On this page, we honor Climate Innovators who have designed solutions and trained others to accelerate #ClimateActions.
In our climate crisis today, we need constructive teamwork applied within wise parameters for best outcomes.

Climate Innovators test the bounds of the known & the possible in order ​to design breakthrough projects. Because of their urgent work these past few decades, we have a whole world of wise solutions to deploy today and ​protect our tomorrow. Honoring 3 Climate Innovators (details below):

Entrust Children to Plant Trees: one child + one tree = sustainable development

"I think that I shall never see, a poem as lovely as a tree..." - Joyce Kilmer, 1913

Donna Goodman, ​Earth Child Institute (ECI)
Climate Innovator: Donna Goodman created the ECI model and developed field projects in Ghana, Cameroon, Uganda & Brazil based on a deceptively simple strategy, namely "One Child + One Tree = Sustainable Development". This strategy has intersectional benefits for multiple SDGs:

1. focus on the growth of the child
2. focus on the regenerative properties of trees -- that require soil and water to grow -- and
3. focus on replicable strategies to mitigate climate crisis as a local practice to(a) increase shade in the vicinity, thereby providing cooling effects around the tree itself, (b) to improve the soil and water retention of the neighboring area as the tree is watered and the root system replenishes organic material in the soil, and (c) to improve the ability of trees to mitigate cumulative atmospheric GHG emissions through CO2 sequestration properties of trees and healthy soils.

Listen to Vanessa Angelinne (Dominican Republic) interview Donna about planting trees at COP 16 here.
Where?  The project is at the Baifikrom Municipal Assembly Primary and Junior High School, Mankessim, central region of Ghana
Why?  The decision to plant trees in the school was due to 4 reasons:

1. Passion for protecting the environment.
2. The rate of deforestation in the area is high.
3. The school doesn't have treason and around the school compound.
4. Pupils & teachers showed commitment & took ownership of the ECI model of One Child + One Tree = Sustainable Development.

Who? The students who committed to planting and growing the trees are shown in these pictures: 

• Hamza, Aideo, Eric, Emmanuel, Maxwel, Konadu, Anita, Esther, Beatrice, and Mavis.

Planting the trees in 2012...

Growing the trees in 2019...

Empower frontline communities: restore seagrass meadows in equatorial zones

Anitra Thorhaug, ​Blue Carbon Expert
Climate Innovator:  

• Anitra Thorhaug is an internationally renowned and honored expert in seagrass meadows, pioneering the rehabilitation of coastal ecosystems as the #1 method to rapidly bring down atmospheric carbon to slow our advance towards critical climate tipping points. Building local teams collaborating with universities and research institutes in SE Asia and Caribbean seagrass zones, Thorhaug propels this crucial Blue Carbon climate solution through multidisciplinary teamwork and innovative carbon verification methodology.

Why Replant and Protect Seagrass Meadows?  According to the World Seagrass Association, the decision to plant seagrass and protect seagrass meadows is a critical climate action because:

• seagrass meadows stabilize coastal sediments
• seagrass filters vast quantities of nutrients
• seagrass provides one of the most efficient oceanic stores of carbon on earth
• NOTE: seagrass can be 5 times more effective than trees in storing atmospheric carbon and begins immediately after roots take hold. Many tree species must grow for 30 years to reach their peak carbon sequestration rate. While trees provide many benefits - food, shelter, shade - the destruction of old-growth forests around the world means we must identify and deploy other methods to stabilize the atmospheric carbon budgets and drawdown to meet our Paris commitments. Blue Carbon is a game-changer.

Equip students for Energy Transition: measure, reflect & report on energy generation and usage

Allan Baer, Renewable Nations Institute (Institute)
Climate Innovator:  
Allan Baer has designed and deployed energy efficiency and renewable energy projects around the world for 30 years. Baer has worked with US military veterans, middle/high school and university students in North and South America, as well as US-African government ministerials. Baer designed the Work-Learning-Service methodology, measuring and verifying its effectiveness to deliver STEAM curriculum, utilizing 10+ years of National Science Foundation (NSF) grants. 

The Institute, in collaboration with educational partners, is developing the framework to support the next generation of STEAM students as they move through their formal studies, framing pathways for personal & professional up-skilling, designing internships and early career partnerships even as our climate crisis unfolds across the globe across the evolving professions:

1. software, chemical, electrical and industrial engineering
2. mathematics, philosophy and history
3. biological, physical, materials, and social sciences
4. environmental, systems and peace studies
5. digital, graphical, literary, musical and fine arts
6. project innovation and business entrepreneurship​

​Applying replicable project development best-practices through the Institute's Sustainable Energy Project Incubator delivers improved project performance for energy efficiency and renewable energy. This improves climate action with measurable results, aligned with the Department of Energy (DoE) Industrial Assessments Centers (IACs).