Between Sept. 21 and 23, Emerson Collective hosted its second Climate Science Fair on the High Line. Meant to “immerse the public in climate innovations, exhibitions, and hands-on workshops,” the Climate Science Fair gathered a diverse collection of nonprofit and for-profit organizations alike, including artists, farmers, scientists, community groups and educators to display their research and work to the public. Stretching from 14th Street to Chelsea Market, the venue provided a wide array of tables to visit and tree-shaded areas to sit and rest among the activity .

Participating organizations were grouped according to their area of focus –– energy, food, home or nature. Aside from these booths, the venue housed a pair of workshop tables alongside a pop-up bookstore organized by independent bookseller McNally Jackson. While the booths were central to the event, the workshops and bookstore encapsulated the fair’s focus on open public engagement, offering hands-on activities and learning materials for visitors of all ages. These activities ranged from milkweed planting on Saturday to silk-screen printing and hand-weaving on Sunday, all while music played through the Chelsea Market Passage. 

Harlem Grown, an organization specializing in urban farming brought produce, showcasing its farming, while introducing ways to volunteer and build sustainable communities in the city to interested passersby.

“Even though we’re a hundred blocks up the road, a big part of our work is still sharing our message,”  Melissa McLeod, a representative for the organization said. “What’s happening in Harlem isn’t necessarily unique to Harlem, and this fair allows us to show all the different opportunities that there are by providing access to food and building education for families.” 

Many partners shared the sentiment that the greatest benefit of the Climate Science Fair was the platform it gave organizations to spread the word about their research. The event space saw special installations from innovators like Project CETI, a nonprofit organization based in Domenica that aims to research sperm whales and their acoustic communication. “I think this event’s really special for Climate Week because it’s so accessible and interactive,” said CETI’s Chief Strategy Officer Fiona Korwin-Pawlowski, standing next to the group’s scale model of a young sperm whale. The presence of other groups at the event like The Climate Reality Project and Teach For All further emphasized the fair’s focus on interdisciplinary, international forms of climate action by promoting their widespread operations in providing accessible climate education to children across the world.

Alongside local grassroots organizations were prominent entrepreneurial groups and startups like Kelvin, which provides smart, non-invasive radiator covers to New York City residences.

“We want to generate brand awareness and engage with the general public, but most of our customers are door presidents of coops,” Garrett Allen Modeste, an account executive for Kelvin said. “[The Climate Science Fair] really differentiates itself from other events we go to because they’re largely professional, and this one is really cool because we get to tell families and children about our work without speaking so technically.”

The energy booths, a short walk away from Kelvin’s table at the venue’s north end, presented some of the more hard-scientific, practical initiatives at the fair, ranging from maintenance for electric vehicle charging stations to major startups like Commonwealth Fusion Systems. The company is developing a working fusion plant, which would generate energy without emitting greenhouse gasses, in Devens, Massachusetts.

Despite some road bumps, like speaker Bill Nye having to cancel a talk for the event on Sunday due to sickness and the drizzle that spread through most of Monday afternoon, this year’s Climate Science Fair was an illuminating showcase of the organizations working to create climate solutions in, and beyond, New York City, while fostering community involvement every step of the way. 

Contact Kaleo Zhu at [email protected].