Dreier to Be Earth Day 2023 Keynote for Pittsville High School

Through her keynote speech entitled, “Your Planet, Your Future,” on April 28, Patty Dreier will seek to empower 150 students at the High School in Pittsville, Wisconsin, as part of their 2023 Earth Day activities.

“How exciting!” exclaimed Dreier about this opportunity to share a half hour with the entire school. “I am looking forward to making the connection between the qualities of life and environment on this planet, and the quality of their own future. I will challenge them to get involved in standing up for their planet and their future in ways they may have never thought of before.”

Dreier will also highlight her book, Empowered: One Planet at a Time, as a resource to help them take charge of their destiny. She will donate a copy to the school library and give one to science teacher Lacey Foate who hopes to teach an environmental course in the future. The book was written as a toolkit for the next generation of leaders and their teachers and mentors. For more information, visit www.bluespring.life.

Empowered: One Planet at a Time Connects with Global Youthtopia

Author Patty Dreier is excited to announce a new collaboration with Youthtopia, a global organization of young people helping to build a brighter future through environmental and social action. Dreier’s book, Empowered: One Planet at a Time, will soon become available on the Youthtopia website for Gen Z to have access to obtaining the book as a resource to help them build their knowledge and skills for action.

The goal of Youthtopia is to “become a ‘go-to’ online and a physical HQ for young changemakers.” It is guided by The Circle of Youth, young people from around the world to “recognise, highlight, and showcase as an example for more of our generation to take a stand.” The organization was founded by Melati Wijsen from Bali who began at age 12 with an environmental action project joined by her younger sister, age 10: They would address concerns about plastics washing ashore on the beaches of Bali. Together, they built alliances, gathered signatures, and inspired the Bali government to prohibit single-use plastic bags, plastic straws, and polystyrene. Their organization became known as Bye Bye Plastic Bags which spread to over 30 countries. After that success, Melati launched Youthtopia with a focus on striving to achieve the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development goals.

“What an inspiration! Youthtopia is building essential capacities among our world’s young leaders. I wrote Empowered to inspire and equip young adults to take action as leaders on environmental and social issues. It was incredible to receive a message from one of Youthtopia’s leaders this morning offering to promote my book to the growing network of rising leaders and to say they ‘wish we had been connected earlier to be part of it.’ I find it amazing how we are using the same language….like we are mirrors of each other in this movement to empower young people from all corners of our world to stand up for their planet and themselves,” said Patty Dreier. “I am so glad we found each other. I can’t wait to see where this partnership leads.”

Empower

Author Patty Dreier Guests on Earth UP Podcast

Arrowhead High School student Allie Farris interviews Patty Dreier about her book, Empowered: One Planet at a Time. Listen here on Spotify. Allie was inspired by the content of Empowered to start the Earth UP podcast to help raise awareness about “all things Earth.” Together with other students in the school’s Earth Club, they create biweekly podcast content which is also posted on the school’s website. Teachers Jim Albers and Dennis Mechenich advise the Earth Club with about 80 members. Arrowhead Union High School is located in Hartland, Wisconsin. In the podcast, Patty “challenges today’s youth to get involved in helping to address the challenges we face.”

Empowered: One Planet at a Time Gets Legs in Europe Today

Today, Dr. Bernd M. Schmitt (on right in photo below) delivered an autographed copy of Empowered: One Planet at a Time by Patty Dreier to the staff of the Umweltstation Wuerzburg in Wuerzburg, Germany. The Umweltstation Wuerzburg is part of a network of 60 learning stations located across Europe where many thousands of citizens of many nations come together to participate in programs that reinforce a message about sharing a single planet. This was the first day of opening after pandemic closure. The book launch which had been scheduled for June 5, 2020, at the Umweltstation Wuerzburg with the Lord Mayor of Wuerzburg, the author, and other German collaborators on the book had been cancelled due to COVID-19.

“Bernd, one of the co-authors of the Afterword of the book, gave my book legs in Europe today,” said author Patty Dreier. “Of course, the E-book is available, but this ceremonial step of hand-delivering a copy I had sent to him helps us begin to energize the movement in Europe. The time has never been greater to equip young adults to become change makers on social and environmental issues affecting their future.” See @EmpoweredOnePlanet on Facebook for the full story.