralized green space activation in co-located school campuses and parks.
Grounded in Partnership and Justice
Grounded in youth–adult co-design partnership, climate education, and lsolutions that center BIPOC youth and communities that have long faced the brunt of environmental racism and disinvestment, we provide project management, funding, technical, and capital project support to transform underutilized and often asphalt-dominated school grounds into thriving, living classrooms.
Led by Those Most Impacted
From student-run urban agriculture spaces to zine creation to policy advocacy, our work is led by Black team members — environmental educators and organizers who have themselves been directly impacted by environmental injustice — creating spaces of learning, healing, and agency that reflect the communities we serve.
From Classrooms to Communities
Through partnerships with public schools, grassroots organizations, public parks, and universities, we’re transforming classrooms, providing pre-workforce training for young people under the age of 16 who lack technical access to green workforce programs, and supporting year-round curricula rooted in cultural values, community needs, and social-emotional learning.
MEET OUR TEAM
Kier Blake, MSc.
Co-Founder, Director of Operations and NYC Programming
Alexia Leclercq, M.Ed.
Co-Founder, and Executive Director
Alysha Berry
Communications, Digital Media and Design Consultant
Kier Blake, MSc.
Co-Founder, Director of Operations and NYC Programming
Alexia Leclercq, M.Ed.
Co-Founder, and Executive Director
Alysha Berry
Communications, Digital Media and Design Consultant
Alysha Berry
Communications, Digital Media and Design Consultant
Transforming Classrooms: Celia Cruz High School for Music
S:E established a hydroponic gardening program at the Celia Cruz High School in the Bronx to educate students about climate and food justice. We regranted $5,000 to support teacher labor and pay for the greenhouse and hydroponic tent.
20+ pounds of microgreens were harvested for distribution to students and staff members to help fight food insecurity by providing easily accessible, nutritious produce in the school community. S:E also provided an engaging Career and Technical Education (CTE) skills-training resource, developing young agro leaders through the teaching of our Food Justice curriculum.
Our Unique Approach
We employ a critical consciousness framework to co-create programming alongside youth, educators, activists, and community members, ensuring environmental justice education resonates deeply within public schools. Our curriculum prioritizes long-term education, improved learning outcome, civic engagement, and environmental empowerment, resulting in student-led projects ranging from policy advocacy to school gardens.
Teacher Cohort
We are working with 15 teachers that are leading the implementation of our environmental justice curriculum in their classroom, we provide stipends, collaborate with teachers to write new lessons, help coordinate field trips, they are giving us feedback to strengthen our curriculum.
Application for our next cohort coming summer 2025!
After School Programming
Whether it's running a food justice program for elementary school students in queens with the connected chef or a middle school environmental justice education cohort in las vegas nevada with our partner CORE or building a corn garden at an elementary school in east austin we invest in creating powerful after school programming for BIPOC youth.
Summer Youth Employment Program
Since the summer of 2023 we've provided a 6 weeks paid green summer internship for 68 Black and Brown high school students from the Bronx in partnership with NYC gov and CAWS. We have worked on environmental justice campaigns to build civic engagement, advocacy, critical analyses, and green jobs/career skills. We look forward to expanding our programming to other boroughs in summer 2025.
Work, Learn, and Grow Program
For 6 months of the year, 16-17 year old students attend college courses for credit and receive a paid internship with Start:Empowerment to build skills in their interest areas (media, advocacy, activism, organizing, campaign-building, and more!)
Words From A Happy Teacher
"I have been implementing the Environmental and Climate Justice Curriculum in my Environmental Science classes and I am very impressed that the curriculum is well organized with four separate modules that focuses on specific environmental justice and climate change issues that relate to my students in the Bronx, NY. I am also very impressed with how well curated the curriculum is with four interactive Google Slides presentations filled with informative videos, maps, diagrams and pictures. There are multiple activities with teacher prompts designed to engage the students. I recommend this curriculum to all teachers who want to educate their students about Environmental and Climate Justice!"
- Alex Goasdoue
Environmental Science Teacher
High School for Teaching and The Professions
