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Through the EarthEcho Academy continued professional learning courses, teachers have ready-to-use classroom resources that are accompanied by EarthEcho Academy workshops providing real-time professional support and a community of practice to provide strategies to develop students’ inquiry, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

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The EarthEcho Academy grounds environmental STEM (E-STEM) content in some of the biggest, most complex challenges facing our planet. Through the EarthEcho Academy continued professional learning courses, teachers have ready-to-use classroom resources that are accompanied by EarthEcho Academy workshops providing real-time professional support and a community of practice to provide strategies to develop students' inquiry, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

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Kids for Positive Change series, on YouTube is a series currently airing on WQLN PBS.  Season two is focused exclusively on climate change and sustainable solutions.  https://www.youtube.com/@kidsforpositivechange

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We're a grassroots climate movement built on hands-on education and action.

From Classrooms to Communities

Start in your own backyard! Our programs encourage students to think globally, but act locally by taking ownership of the climate issues impacting their communities and leading the charge toward creative solutions.

Check It Out

Current Program

Free, easily accessible resources for both individual and collective climate action. Make a difference in your community today with TCI toolkits.

Help Slow the Rise of our Changing Climate

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The Climate Initiative - Empowering youth for climate action

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We're a grassroots climate movement built on hands-on education and action. Start in your own backyard! Our programs encourage students to think globally, but act locally by taking ownership of the climate issues impacting their communities and leading the charge toward creative solutions.

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Learn how to participate in the GLOBE North American Phenology Campaign to monitor and report plant phenology data with your students to help validate the timing of the plant growing season: https://www.globe.gov/web/north-america/home/north-america-phenology-campaign

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Teaching about climate change is a challenge.   Project WILD materials and training can help!

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Teaching about climate change is a challenge. Project WILD materials and training can help!

Using wildlife as an integrating context helps make teaching about climate change more concrete. Use best practices in climate change education and gain access to quality, science-based, wildlife management principles that address this complicated issue. Your students will be outdoors, interacting with one another and the community, and learning from trusted sources.

Using Project WILD to Teach about Climate Change

Project WILD activities are ideal for exploring subjects that are complex and interdisciplinary. Using simulations and systems thinking, students explore the ecological, social, and economic aspects of environmental issues and phenomena. They work collaboratively to understand and articulate multiple viewpoints and stakeholder interests in order to find constructive actions geared toward environmental stewardship. The resources listed below will help educators select and implement Project WILD activities as part of their climate change education curriculum.

project Wild: Climate & wildlife

Formal and nonformal and nonformal educators can now receive professional development training that focuses specifically on integrating topics on Climate Adaptation into their curriculum. As part of the training, educators will receive the 64-page booklet titled Climate & Wildlife: An Activity Module for Grades 6-12 Educators. This resources features a collection of eight activities from Project WILD publications that connect closely to the the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy.
​​​
The activities include content on the following subject matter:
* Shifting phenology and ranges,
* Interdependence of species,
* Balancing ecological, cultural, recreational, and commercial uses of land and resources,
* Community messaging and engagement,
* Assessing species vulnerability, and
* Reducing non-climate stressors to species and ecosystems.

Professional development for using the Climate & Wildlifemodule began in some states: Kansas, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, and Texas. Additionally, the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is now offering a self-paced online course for educatrors on Climate & Wildlife. See the page on Project WILD's online courses to learn more.

To inquire about Climate & Wildlife professional development training opportunities in your state, contact your Project WILD State Coordinator.

To purchase a copy of the Climate and Wildlife Module, go to the Project WILD Online Store.

National fish, wildlife, and Plants climate adaptation strategy

The Strategy describes eight goals that help federal, state, and tribal agencies collaborate and adapt management practices for species and landscapes impacted by climate change. These goals also provide a framework for student learning about climate adaptation.

For links to the Strategy, a fact sheet, and other related resources, visit the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Network page.

"You can't go back and change the beginning,

but you can start where you are and change the ending." ~ C.S. Lewis

Acorn woodpecker. Photo credit: George Andreiko, Arizona Game & Fish

Make it Happen!

1. Find a Project WILD Coordinator near you.

2. Take part in an an amazing workshop, where you'll learn about local educator resources.

3. Take action! Create a habitat on your school site: build nest boxes, conduct a stream clean-up, or plant native plants.

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Wildlife and Climate Change :: Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies

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August 29, 2018 webinar on wildlife and climate change.

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The Climate Innovation Challenge (CIC) is a free STEAM curriculum designed by Climate Advocates Voces Unidas (CAVU). Targeting students from grades 3 to 12, the program empowers young learners to develop innovative solutions to climate change while honing their skills in storytelling and video production. This unique approach enables students to effectively communicate their ideas to both their communities and decision-makers.

Rebecca VanArnam is actively engaged with educators and students in the Northeast Region. She is available for further discussions on how the CIC can be integrated into your classroom to support and enhance educational outcomes. Please reach out to Rebecca at rebecca@cavu.org.

Registration for the 2024/2025 School Year is now open!

Check out our previous student winners on our website!

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Growing Hope in a Native Forest

Consider the co-benefits of planting a tree.  Perhaps the tree was planted to provide shade; yet the impact of the tree extend far beyond the shade it casts.  Trees provide a suite of ecosystem services to the natural environment, cycling nutrients and water, stabilizing soil and controlling erosion, creating key microclimates, providing food and habitat for a variety of species.  Trees provide the same services, and more, to human communities.

Share our personal journey as an environmental science class who decided to calculate our carbon footprint and offset it by planting trees. What we discovered astonished us, changed us, expanded our worldview, and gave us so much hope.

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Resources from Allegheny Land Trust’s Lightning Talk - Climate-focused Community Programs

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Resources from Allegheny Land Trust’s Lightning Talk - Climate-focused Community Programs

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CRSP: https://carnegiemnh.org/educator/crsp/

Geocaching.com

Guidelines: https://www.geocaching.com/play/guidelines

Nature’s Notebook: https://www.usanpn.org/nn

Research at Barking Slopes: https://alleghenylandtrust.org/researchers-study-threats-to-wildflower-diversity-using-barking-slopes-conservation-area/

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Who We Are

Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization helping local people save local land in the Pittsburgh Region. Protecting more than 3,700 acres of green space across 42 different municipalities in Allegheny and Washington Counties, ALT works to protect land of significant value to our region's unique scenic landscape, biodiversity, and water quality. Additionally, ALT protects land to improve quality of life for current and future generations by offering recreational and educational opportunities.

With the support of neighbors, we're proud to report:

3,700 Acres of Green Space Protected in

42 Different Municipalities

8 Miles Between Every Allegheny County Resident & an ALT Green Space

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Allegheny Land Trust | Helping Local People Save Local Land

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ALT is a land conservation nonprofit helping local people save local land in the Pittsburgh region since 1993 to help improve the quality of life for all.

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What can educators do to help young people navigate their difficult emotions about climate change?

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Climate Psychology Alliance North America

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The human-driven processes and impacts of climate change are disrupting young people's lives and are putting their homes, institutions, and physical and mental health at risk. While young people may not always talk about these experiences in school or act outwardly distressed, their feelings about climate change are still making their way into the classroom. What can educators do to help young people navigate these difficult emotions?

The Educator's Guide to Climate Emotions, written by a team of teachers, researchers, and mental health clinicians in consultation with youth climate leaders and climate psychology professionals, offers a variety of approaches for working with climate emotions in educational settings.

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This guide will help K-12 Educators address the emotional needs of their students as they learn about climate change and climate justice.

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Feedback on Bay Program's EL Goal (w/ Climate Focus!) 

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Feedback on Bay Program's EL Goal (w/ Climate Focus!) 

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Apoorva Ajith (EL Intern w/ NOAA) will lead a listening session centered on this question: Knowing the urgency in which we need to take action and implement climate solutions, what needs to change or be considered related to how we are approaching environmental literacy, presently?

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 Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) Portal 

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 Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) Portal 

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The Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) Portal was launched in 2010 to create high-quality, rigorously reviewed digital resources for teaching climate.

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Our team of educators and scientists has reviewed and organized the best free teaching resources for K-12 through college.

Get Started Teaching Climate and Energy

Easy-to-read explanations of science and policy, designed to step students through the key principles of climate and energy

Suggested teaching approaches, selected for various grade levels

Spanish-language versions

Supporting materials from the CLEAN reviewed collection

Culturally relevant climate teaching

Explore Teaching Climate and Energy

Posted: Mar 1 2023

CLEAN has translated more of our pages into Spanish including elementary teaching, culturally relevant teaching, and controversial teaching! Check out the Guidance and Toolbox pages

Posted: Jan 15 2023

Register for the Spring 2023 CLEAN Webinar Series! Topics include teaching about climate, systems thinking, consequences & solutions, and energy!

RSS

Teaching Climate and Energy with NGSS

Our resources are aligned to the standards. You can explore the key standards related to climate and energy or find a resource that supports a specific standard.

Find NGSS-tagged materials in the CLEAN collection

Design your own three-dimensional classroom units

Explore Teaching Climate and Energy with NGSS

Strengthen your Teaching

Find professional development tools and support for teaching climate and energy.

Whether you're designing lessons, adapting to online teaching, or building a constructive classroom atmosphere, we have tools to help.

Educator Toolbox

Get Involved with CLEAN

CLEAN is a community effort, brought to you by scores of educators, scientists, and curriculum developers. There are many ways to become part of this project.

Get Involved

About CLEAN

CLEAN is the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network.
Our primary efforts are:

to steward a reviewed collection of free, high-quality teaching materials for teaching climate and energy

to support the CLEAN Network, a community of professionals committed to improving climate and energy literacy.

Learn more about CLEAN
CLEAN recognizes the disproportionate impact climate change has on Communities of Color and the importance of incorporating social and environmental justice into climate education. Please see our cultural acknowledgements pages for more information.

Key:

Events in blue: Events from CLEAN

Events in black: Professional development opportunities from CLEAN

Events in green: Events from the Climate and Energy Literacy Community

Suggest an event

See Ongoing Events and Opportunities

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teach the earth incorporating societal issues climate change

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CLEAN: Committed to Climate and Energy Education

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Our team of educators and scientists has reviewed and organized the best free teaching resources for K-12 through college.

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Inspiring tweens & teens to understand what is truly going on with climate change in a way that isn’t boring or depressing.

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Inspiring tweens & teens to understand what is truly going on with climate change in a way that isn't boring or depressing. The truth is, yes, our earth is getting warmer AND our climate is changing because we've gotten really used to going along with the way things have always been done.

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the All We Can Save project x Gen Dread

As Susi Moser writes in All We Can Save, "Burnt-out people aren't equipped to serve a burning planet ... [so] the well-being of our hearts and souls must be reestablished to their rightful place as relevant, essential." The climate crisis has many folks feeling on the edge. How can we cope, care, and heal? What do our emotions have to teach us? Can climate work and leadership grow from a more rooted, powerful place?

The All We Can Save Project teamed up with Britt Wray of Gen Dread to develop this shortlist of resources created specifically for navigating the emotional terrain of climate. For people who have completed an All We Can Save Circle and are looking for more support in this area, you may find fruitful next steps here - to take individually or as a group.

If you find yourself feeling so depressed, anxious, or overwhelmed by the climate crisis that you're struggling to stay afloat or stay in the work, it might be a great time to call a climate-aware therapist. In recent years, a conscious group of psychotherapists, social workers, and psychiatrists have come together to help people live more comfortably with their climate-awareness through diverse methods and practices.

These therapists are special in the sense that they will never pathologize one's eco-distress or dismiss it as catastrophic thinking, whereas other therapists sometimes do (which ends up leaving people feeling misunderstood, alienated, and many times worse). They understand this distress to be a natural and reasonable reaction to what is happening - a sign of one's connection to and care for the world - at the same time that they provide perspectives, tools, and techniques for coping with it.
Some starting places to find climate-aware mental health professionals:

"Emotional methodologies" help people connect with and process difficult climate feelings, such as anxiety, grief, and dread, in ways that build courage, acceptance, and inner resilience. Unlike much climate-aware therapy, emotional methodologies are practices that are designed to be done in groups, and are not necessarily facilitated by a mental health professional.

In each their own way, they move people past denial and emotional paralysis towards deeper understanding of their own felt responses, as well as meaningful external actions they can take. (For more on emotional methodologies, see Jo Hamilton's 2020 PhD thesis.)

Here are a couple of our favorite emotional methodologies:

The Work That Reconnects

TWTR is practiced around the world as a way to cultivate inner resilience, healing, and connection in collectively dark times that demand empowered action. It is based in the teachings of Joanna Macy , a renowned activist and author whose life has been dedicated to helping people tap into the interconnectedness of all living things using a mixture of modern systems theory, Indigenous, and Buddhist philosophies.

TWTR moves participants through a four-stage journey that brings them into close contact with climate emotions for personal transformation:

The Evolving Edge

The Evolving Edge is a branch of TWTR that is focused on decolonizing the practices of TWTR to better meet the needs of communities of color.

Good Grief Network

GGN is an innovative peer support network for processing and integrating the uncertainty and grief that the climate and wider eco-crisis can awaken in people. Based on Alcoholics Anonymous, this group format moves participants through a 10-step program in which key topics are processed in a supportive setting, such as: "accept the uncertainty of the predicament," "practice being with uncertainty," and "honor my mortality and the mortality of all."

Volunteers can request facilitation packages and run their own GGN 10-step programs, though they are also regularly facilitated online via a donation-based format that anyone is welcome to sign up for.

To practice somatics (from the Greek soma for "body") is to listen to the sensations that come in through the body as a foundational language. It is a way of working with the connection of the mind and body to become aware of deeply rooted conscious and unconscious patterns, survival strategies, and modes of existence that we learn from traumatic situations.

By becoming aware of these patterns embedded in our neurobiology, we can uproot and reorganize them towards justice-oriented change and liberation.

Generative Somatics

Generative Somatics, an organization that works in the service of climate and social justice, offers several kinds of trauma-informed somatic programs that engage our emotions, sensations, and physiology for individual, collective, and societal transformation. Specific programs for BIPOC are available.

As GS defines it, transformation means "the ability to take new actions that are aligned with our visions and our values even under the same old pressures."

Too often, we sit in silence with our difficult eco-emotions, which creates a sense of loneliness and powerlessness. Authentic conversations about how we're feeling - in a space where those feelings are welcomed - can dramatically change that. Talking with others who give us permission to share openly can be comforting, empowering, and unleash creativity all at the same time.

Climate Awakening

Sometimes you just need to express your climate feelings with other people who get it, and not much more is required. Activist and psychologist Margaret Klein Salamon created Climate Awakening as a series of ongoing sharing and listening sessions that anyone can drop into virtually.

Climate Cafes

Climate cafes are human-centric, emotions-friendly meetings where people can safely express what they're sensing about what the climate crisis means-not in some far-out future way, but for their own lives and loved ones. They are a relational and permission-giving space that help people work through their fears and frustrations.

Conceivable Future

Drawing attention to the pressure that the climate crisis puts on reproductive decisions, and the injustice this causes for people of childbearing age today, Conceivable Future hosts "house parties" where people can express their concerns and desires about how to have kids, or not, in these times.

The founders adamantly support personal choice and do not endorse any way as the "right" way to navigate reproductive decisions in the climate crisis, whether that might mean having multiple children, adopting, or refusing to reproduce.
the Conceivable Future "House Party How-To" and host your own gathering, or upload a about how the climate crisis is shaping your intimate decisions.

Climate and social justice activists are no strangers to feelings of overwhelm, depression, and burnout. While the ills of the world that we work to heal often feel like a relentless uphill battle that we can withstand for a while, eventually that climb becomes too much to bear.

Mindfulness and mindful meditation have been proven to be effective ways of finding restoration by grounding oneself in the present moment. They tap into truths about the non-dualistic joy and suffering that are part of existence at all times, in ways that are soulfully nourishing.

Here we share two climate-focused options. But mindfulness retreats that are not climate-specific-other retreats in a given faith tradition are also beneficial in their ability to cultivate rest, presencing, and restoration.

Plum Village

Plum Village, a Zen Buddhist retreat center in France that is rooted in the teachings of activist and global spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh , sometimes offers online mindfulness retreats for and climate activists . Recommended for moments of high emotional drama, despair, burnout, compassion fatigue, and general exhaustion.
You can also use their app from the comfort of your own home for free.
Boundless in Motion

The climate crisis disproportionately burdens communities of color and layers more stress on top of existing oppression. This in turn demands culturally sensitive support.

Zen Buddhist priest and senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, Dr. Kritee Kanko hosts multi-day ecodharma retreats for people of color, as well as BIPOC grief circles.

Another very helpful way to cope with climate emotions is to learn more about how they're showing up in people's lives. By reading or listening to stories of how others are integrating these tough feelings into their lived experiences and harnessing them for deeper meaning and action, we come to feel less alone and perhaps inspired and energized. Keeping up to date on the latest research about the psychological impacts of climate can also be useful and encouraging. Here are two rich storehouses of resources.

Eco-Anxious Stories

This site serves as a welcoming and calming online realm, aimed at people who feel alone in their climate fears. It uses the power of stories to relieve that sense of isolation.

Gen Dread

This newsletter, authored by Dr. Britt Wray-who investigates to connection between climate change and mental health at Stanford and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine-shares nuanced perspectives on the emotional and psychological impacts of the climate crisis. It regularly explores tools for coping with eco-distress, the intersection of eco-anxiety and grief with social inequality, and new research and practices that are emerging from climate psychology and emotionally intelligent change-making.

Whatever path you choose to engage with climate emotions - one of the above or something else entirely - remember that feeling our feelings is part of climate work. To have our eyes wide open to both destruction and possibility takes courage.

May we be fueled by ferocious love for all we can save.

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Resources for working with climate emotions - The All We Can Save Project

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the All We Can Save project x Gen Dread As Susi Moser writes in All We Can Save, "Burnt-out people aren't equipped to serve a burning planet ... [so] the well-being of our hearts and souls must be reestablished to their rightful place as relevant, essential."

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Climate Emotions Wheel | Climate Mental Health Network

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Download the Climate Mental Health Network's Climate Emotions Wheel

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SubjectToClimate - NJ Climate Change Education Hub

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SubjectToClimate - NJ Climate Change Education Hub

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SubjectToClimate is a free platform with teacher-designed lesson plans, curated resources, and professional development opportunities to enable all K-12 educators to easily integrate climate change into what they already teach.

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We are very early in the planning stages of a conference on improving climate change education in New York State. 

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We are very early in the planning stages of a conference on improving climate change education in New York State. 

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What are the most important goals for such a meeting? This would be a discussion to give us input on planning the meeting. The tentative time frame is mid-October, with an eye on the New York State legislative calendar.

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Climate & The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change on Earth@Home

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Climate & The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change on Earth@Home

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Check out our extensive resources for teaching and learning about climate change and energy, including updated Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change.

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Data Nuggets | Bringing authentic research and data into K-16 classrooms

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Free activities that bring real scientific data into the classroom, guiding students through the process of science while building their quantitative abilities.

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Let’s not just talk about equity, let’s do something about it! Below you’ll find some of our practical tools that we can use to make an equity difference in data.

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Do you need help sorting through all the different types of data projects out there? Need a tool to help match your kind of research question to the right statistical methodology? Check out the We All Count Methodology Matrix here!

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This is a link to a HS Climate Change Course - Developed by Tim Muhich - PhD Student, University of Michigan and Former Michigan HS Teacher.

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Working Draft Instructor Handbook Honors Global Climate Change

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The new issues of the Learning Earth Newsletter

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The new issues of the Learning Earth Newsletter

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Join us in Ithaca this summer for a three-day workshop on teaching climate change. Check out our online resources! And more! Read on! https://us20.campaign-archive.com/?u=bb04d23c7bc22239db46ca5c8&id=7c7b1b4d8e

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🌎 Learning Earth: PRI's Educator Newsletter Vol. 4 Issue 3

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The workshop will address how teaching climate change satisfies state standards in a range of ways, and includes attention to teaching climate across the curriculum. Each of the three days will have a theme with demonstration lessons and associated resources tied to the theme.

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How do you talk about Climate Emotions in your program or classroom?

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How do you talk about Climate Emotions in your program or classroom?

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What is the role of the Maryland Climate Change Commission in the "Education for Climate Action" space?

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What is the role of the Maryland Climate Change Commission in the "Education for Climate Action" space?

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An official website of the State of Maryland.

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What's new with the "soon to be released" Climate Literacy Principles?

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What's new with the "soon to be released" Climate Literacy Principles?

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The Essential Principles of Climate Literacy was released in 2006...it's getting an update!!! What are a few things we can anticipate and when might it be released?"

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The Essential Principles of Climate Literacy

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Climate and energy are complex topics. There are many ways to approach climate and energy depending on the grade level, course topics and instructional method.

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National High School Certification Program

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National High School Certification Program

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Working with high school students (as a formal or informal educator) and want to help them bridge learning about climate change and taking climate action? Want to help them receive national certification for their efforts? Check out the Youth Climate Institute! Learn more about the program at our website and/or join our lightning talk during the concurrent sessions on Day 3.

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The Youth Climate Institute educates and certifies the next generation of leaders on climate science, environmental justice and real world solutions.

The Youth Climate Institute educates and certifies the next generation of leaders on climate science, environmental justice and real world solutions.

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Building the next generation of climate leaders Building the next generation of climate leaders Join YCI Start a chapter Join YCI Start a chapter LISTEN TO THE YOUTH CLIMATE INSTITUTE TEAM ON WYPR The Youth Climate Institute educates and certifies the next generation

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Climate Change is a Hoax! Change my mind.

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Climate Change is a Hoax! Change my mind.

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How can we reach science deniers? We need to be able to communicate respectfully to people who either don't understand or refuse the evidence. Are there psychologists involved with this conference that can shed professional light and help us, as educators, get through the cloud of misinformation?

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What are possible changes to policy with changes after federal (presidential) election?

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What are possible changes to policy with changes after federal (presidential) election?

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Check out a video collaboration between myself (with JRA) and Virginia Public Media to inform middle school students about the impacts of climate change specific to the James River!

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Murky Problems, Clear Solutions: Impacts of Climate Change in Virginia

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Climate change is impacting the James River and there are different issues and solutions for different parts of the river.

Travel down the James with Matt Scott of the James River Association to explore the watershed and learn about the impacts of sediment in Lynchburg, flooding in Richmond, and sea level rise and erosion in Hampton Roads.

Learn about some of the solutions being used now to help tackle these problems.

This video was developed to support the 6th grade Science SOLs in Virginia and associated lesson plans are available.

A production of VPM in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Education.

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Learn about our work to advance climate change education and ensure that education and engagement are part of the toolbox of solutions to build more resilient communities, advance justice, and equity, and create a climate-ready workforce.

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North American Association for Environmental Education

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Coalition for Climate Education Policy | North American Association for Environmental Education

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The Coalition for Climate Education Policy is a diverse cross-sector coalition of organizations advocating for federal policies and cross-agency efforts to advance climate literacy in the United States. As a non-partisan network, we are working to advance climate change education and ensure that education and engagement are part of the toolbox of solutions to build more resilient communities, advance justice, and equity, and create a climate-ready workforce.

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The Role of Hope in Climate Change Education

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The Role of Hope in Climate Change Education

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What are some examples of actions or strategies that engender hope, in students and how can we create more?

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Teacher Networking! Share what you and your students are most proud of. Let's be there to support each other. Community of educators in the field.

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Teacher Networking! Share what you and your students are most proud of. Let's be there to support each other. Community of educators in the field.

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For the Coalition https://naaee.org/programs/coalition

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North American Association for Environmental Education

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Coalition for Climate Education Policy Resources | North American Association for Environmental Education

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North American Association for Environmental Education 1250 24th Street, NW Suite 801 Washington DC, 20037 info@naaee.org 202-419-0412 Staff Login

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https://www.cretf.org/policy

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Climate and Resilience Education Task Force

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Deadline to submit public comments on New York State's Climate Action Council Draft Scoping Plan is May 1st, 2022. This is an opportunity for those who care about climate education to elevate it as a critical component of the Climate Act's implementation. Please review our response and comment tips here.

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Climate and Resilience Education Task Force

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Deadline to submit public comments on New York State's Climate Action Council Draft Scoping Plan is May 1st, 2022. This is an opportunity for those who care about climate education to elevate it as a critical component of the Climate Act's implementation. Please review our response and comment tips here.

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I am an informal educator at a brand new natural history museum and fossil park in South Jersey. I am the only educator on staff at the moment, and we are starting from scratch. What can we do to make K-12 field trips unforgettable & impactful? Which aspects of climate education should specifically be embedded into them? What were some of your best field trip experiences and why? How can we involve teachers in this process?

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With the urgency of climate change, we must all determine our responsibility to contribute to climate solutions. The K12 Climate Action Plan outlines the needs and opportunities for the education sector to take action on climate change and advance solutions.

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Resources for sharing climate success stories?? 

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Resources for sharing climate success stories?? 

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Resources for Volunteers/Docents Discussing Climate Change to the Public?

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Resources for Volunteers/Docents Discussing Climate Change to the Public?

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Hi all,

Does anyone have any resources they give to their volunteers before they discuss climate change out on the floor?

Any other recommendations? Thanks!

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The Fifth National Climate Assessment is the US Government's preeminent report on climate change impacts, risks, and responses. It is a congressionally mandated interagency effort that provides the scientific foundation to support informed decision-making across the United States.

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How do you recommend working with school administrators within conservative communities on teaching climate change? There is push back from both parents and admin. 

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How do you recommend working with school administrators within conservative communities on teaching climate change? There is push back from both parents and admin. 

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When you start talking about climate and folks say "let's not talk about politics" 

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When you start talking about climate and folks say "let's not talk about politics" 

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How to get started with implementing more climate action-based programs/projects

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How to get started with implementing more climate action-based programs/projects

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Philly Public Health & CC 5-8 Curriculum

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Philly Public Health & CC 5-8 Curriculum

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Philadelphia Regional Center for Children's Environmental Health

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Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of rain storms in the Northeastern US. Where will all of this water go and what impact will it have on us?
Download the curriculum
Understanding the water cycle is foundational to understanding the challenges of flooding in cities like Philadelphia and in developing strategies to enhance resilience. This unit delves deep into the hydrologic cycle, unraveling its complexities and exploring the pathways water traverses our city. Students will learn how climate change is causing flooding events to occur more often in Philadelphia. The narrative of the unit is consistent with a specific focus on Philadelphia, including a lesson on the combined sewage water system that is largely impacting flooding events in the city. Students will discuss how the impacts of flooding include environmental, physical health, mental health and economic challenges to communities. The unit concludes with a positive look toward the future as students develop resilience strategies to be used in addressing future flooding. This unit guides students through the nexus of water, climate change, and resilience, equipping them with the knowledge and tools to navigate the complexities.

In lesson one, students will learn the process of the hydrologic cycle, the continuous circulation of water on the Earth and in the Atmospheric system. Water moves from the ground to the atmosphere and back to the ground through various processes, most importantly, evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation and runoff. A basic explanation of each process along with images of the water cycle is found at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website. Evaporation of water from earth's surface, such as the ocean begins the water cycle. Evaporation changes the liquid state of water into the gaseous state, water vapor. As the water vapor rises through the atmosphere, the water vapor cools and condenses to form clouds. The water vapor remains in the atmosphere until the clouds become too heavy, causing the water vapor to turn to liquid (rain) or solid (snow) and return to Earth's surface as precipitation. Once water returns to the surface, it can either be evaporated or penetrate the surface to become groundwater, or run-off into surface water like streams, lakes, and rivers. Groundwater and surface water either travels to meet oceans, rivers and streams, or is released back to the atmosphere through transpiration, the evaporation of water from plants.

In lesson two, students will learn what happens when water hits the ground, beginning with an introduction to watersheds. A watershed is an area of land that channels rainfall and snowmelt to bodies of water such as streams, rivers and creeks until eventually flowing to outflow points such as the ocean, reservoirs or bays. The term watershed is interchangeable with drainage basin, which helps to envision a watershed as a bowl where water at the high points will flow to the lowest points of the bowl and can be visualized by the NOAA explanation and diagrams. The lesson continues to explain the difference between water landing on previous and impervious surfaces. Permeable surfaces allow water to seep into the ground while impervious surfaces are solid, do not allow water to penetrate and instead force water to run off. Examples of impervious and pervious surfaces are included at Permeable vs Impermeable. As water flows across Earth's surface, it collects pollutants which can be dangerous to humans. Students will learn how water flowing throughout Philadelphia on largely impervious surfaces collects pollutants that contaminate the water.

In lesson three, students will learn what happens to water that lands on the surface in Philadelphia. The increase in flooding in Philadelphia is two parts: first, climate change is increasing precipitation, and second the combined sewer system of Philadelphia is not equipped to handle the intense precipitation events. Climate change is impacting the water cycle largely through the warming of the atmosphere which has caused sea level rise, droughts and increased precipitation. The United Nations provides an overview of climate change, including the causes and impacts. The warmer temperatures resulting from climate change are causing more water to evaporate from the surface. Due to more water in the atmosphere there is more water returning to the surface. The EPA and National Geographic provide an explanation of how climate change is increasing precipitation and therefore increasing flooding events. After discussing the reasoning for why we are experiencing more rainfall , the students will learn where the water goes once it lands on the surface. Philadelphia has a combined sewer system which means that sewage from homes and wastewater from streets enter the same pipes to be sent to the wastewater treatment plant. The system is fine until there is too much precipitation and run-off, causing the wastewater treatment plants to be overwhelmed. As a result, wastewater spills over into the waterways untreated.

In lesson four, students will learn about the impacts of flooding. Repeated flooding impacts infrastructure, human health and the environment. Through a story about a family impacted by flooding and a sorting activity, students will learn about the environmental impacts of flooding including habitat destruction, erosion, water pollution, contaminated soil, and displacement of species. Examples of impacts to infrastructure include damage to roads and bridges from erosion, debris carried by floodwaters damaging buildings or blocking drainage systems and roads, power outages from damaged electrical systems, flooding inside buildings leading to mold growth, and weakened foundations. Impacts on physical health include, respiratory problems resulting from mold growth, waterborne disease, injuries from debris and navigating waters, exposure to chemical contaminated water, and vector-borne diseases brought by insects drawn to moist locations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides examples of the impacts of flooding along with data to help conceptualize the dangers of flooding. The physical damages to the environment, infrastructure and physical human health are often represented; however, repeated flooding has significant impacts on an individual's mental health.

In the final lesson, students will learn resilience strategies that can be used to prepare for and fight against urban flooding. A resilience strategy is a plan to enhance, withstand, adapt to and recover from disruptions or crises. Many resilience strategies to address flooding connect back to lesson two in which students learn how impervious surfaces found in cities contribute to flooding. Replacing the impervious surfaces with green infrastructure such as street trees, permeable pavement, rain gardens, and rainwater harvesting helps allow rainwater to be absorbed rather than runoff the surface and overwhelm the sewer system. By adapting resilience strategies, urban communities can be better prepared for and mitigate the impacts of flooding, protecting people, property, and the environment.

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Curriculum for 5-8 Grades: A Journey Through Water's Path and Its Challenges | Philadelphia Regional Center for Children's Environmental Health

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Middle school curriculum on the water cycle, flooding, Philadelphia specific water issues, and climate change.

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See comments section for links to more games!!!

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The Climate Ribbon is an arts ritual to grieve what each of us stands to lose to Climate Chaos, and affirm our solidarity as we unite to fight against it.

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Mini-storylines to resolve common misconceptions each aligned to one particular NGSS performance expectation

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Climate Change Story Shorts | National Center for Science Education

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NCSE’s Climate Change Story Shorts provide a new, teacher-friendly take on Next Generation Science Standards storylines. These shorter instructional units with modular activities and optional sidequests engage students in the three dimensions to resolve one or more common misconceptions within one to two weeks of instructional time.