Tuesday, November 12- Dr. Rebecca Brulet, and her biology class at Yavapai College, welcomed G.E.M. Environmental and our guest speaker, Dr. Crystal Hepp, into their classroom as part of our Guest Lecture Series. Dr. Hepp is an evolutionary biologist, working as an Assistant Professor at Northern Arizona University’s School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems in Flagstaff, AZ.

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Kali Plummer, our AmeriCorps State Member, opened the lecture with information about G.E.M. Environmental. She was able to explain our mission and speak to the students about our programs, internships and scholarships that are available.

Dr. Hepp opened her lecture speaking about her personal journey and the struggles she faced while obtaining her degrees. Students were able to relate to her on a personal level as she talked about the different ways she was able to balance school and life without losing sight of her goals. The main lecture was based on Dr. Hepp’s research into the West Nile Virus and how it spreads throughout Arizona. She shared data and research patterns of the virus and educated the students on different ways the virus is spread. Dr. Hepp’s research is providing much needed information on this deadly virus. 

For more information on how to volunteer for one of these classroom lectures, contact our Program Coordinator Madison Link at madison@gemenvironmental.org.

G.E.M. Environmental’s Guest Lecture Series is made possible by our many sponsors. If you would like more information on ways to help support these programs please visit www.gemenvironmental.org/sponsorship.

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The G.E.M. Environmental team gathered this past Friday to install the Little Free Libraries at some of the local Prescott schools. The teachers and students were very excited about the opportunity to exchange their used books for a new story to read! Sticking to G.E.M. Environmental’s mission to get kids interested in the STEM fields, every Little Free Library has been stocked with books about science, technology, engineering, and/or math. Listening to a specific request, we have put a copy of Rachel Ignotofsky’s book Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World in every Little Free Library that we created! We hope that this book and all the other books that are being donated can inspire girls to find their own passion and help them learn that they have the power to change the world.

Kicking off our fall semester's GEM For STEM lectures, Anthony Araza gave an amazing lecture for Dr. Boyd’s Geology 101 class. Mixing humor with facts, Anthony explained the benefits of getting a career in the STEM fields. He included statistics that demonstrated the increase in STEM jobs as well as the discussing how the average salary for a job in a STEM field is significantly more than most non-STEM field careers. Many students expressed that they enjoyed the lecture and were happy to be exposed to a variety of different careers that they could enter after graduation. There were multiple students who asked Anthony for career advice after the lecture, and he was able to answer all of their questions with detailed examples from his own career as a transport engineer and budget specialist.

We at G.E.M. Environmental are very excited that our first lecture of the semester went so well and are excited to continue our G.E.M. For STEM lecture series! 
For more information on how to volunteer for one of these classroom lectures,
contact our Program Coordinator Madison Link at Madison@gemenvironmental.org.

On September 7th, G.E.M. Environmental held a building event to create Little Free Libraries that will be posted at 3 different schools: Mountain Oak School, Primavera School, and a school with the Prescott Unified School District. In a great show of support, ten volunteers came to help with the building project!

Not only was it amazing to see the support that G.E.M. Environmental gets from community members, we also saw it through the incredible donations that we got to support the project.

Prescott True Value Hardware was the first to show their support by donating one gallon of wood primer, and Home Depot showed their support by donating the rest of the materials needed for free! We also got two dozen donuts donated to us for our hardworking volunteers by one of the favorite local shops, Outlaw Donuts.

it was amazing to see the Prescott community collaborating on a project that could benefit over 500 students! As this event was such a success, and also a lot of fun, we hope that members and supporters of G.E.M. Environmental will continue help us make sustainable impacts in our community.

Thank you to everyone who came out this weekend to help us build Little Free Libraries to be placed around Prescott for the community to enjoy.

Check out our Events page to learn more about upcoming events and how to get involved.