[ESIP-all] Fw: Launch of Climate Education and Literacy Initiative
Tamara Ledley via ESIP-all
esip-all at lists.esipfed.org
Wed Dec 3 13:31:28 EST 2014
Here is the White House announcement of the Climate Education and Literacy
Initiative. Please share. Sorry for cross posting!
___________________________________
Tamara Shapiro Ledley, PhD
Senior Scientist, TERC
2067 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02140
phone: 617-873-9658; fax: 617-349-3535
----- Forwarded by Tamara Ledley/CSTL/TERC on 12/03/2014 01:29 PM -----
From: "Petes, Laura" <Laura_E_Petes at ostp.eop.gov>
To: "Petes, Laura" <Laura_E_Petes at ostp.eop.gov>
Cc: "Hubbard, Sarah (Intern)" <Sarah_M_Hubbard at ostp.eop.gov>
Date: 12/03/2014 12:44 PM
Subject: Launch of Climate Education and Literacy Initiative
Dear All,
I wanted to let you know that we just that we just announced the launch of
a new Climate Education and Literacy Initiative to help connect students
and citizens with the best-available, science-based information about
climate change. Today’s launch includes a number of exciting new
commitments and announcements, including your contributions. You are
encouraged to share with your networks and to amplify via social media
using the hashtags #ActonClimate and #ClimateED”.
Thanks again for all of your hard work. Your input and energy have been
(and will continue to be) invaluable in guiding our climate-education
efforts, and we are grateful for your support and dedication.
Sincerely,
Laura
Fact Sheet about the Administration’s new Climate Education and Literacy
Initiative HERE (and pasted below). [
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/climateed-dec-3-2014.pdf
]
Read about additional climate-related steps the White House announced
today HERE. [
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/03/fact-sheet-16-us-communities-recognized-climate-action-champions-leaders
]
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of Science and Technology Policy
For Immediate Release
December 3, 2014
FACT SHEET: Lifting America’s Game in Climate Education, Literacy, and
Training
“If you believe, like I do, that something has to be done on this, then
you’re going to have to speak out. You’re going to have to learn more
about these issues… You’ve got to educate your classmates, and colleagues,
and family members and fellow citizens, and tell them what’s at stake.”
-- President Obama, June 2014, Remarks at the University of
California-Irvine Commencement Ceremony
Under President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, important steps have already
been taken to cut carbon pollution, prepare for the impacts of climate
change, and lead international efforts to fight this global challenge.
Continued progress into the future will depend on ensuring a climate-smart
citizenry and a next-generation American workforce of city planners,
community leaders, engineers, and entrepreneurs who understand the urgent
climate-change challenge and are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and
training to seek and implement solutions.
That’s why today, in support of the Obama Administration’s steady efforts
to address climate change, the White House Office of Science & Technology
Policy (OSTP) is launching a new Climate Education and Literacy Initiative
to help connect American students and citizens with the best-available,
science-based information about climate change.
The Initiative is kicking off with a roundtable discussion at the White
House, convening key leaders in the education community from government,
academia, philanthropies, non-governmental organizations, and the private
sector to discuss ways to enhance climate education in the United States.
The discussion will focus on planned and potential efforts to: increase
learning opportunities about climate change for students; equip educators
with science-based information and resources; enhance climate-related
professional development and training; and engage citizens through
place-based and informal climate education.
Through the Climate Education and Literacy Initiative, the Obama
Administration is asking leaders across sectors to step up and help lift
our Nation’s game in climate education. In response to an initial call to
action made in October, more than 150 activities, projects, and ideas were
submitted by individuals and organizations across the country, from more
than 30 states. These included a diverse array of innovative approaches
being implemented in K-12 classrooms, on college and university campuses,
and in zoos, parks, aquariums, and museums to educate and engage students
and citizens of all ages. Today’s launch includes a number of exciting new
commitments by Federal agencies and outside groups.
Administration Commitments:
Equipping National Park Service employees with climate-relevant resources.
The National Park Service (NPS) is developing a National Climate Change
Interpretive Plan to better serve the employees, volunteers, partners, and
concessionaires who engage with the more than 270 million individuals who
visit the Nation's 401 National Parks annually. To be completed by the end
of 2015, the Plan will guide NPS in providing interpretive services
related to climate change as the nation celebrates the NPS Centennial in
2016. Specifically, the Plan will assist NPS interpretive managers and
practitioners in the creation and delivery of effective climate-change
messages in the programs and exhibits across all National Parks.
Providing training to senior Federal leaders. The Office of Personnel
Management (OPM), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of the
Interior (DOI), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are spearheading a
new “Climate Change for Senior Executive Leaders” program. Based on a
pilot held in October 2014, new courses will be offered in 2015, with the
goal of training 100 Senior Executives from the Federal Government over
the coming year. In addition, a new “Climate-LEAD” course will be piloted
in 2015 in partnership with OPM's Leadership Education And Development
Program; this course will educate future climate-change leaders in the
General Schedule (GS) ranks across Federal agencies. Collectively, these
trainings will equip the Federal Government’s leaders with the information
and skills they need to understand and address climate change through
their positions and programs.
Convening regional climate-science workshops for educators. In 2015, NOAA
will sponsor five regional workshops for a total of 400 formal and
informal educators, providing opportunities to interact with climate
experts and visit climate-science facilities to explore the technological
innovations that have revolutionized Earth-system research. Workshops will
focus on the regional impacts of climate change, as highlighted in the
Third National Climate Assessment. The series will start in Silver Spring,
MD with a NOAA Climate Modeling and Simulation Workshop for Educators to
showcase tools and hands-on, interactive strategies that can be used in
classrooms to meaningfully foster understanding and critical thinking
around society’s climate challenges. Other workshops will take place in
Seattle, WA, St. Petersburg, FL, Boulder, CO, and Chicago, IL.
Leveraging digital games to enhance climate education. NOAA and other
science agencies will collaborate to harness the promise of educational
games and interactive media to enhance understanding and awareness of
climate-change impacts and solutions. As part of this effort, in 2015,
NOAA and partners will organize a competition bringing together game
developers, scientists, and educators to create new game prototypes that
allow players to learn about climate change through science-based,
interactive experiences. Promising prototypes may be made available for
teachers and students to use in the classroom.
Enhancing energy literacy. Today, the Department of Energy (DOE), along
with the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) and the National Center for
Science Education (NCSE), is launching the first four videos in a series
highlighting each of the seven essential principles presented in the DOE
Energy Literacy Framework. The Framework seeks to help educators of all
disciplines and age groups incorporate a multidisciplinary approach to
energy into their lessons and programs. The final three videos are
expected by September 2015. In addition, DOE is also announcing the
Spanish-language version of its Get Current coloring book, which is part
of an ongoing effort to expand educational resources for the growing
Spanish-speaking population in the United States.
Harnessing digital platforms to disseminate climate information. In 2015,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ESTEEM (Earth
Systems, Technology, and Energy Education for MUREP-Minority University
Research and Education Project) will host a set of online conversations
through its “Ask US (Useful Science)” Educator Professional Development
series. “Ask US” brings science-based resources to teachers through
engaging virtual sessions hosted by NASA’s Digital Learning Network. Last
year, the newly launched series reached over 1,200 educators and spanned a
variety of sectors, including pre-college education, universities,
community colleges, and non-profits. In 2015, five additional “Ask US”
sessions will be held, with a focus on connecting educators with findings
of the Third National Climate Assessment.
External Commitments:
The Alliance for Climate Education (ACE). Over the coming year, ACE will
educate 150,000 high-school students with their assembly program that
presents climate science through storytelling, animation, music, and
video. ACE will also engage 50,000 of those students through their online
and mobile networks. As part of this effort, ACE has committed to align
their assemblies and online resources with information from the Third
National Climate Assessment and to train 80 high-school students next year
as climate leaders through the ACE Action Fellowship. These Fellowships
support students in becoming lifelong climate leaders by developing their
knowledge of climate science and solutions, growing their public
communication skills, and enhancing their ability to take action on local
climate issues.
American Meteorological Society (AMS). In Spring 2015, AMS, in partnership
with Second Nature and the American College and University Presidents’
Climate Commitment, will prepare 30 faculty members from Minority Serving
Institutions (MSIs) to introduce climate-science courses onto their
campuses. A series of workshops for MSI professors interested in enhancing
coursework around paleoclimate is also being developed by AMS, the
Consortium for Ocean Leadership, the National Science Foundation (NSF)
International Ocean Discovery Program, and the U.S. Ice Drilling Program
Office, in collaboration with multiple partners from higher education and
with support from NSF and Lockheed Martin.
Aquarium of the Pacific, National Aquarium, New England Aquarium, and
Seattle Aquarium. Through a partnership called Visualizing Change:
Training and Tools to Support Informal Educators, the Aquarium of the
Pacific, National Aquarium, New England Aquarium, and Seattle Aquarium,
which collectively welcome over 5 million visitors annually, are
collaborating to use digital platforms and technologies to illustrate
impacts of climate change on coasts and oceans. In 2015, new visual
narratives on sea-level rise, ocean acidification, extreme weather, and
impacts on primary productivity will be launched in pilot phases at these
aquariums and other informal education centers throughout the Nation, with
the goal of communicating climate information and science through enhanced
visitor engagement.
Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC). In 2015, ASTC, The Wild
Center, and the Alliance for Climate Education, in collaboration with DOE,
will hold 10 Youth Climate Summits throughout the United States and five
in other areas of the world, directly engaging over 1,000 student leaders.
The Youth Climate Summits will provide an opportunity for high-school,
college, and university students to gain leadership skills through
educational conferences on climate change and sustainability, and to
create Climate Action Plans for their own institutions. Selected teams
will join together for a major internet-based youth conference at the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Conference of the
Parties (COP) 21 Summit in Paris.
Chicago Botanic Garden. The Chicago Botanic Garden, in collaboration with
11 other community and conservation organizations in the Midwest, is
launching the Connecting Climate to Communities Initiative (C3I). With
funding from the EPA, C3I will engage diverse audiences in climate actions
that build on existing community improvement projects, such as providing
training to staff of Chicago-area zoos, supporting the installation by
teachers of rain gardens in Northwest Indiana schools to address flooding
and increase climate literacy, and more. Through its projects, C3I expects
to reach over 5,000 youth, families, and adults and intends to make a
collection of case studies and resources available for other organizations
interested in place-based, science-based approaches to climate action.
The Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN). By Summer 2015,
over 50 new resources, including classroom activities, experiments,
visualizations, and videos will be added to the CLEAN Collection – a free,
online catalogue of over 625 scientifically and educationally reviewed
climate and energy education materials. The CLEAN Collection is led by
TERC, the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science at
the University of Colorado Boulder, the Science Education Resource Center
at Carleton College, and NOAA. As part of this effort, NOAA and DOE are
working with CLEAN to align these online resources with the Next
Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and
the University of Colorado, Boulder. Through the Tribe’s Eye project,
co-led by tribal community partners and education experts from the
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES),
tribal college students from the Navajo Nation and their instructors will
use photography to tell a story about how environmental and climatic
changes affect their lives on the reservation. University of Colorado
Boulder science graduate students and a professional photographer will
mentor the students throughout the project. In addition, CIRES, together
with the Western Water Assessment program, is announcing a new four-week
Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on “Water in the Western United States,”
starting Spring 2015. This free, online course features water researchers
discussing the importance of water to society and the changing physical,
climatic, social and legal aspects of water management in the Western
United States. The course is expected to reach over 10,000 students.
Earth Day Network (EDN). In honor of the 45th anniversary of Earth Day,
and recognizing that climate change is one of the greatest threats
currently facing the planet, the EDN is announcing that the theme of the
2015 Earth Week (April 18-25) is “It’s Our Turn to Lead,” with a focus on
climate education. During this week, EDN and partners will work with their
100,000 K-12 Earth Day coordinators at schools across the country to
provide climate-science-based curricula, posters, and other products to
engage students and educators. EDN will also collaborate with the World
Bank’s Connect4Climate program to facilitate the extension of this work to
other countries around the world.
Green Schools Alliance. The Green Schools Alliance is announcing a new
initiative to empower K-12 teachers with the skills needed to implement
climate and conservation projects at their schools. This pilot program
will invite up to 50 teachers from across the country to participate in
the first Educator Climate & Conservation Colloquium (EC3) and Global
Resilience & Environmental Educational Educators Network (GREEN) Educator
Certification program through a partnership with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center. Educators from
public and independent schools will receive training on a variety of
campus sustainability, green building, and wildlife conservation issues in
order to better serve their schools and communities.
Los Angeles (LA) Unified School District. Today, the LA Unified School
District, the second-largest school district in the Nation, is joining the
Green Schools Alliance, making a commitment to address climate and
sustainability issues through its operations and education programs. With
the membership of the LA Unified School District, the Green Schools
Alliance now includes the three largest school districts in the country
(along with NYC Department of Education and Chicago Public Schools). The
LA Unified School District will join other Alliance schools in setting,
meeting, and implementing sustainability and climate goals, including
efforts to reduce energy and water use, increase waste diversion rates,
and engage the next generation of innovators through experiential
learning.
Maryland and Delaware Climate Change Education Assessment and Research
(MADE-CLEAR) Program. The MADE-CLEAR program, a partnership led by the
Maryland and Delaware state university systems and funded by NSF, is
enhancing climate education and literacy in the mid-Atlantic region. In
2015, MADE-CLEAR will provide training for master educators to guide
colleagues in teaching climate science in classrooms and nature centers.
In addition, MADE-CLEAR will conduct climate-education workshops for
pre-service teachers (undergraduate students studying to become teachers)
at universities in Maryland and Delaware. These workshops will connect
future educators with climate-science content and standards-based model
lessons, to support integration of this new topic into their middle- and
high-school classrooms.
Museum of Science in Miami. The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of
Science in Miami is partnering with the University of Miami – Rosenstiel
School of Marine and Atmospheric Science on a new course to provide
climate-communications training to scientists. Through the course,
scientists will develop and present demonstrations and activities that
explain concepts relevant to the Museum’s scientific content, including
South Florida’s changing ecosystems and climate change. In 2015, up to 50
students will participate in this course, with the goal of expanding the
program to other universities in South Florida over the coming years. This
course will enhance the ability of scientists to discuss environmental
issues throughout their careers, including through interactions with
visitors to the Museum.
National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF). The National
Environmental Education Foundation is developing a free online “Extreme
Weather 101” course for release in early 2015 to equip individuals,
families, and communities with the information they need to understand the
links between climate change and extreme weather, anticipate extreme
weather events, and take steps to prepare in order to protect life and
property. NEEF will work with NOAA and interagency collaborators to draw
upon information, data, and tools from the Third National Climate
Assessment, climate.gov, and elsewhere. The course is being developed with
a Social Innovation Grant from Udemy and will be published through the
Udemy online platform.
The Ocean Project. In January 2015, The Ocean Project, an initiative to
advance conservation in partnership with aquariums, zoos, and museums
around the world, will release a new study based on a survey of 11,000
Americans about their perceptions related to oceans, climate change, and
environmental concerns. Leveraging years of previous survey and analysis
work, this report will provide findings and strategic recommendations to
help institutions across the country tailor their programs, exhibits, and
outreach efforts to inspire informed action to combat climate change.
Collectively, U.S. aquariums, zoos, and museums engage with and educate
more than 250 million annual visitors.
Philadelphia Zoo. Today, recognizing the crucial role of zoos in informing
social discourse, the Philadelphia Zoo, which welcomes over 1.3 million
visitors annually, is announcing a new effort to document the connection
between onsite energy-saving messaging and visitors’ at-home energy-saving
behavior. This project, which is supported by PECO, the largest electric
and natural gas utility in Pennsylvania, and The Ocean Project’s
Innovation Solutions+ Grant Program, will complement and build upon
hands-on “Save Energy to Save Wildlife” activities already in place at
Philadelphia’s KidZooU: Hamilton Family Children’s Zoo and Faris Family
Education Center.
Second Nature and the American College and University Presidents’ Climate
Commitment (ACUPCC). ACUPCC, a signature program of the nonprofit Second
Nature, represents over 680 colleges and universities committed to
pursuing carbon neutrality, achieving sustainability, creating robust
climate action plans, and rigorously reporting greenhouse-gas emissions.
Building on the ACUPCC, in May 2014, Second Nature launched a new network
of partners, focused specifically on building climate resilience on
campuses. Nearly 50 colleges and universities, including Agnes Scott
College, Central Community College, Portland State University, University
of Arizona, and others, have already committed to join this partnership,
and over the coming year approximately 100 additional signatories are
anticipated. Partners will conduct assessments and planning in key
climate-vulnerable sectors, such as energy, water, infrastructure, and
transportation. They will also work closely with their surrounding
communities to accelerate and enhance education, research, and activities
that advance understanding of climate-related risks and design positive
futures.
University of California, Irvine (UCI). In January 2015, the Global
Sustainability Resource Center will host UCI’s first retreat for
undergraduate students enrolled in the Global Sustainability Minor –
enabling approximately 40 students to build their skills in strategic
questioning, community visioning, action planning, and climate
communication. The Resource Center will lead a similar training in Spring
2015 with high-school students in the Anza Borrego desert region, and in
Summer 2015 with incoming students through UCI’s Summer Institute for
Sustainability Leadership. At the grade-school level, UCI’s Water
Partnership for International Research and Education H2Outreach, a
graduate student-led educational program, will design an interactive
activity to turn more than 700 local elementary-school students into water
engineers and scientists for a day in Spring 2015, teaching them about
environmentally friendly ways to manage water in the face of a changing
climate.
USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN). USA-NPN, a partnership of the
University of Arizona, the U.S. Geological Survey, and other institutions,
encourages people of all ages and backgrounds to observe and record
phenology, the timing of events like leafing and blooming of trees, as a
way to discover and explore the nature and pace of our dynamic world. In
2015, the more than 4,000 active observers contributing to the USA-NPN
Nature’s Notebook will receive near-real-time predictions of leaf-out
dates for target tree species in their area and will be asked to help
evaluate the accuracy of these predictions by reporting actual conditions
on the ground. The collected citizen-science data will be analyzed and
used to help improve predictive models of the onset of spring under
current and future climate scenarios.
Will Steger Foundation. The Will Steger Foundation is launching a series
of events through Minnesota Stories in a Changing Climate, a project
funded through Minnesota’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund
and focused on sharing climate-relevant knowledge of local experts and the
stories of individual experiences. Beginning in March 2015, twelve public
forums and four educator workshops will be held across the State of
Minnesota to help share stories and credible information about climate
change. These events are expected to reach over 2,500 individuals and will
include discussions and information based on best-available science,
including the Third National Climate Assessment and research from
Minnesota universities and state government agencies. In addition, through
this project, and in partnership with Twin Cities Public Television, a new
television documentary and a website featuring local stories and other
resources will be developed.
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