Date & Time: Tuesday, May 9 at 7:00 pm ET

Book: All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis

All are welcome even if you haven't finished or read the book! 

This will be NOAA Planet final Book Club meeting of the 2022/2023 academic year. Information on how to log in may be found in the Book Club section of our Upcoming Events Page.

You can find over 60 fiction, non-fiction, and young-adult selections from past Book Clubs - with discussion questions! - in our Book Club Archive. There’s something for everyone at the NOAA Planet Stewards Book Club: catch up on some knowledge, enjoy a quick fun read, or find a book to use with your students. Join us!

This Summer NOAA Planet Stewards will be hosting two in person educator workshops with our partners:

• July 11-13 in Detroit, MI with the Detroit Zoological Society: Climate Justice: Exploring the Science and Stewardship of Climate Change in Your Classroom.
  
  
• July 18-20 in Annapolis, MD with the Maryland Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education: Investigate and Engage in Local Climate Change Impacts and Solutions

At both workshops attendees will:

• Have opportunities to learn from and interact with subject matter experts.
• Learn how to incorporate standards-aligned climate change and environmental education lessons into existing curriculum.
• Experience hands-on, outdoor lessons to use with students
• Engage with NOAA Planet Stewards and uncover opportunities to develop stewardship projects that mobilize youth to take action in their communities
• Leave with new professional contacts, teaching ideas, and educational materials!

Find out more about these opportunities and how to register for them here.

Do you have an item you'd like to share with our education community? Please complete this form to recommend your submission.

In this episode, we present a podcast from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) called Engineering with Nature®. The show presents research on how blue carbon is helping to address climate change. Blue carbon is carbon captured by ocean and coastal ecosystems. Host Sarah Thorne and Jeff King, senior environmental research scientists with USACE and national leads of the Engineering With Nature® program, are joined by Lisa Chambers, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Central Florida; Jenny Davis, research ecologist with NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science; and Jacob Berkowitz, a research soil scientist and lead of the Wetland Team with USACE’s Engineer Research Development Center.

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider subscribing in your podcast app of choice. Just search on "NOAA ocean" to find us. And let us know what you think: listener reviews really help us gain traction. Help the NOAA Ocean podcast climb the charts!

• NOAA Ocean Podcast feed
• Link to Apple podcasts (leave a review!) in iTunes
• All of our podcast episodes and full transcripts are available online

Environmental Action Civic Week (May 8-12) is an elevation of young people who are civically involved in environmental issues, a celebration of the adults supporting them, and a convening of people changing the future.

Tuesday, May 9, 2023 | 12:00 pm ET

• RISE Challenge Colorado Summit: See Colorado students present their projects that improve community resilience to natural hazards. Register now.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023 | 1:00 pm ET

• Igniting Change: Join a conversation of how Environmental Action Civics has helped make meaningful, sustainable, and equitable changes in local communities. Register now.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023 | 5:00 pm ET

• Youth Panel: Young People Improving Communities: Watch a youth panel talk about how young people can use Environmental Action Civics to create youth-adult partnerships, talk to decision makers, and create systemic solutions to local issues. Register now.

Thursday, May 11, 2023 | 2:30 pm ET

• Caring for Our Watersheds Chesapeake Bay Finals: See Mid-Atlantic students present their projects that improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Register now.

Friday, May 12, 2023 | 1:00 pm ET

• Celebrating a Week of Environmental Action Civics: Reflect on the week with Earth Force staff and meet their team! Register now

This webinar will highlight two case studies demonstrating an extended collaboration between scientists and educators. One, focusing on understanding the effects of ocean acidification on American lobsters, used an internship to provide hands-on research experience for science teachers, multimedia for sharing information about the project, and the Virginia Scientist Educator Alliance to provide training for lesson plan design. The second, a community science program allowedhigh school students to track oyster growth and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, put science directly in the hands of students. Register now.

Talk Climate and Climate Mental Health Network will host a conversation about how you break the silence and handle tough climate conversations with the young people you care about. Featuring:

• Harriet Shugarman of Climate Mama
• Leslie Davenport: Climate Psychologist
• Anu Ramamurty of Kat Kid Adventure
• Vanessa Villanueva: Gen Z Climate Mental Health Advisor
• Caroline Brewer: Environmental Educator and Author
• Moderated by Anya Kamenetz of the Aspen Institute's This Is Planet Ed.

Register now.

The eeVAL project is about building capacity and community to create more just, inclusive, and healthy partnerships, programs, and communities. This series dives into the values and practices that can build a foundation for culturally responsive and equitable evaluation in your program(s). Educators, program designers, coordinators, evaluators, and funders with diverse perspectives and experiences are welcome to join the eeVAL network. Register once to be able to attend both events.

Nuclear energy is one of the most reliable sources of carbon-free electricity, and maintaining the current nuclear power fleet is a key part of U.S. trajectories to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. However, nuclear energy is not without risks, and it produces radioactive waste that lasts for millennia. As such, nuclear energy is a contentious topic with complex tradeoffs. Kara Colton (Energy Communities Alliance) will moderate a nuanced conversation with Ahmed Abdulla (Carleton University) and Michael Ford (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory) about the challenges and opportunities related to the current and future role of nuclear energy in efforts to decarbonize the U.S. The conversation will touch on the science and engineering of nuclear reactors; the current social, political, and regulatory environment around nuclear energy in the U.S.; and lessons that can be learned from other countries that also employ nuclear energy.

Register for the webinar.

June 7-8, 2023 from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm ET 

MS/HS teachers, reserve your spot to engage with the new NASA-supported “Future of Forests” curriculum! This FREE 2-day virtual teacher workshop will be facilitated by scientists and curriculum developers from CIRES at the University of Colorado Boulder. Participants will engage with online interactives, case studies, and the GLOBE Observer landcover protocol app, gathering evidence to construct conceptual models and written explanations for the unit driving question, "How do landscapes recover after a wildfire?"

Participants will have the option to receive a certificate for 10 PD hours (free) or purchase 1 graduate credit ($90) from the University of Colorado Boulder.

2. A Changing Arctic Ecosystem

July 12-13, 2023 11:00 am - 3:00 pm ET each day

 The Arctic is warming more rapidly than anywhere else on Earth. One consequence of a warming Arctic is a dramatic decline in sea ice, an important habitat for many Arctic plants and animals. In this FREE teacher workshop, you’ll hear from Arctic scientists and the curriculum developers as they lead you through "A Changing Arctic Ecosystem”, a MS/HS storyline unit tied to NGSS Life Science standards in which students trace the flow of carbon through the Arctic food web to predict how declining sea ice might impact Arctic organisms large and small. Engage with ArcGIS Storymaps, hands-on investigations, authentic Arctic datasets, and more in this 2-day interactive. Register now. 

3. The Tipping Point Data Puzzle

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 | 10:00 am - 2:00 pm ET

Join developer Jon Griffith and featured scientist, ecologist Dr. Megan DeMarche as they lead you through "The Tipping Point", a 2-day MS/HS resource in which students analyze ecological data to explain how rising temperatures are affecting the hearty tundra plant, moss campion, and consider what that might mean for the rest of the ecosystem. Register now.

4. Megafires: Rare Occurrences or the New Normal? Data Puzzle

Tuesday, July 18th, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm ET

Join developer Jon Griffith and featured scientist, fire ecologist Dr. Natasha Stavros, as they lead you through "Megafires: Rare Occurrences or the New Normal?", a 3-day resource in which students analyze megafire frequency data to explain how and why the number of megafires has changed over time. Register now.

Data Puzzles are 2-3 day MS/HS lessons that combine classroom-friendly datasets with Ambitious Science Teaching practices to help students make sense of phenomena. Engage with specific Data Puzzle resources during our summer workshops!

The Climate Initiative’s National Climate Educators Retreat is a professional development opportunity designed to support high school classroom teachers in incorporating climate education in their curriculum to educate, empower, and inspire students and community members to take action to adapt to or to mitigate climate change. The organization offers educational materials free of charge:   Learning Labs,   Policy Toolkits,  Climate Action Toolkits,  Ambassador Network.

Did you miss Alexandra Gillen’s presentation in April about the science of marine debris and how we can turn that science into solutions? No problem! NSTA has archived the entire broadcast, and you can watch it for free!

Alexandra talks about how our ocean is filled with items that don’t belong there. Huge amounts of plastics, metals, rubber, textiles, lost fishing gear, abandoned vessels, and many more items enter the marine environment every day. This makes marine debris one of the most widespread pollution problems facing the world's ocean and waterways. But there is hope! Alexandra also discusses what we can all do to raise awareness and work toward addressing this problem today. Check it out!

USA Blue Schools are K-12 schools that are working to increase awareness about the ocean and inspire educators, students, and community members to deepen their connection with the sea. Participating schools may be involved in action projects such as park/beach cleanups, data collection, community science activities, and educational workshops.

Learn more about the USA Blue Schools and complete the short application to register your school. Reach out to Meghan Marrero mmarrero3@mercy.edu - the National Coordinator, with questions.

The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) and the National Park Service have joined forces to host a Power of Parks for Health Roundtable webinar discussing strategies for increasing visibility, representation, and relevancy of AAPI communities in the outdoors.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In response to the climate crisis, many around the world, especially young people, have reported feeling overwhelmed, powerless, sad, and anxious. Overlooking emotions while learning about crushing climate data can cause anxiety, and helplessness, and impede our ability to learn and take action.

• Beyond Gloom and Doom: How to teach climate change towards empowerment
• Watch: Beyond Doom & Gloom
• Climate & Mental Health Film Screening on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 | 5:00pm ET

The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication's new Education Resources for Grades 6-12

Climate change is a complex topic to teach. In addition to teaching the science behind climate change, it is critical to help students become effective climate change communicators. These free, digestible resources can help educators teach the basics of climate change.

Written by National Public Radio (NPR) climate correspondent Lauren Sommers and illustrated by NPR news editor Malaka Gharib, A Kid’s Guide to Climate Change is a comic book designed to introduce the topic of climate change to students ages 6–12, who may be just starting to hear about climate change and its impacts. The book tells the story of Gabe, a high school student who was spurred to learn about climate change and activism after a wildfire occurred near his Colorado home. The printable book is in PDF format and features colorful illustrations and engaging, kid-friendly text.

The I Was a Kid’s website features career profiles of science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) professionals who represent minorities in race, religion, background, gender, sexuality, and mental and physical ability. Developed by artist and author Karen Romano Young, the project is designed to engage middle and high school students in science and to expand students’ horizons to include different perspectives and new voices of scientists from underrepresented groups. The multimedia profiles include a downloadable, comic-style poster featuring biographical information about the scientists, as well as their personal quotes and text describing their work.

Atmospheric rivers are relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere – like rivers in the sky – that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics. When the atmospheric rivers make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow in amounts up to the average flow of the water at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Atmospheric Rivers brought a record amount of rain and mountain snow across the western U.S. and Canada this winter. Learn more about them:

• Study Previews How Climate Change May Alter Rain-Making Atmospheric Rivers
• What are Atmospheric Rivers?
• Explore NOAA's Atmospheric River Portal

Watch Kiss the Ground’s latest program, Possibilities of Regeneration, an animated short film that explores the indigenous origins of regenerative agriculture, and our innate power as humans to positively influence the future of our planet.

The film was co-written and narrated by indigenous artist, scholar, and community organizer Lyla June Johnston. Lyla is of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages.

Are you or someone you know looking for climate change resources for your kindergarten–2nd grade classroom? Not sure how to start a climate conversation with your elementary students? You won’t want to miss this new curriculum, centered around your schoolyard habitat, written by and for elementary educators!

This curriculum was a collaboration between Climate Generation and elementary educators from Lynwood, CA, Louisville, KY, and Oakland, CA. After months of planning, writing, and editing, Healthy Habitats: Climate Change Action for K-2 is ready to share!

Discover the Earth like never before with the Paleontological Research Institution ‘s (PRI’s) website Earth@Home! Since its launch in 2020, PRI has added over 300 pages of information about Earth science of the United States.

Explore the new Climate section and learn about the impact of climate change on our planet.

Get to know the diverse plants and animals of Central New York State with their Biodiversity section. Identify different species and learn about their characteristics and behaviors. 

You can also check out hands-on climate science activities and demonstrations in their video series "In the Greenhouse: Exploring Climate Change."   Find quick answers to Frequently Asked Questions about climate change. Explore updated, enhanced, online versions of chapters of The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change. This guide for teachers (and others) includes both basics of climate science and perspectives on teaching a subject that has become socially and politically polarized.

America’s new Ocean Climate Action Plan recognizes there is no path to a healthy and livable climate without a healthy ocean. The plan outlines new actions to equitably support healthy communities, ensure a sustainable ocean economy, and harness the ocean’s potential to advance solutions to the climate crisis. As a comprehensive roadmap to ocean health, the plan catalyzes actions by the federal government and public and taps the power of science, technology, and innovation. It presents “science as possibility,” underscoring the urgency of seizing the opportunities that climate change presents to protect our waters, with numerous complementary benefits.

The CEE-Change Fellowship Program provides an opportunity for formal and nonformal environmental and civic engagement educators of all ages from across North America to learn from each other and collaborate to scale up their impact to create a more equitable and sustainable future. The 2023 Fellowship program focuses on climate change and education.

Applications are due May 15, 2023.

Learn more at:  https://naaee.org/programs/cee-change-fellowship

Applications to the NOAA Ocean Guardian School Program are now being accepted for the 2023-2024 school year! Grant amounts range from $1,000 - $4,000 per school depending on the program region and funding year.

Does your school have what it takes to help protect the ocean for the future? Promote ocean and watershed conservation at your school or in your local community by becoming an Ocean Guardian School.