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In 2009, the Chalk Urban Art Festival in Sydney took the theme of climate change. Artists created works on the pavement in Chapel St, Paramatta, responding to the subject, engaging people on the streets in the discussion. A big success, the festival returns to this working class neighbourhood in 2010, with a different theme. This is an excellent example of how climate change can be inserted as a theme into an existing festival, and of an effective engagement model using street art.
In the lead up to Cancun, activist organisation 350.org harnessed the power of the arts to send a message from communities all around the world through giant works that could be seen from space. Many thousands of people responded to the call with poignant images referring to species loss, sea-level rise and future generations. The full set of EARTH photos can be viewed on their Facebook page.
One Ton Tree was a collaboration of the SEED collective and Tactical Aesthetics to increase public awareness of carbon sequestration through urban forestry. Using wireless interface technology and partnering with Seventh Generation, Whole Foods and Replant New Orleans, participants virtually planted trees through their keyboards, which were matching with real trees that were edible and provided a community garden.
In the exhibition of ‘A Map of a Dream of the Future‘, 400 native Tasmanian plants map out the dreams and attitudes of young Tasmanians about climate change in a three dimensional hanging garden as graph. The exhibition formed part of a broader education and visualization project led by artist, Nick Low in collaboration with programmer Richard Procter. Surveys administered with education kits to secondary school children positioned each child along three axes: Libertarian-Authoritarian, Technology-Nature and Libertarian-Authoritarian. In addition to the exhibition, the data was also used to generate virtual cities across Tasmania based on what each student would like to see in response to climate change.
The Recology Artist in Residence program in San Francisco started twenty years ago in 1990 to invite artists to produce works sourced from the waste stream, as part of a program to educate the public at a time when curb-side recycling was introduced. This exhibition, at Intersection Arts, celebrates the impressive body of work generated from materials that would otherwise have gone to waste. The artists involved often became strong spokespeople for environmental issues following their experience.
Rehearsing Catastrophe: The Ark in Avoca was a temporary site-based art work by Lyndal Jones performed from the 1-3 December 2011. 
On the floodplain of the Avoca River in rural Australia an Ark materialises as a projection layered onto Watford House, home to The Avoca Project. Sounds and images of those animals already inside are heard and accompanied by thunder and lightning. As the boat takes shape against the night sky, people from Avoca and their guests line up at the gangplank for entry, disguised as animals. A poignant reminder of the fragility of species survival in light of climate changes and the spirit of a community to respond.
Tidy Street is the name of a residential street in Brighton and also the name of a project that engages residents in reducing their energy consumption. The high-tech – smart meters in every home – is combined with the low-tech – chalk sprayed on the road surface, to demonstrate the community’s progress in cutting carbon emissions. Local artist Snub was commissioned to do the artwork, which showcases significant progress – up to 30% reductions in some homes – and creates a great conversation piece for passersby.