Manomet will use NOAA funding to boost climate resilience and environmental stewardship in Brockton, Massachusetts, an incredibly diverse but impoverished city and designated Environmental Justice community with a rich history. Brockton is highly vulnerable to flooding, pollution, and water supply disruptions related to climate change. Brockton is also a city with a long history of resilience in the face of economic challenges and a thirst for empowerment and opportunity. Brockton schools were hard-hit by COVID-19, and are facing a critical need for support, resources, and academic enrichment. Manomet believes education is one of the best tools to create long-term change. By increasing access to nature, encouraging students to become environmental stewards through outdoor learning, and building climate resilience literacy, Manomet aims to empower the next generation of conservationists to help solve today's complex challenges. In partnership with Wildlands Trust, Connecticut Sea Grant, and TERC, Manomet will: 1) develop environmental stewardship by creating outdoor learning spaces on school grounds and providing teachers with curricular tools and training for use; 2) empower elementary students and teachers through outdoor environmental education, engaging in stewardship action to build green infrastructure, and civic engagement, and; 3) build climate resilience literacy in elementary school children, teachers, and community members through education, civic engagement, and collaboration. Brockton Kids Lead the Way envisions elementary students and their teachers as community leaders and ambassadors for environmental stewardship, during a time of increased civic investment and interest across Brockton in green spaces, public health, and community resilience.

Manomet will use NOAA funding to boost climate resilience and environmental stewardship in Brockton, Massachusetts, an incredibly diverse but impoverished city and designated Environmental Justice community with a rich history. Brockton is highly vulnerable to flooding, pollution, and water supply disruptions related to climate change. Brockton is also a city with a long history of resilience in the face of economic challenges and a thirst for empowerment and opportunity. Brockton schools were hard-hit by COVID-19, and are facing a critical need for support, resources, and academic enrichment. Manomet believes education is one of the best tools to create long-term change. By increasing access to nature, encouraging students to become environmental stewards through outdoor learning, and building climate resilience literacy, Manomet aims to empower the next generation of conservationists to help solve today’s complex challenges. In partnership with Wildlands Trust, Connecticut Sea Grant, and TERC, Manomet will: 1) develop environmental stewardship by creating outdoor learning spaces on school grounds and providing teachers with curricular tools and training for use; 2) empower elementary students and teachers through outdoor environmental education, engaging in stewardship action to build green infrastructure, and civic engagement, and; 3) build climate resilience literacy in elementary school children, teachers, and community members through education, civic engagement, and collaboration. Brockton Kids Lead the Way envisions elementary students and their teachers as community leaders and ambassadors for environmental stewardship, during a time of increased civic investment and interest across Brockton in green spaces, public health, and community resilience.

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) work together to share knowledge and information about weather and climate, ocean, and coasts with educators and students across the country. The goal of this effort is to build a scientifically informed and engaged society and a diverse STEM workforce prepared to respond to environmental hazards. AMS facilitates a national offering of the DataStreme Atmosphere and DataStreme Ocean courses and supports Project ATMOSPHERE leadership training workshops at the National Weather Service Training Center for in-service K-12 educators, with focus on those at schools with considerable numbers of students underrepresented in STEM. By 2023, about 2,100 educators will earn graduate credits through a partnership with California University of Pennsylvania and become confident Earth science educators. These educators are expected to impact more than 20,000 additional educators and several hundred thousand K-12 students.

The "Citizen Science, Civics, and Resilient Communities" (CSCRC) education project led by the Museum of Science, Boston in partnership with Arizona State University and Northeastern University will increase resilience to extreme weather and environmental hazards through citizen-created data, local knowledge, and community values. Building upon previous funding from NOAA in which a set of modules were created and used to engage participants in active learning and resilience planning about four natural hazards (heat waves, sea level rise, extreme precipitation, and drought), the museum and its partners will add participatory citizen science activities selected in close collaboration with resilience planners. This new and expanded project will involve diverse groups of participants at 28 U.S. science centers collecting, analyzing, and sharing data relevant to local resilience planners, learning about vulnerabilities through visualizations of geospatial data and deliberative problem-solving, sharing perspectives about resilience strategies and their societal and environmental trade-offs, formulating community resilience plans, and presenting findings and recommendations to resilience planners and publics. The project aims to formulate a theory of action that sustains engagement and increases environmental literacy among participants, contributes citizen-created data, knowledge, and values to resilience planning, and increases capacity among science centers for including publics in resilience planning and data collection.

Minnesota and Wisconsin communities are facing multiple climate hazards including wildfires, drought, pollution, severe storms, flooding, health emergencies, and habitat and species loss. To build a robust youth component to state climate resiliency efforts, the Climate Youth Labs (CY-Labs) project will support place-based learning about climate resiliency with 120+ middle school youth using NOAA assets and elevate their voices through a national public media podcast series for youth. American Public Media and PBS Learning Media will air podcasts, inspiring more youth to create their own climate resiliency solutions. Partners include Twin Cities PBS; the University of Wisconsin-Superior; the University of Minnesota's Hennepin County 4-H program in Minneapolis; Native Suns Solar Cub program at the K-6 Ojibwe-language school in the Red Lake Nation, MN; and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). Rooted in youth empowerment and culturally responsive teaching, CY-Labs will elevate the voices of youth (ages 11-15) as they explore barriers to climate justice. The podcast programs will involve 20 youth at 4-H programs in Minneapolis serving primarily Black youth, 25 Indigenous youth from the Red Lake Nation, and 75 youth from the Northern Waters Environmental school in Hayward, WI (with 25% Ojibwe youth from the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation), the Superior Middle School and Northwestern Middle School in Maple, WI. Educators will learn to use NOAA educational resources including Climate.gov, Teaching Climate, the Global Climate Dashboard, Climate Explorer and the U.S Climate Resilience Toolkit to help youth learn about climate change. Educators will help youth ensure the resiliency and protection of their communities in the face of climate hazards, create meaningful change within their communities, and advocate for climate resiliency solutions aligned with state resiliency plans. CY-Labs draws on recent research that shows that effective climate change education programs are personally relevant, encourage discussion to navigate controversial issues, engage in the scientific process, address misconceptions, and incorporate youth action projects. At the annual Youth Climate Justice Summit in St. Paul, MN and at Superior Days in Madison, WI students will share their solutions with state legislators. Program collaborators include Climate Generation, the Lake Superior Research Institute, NOAA's Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, the MN Governor's Climate Change Subcabinet, the MN House Climate Caucus; the WI Governor's Climate Change Taskforce, the City of Superior Mayor's Office, FEMA's MN and WI State Mitigation Hazard Officers, and TPT NOW, a partnership between PBS, public health agencies and NOAA weather forecasters. Project advisors include: Frank Niepold, NOAA Climate Education Program Manager; Anne Gold, Director of Education & Outreach, NOAA Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences; Jen Kretser, Director of Climate Initiatives, The Wild Center; Jothsna Harris, Change Narrative; Dr. Michael Notaro, NOAA Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments; Dr. Chris Tessum, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Capitol Climate Connection podcasters Patti Acomb and Jamie Long; City Climate Corner podcaster Larry Kraft; Brains On! podcast producers Molly Bloom, Sanden Totten and Marc Sanchez; and Dr. Lisa Gardiner, John Ristvey, Keliann LaConte and Becca Hatheway, UCAR. The evaluator is Dr. Lauren M. Shea.

Minnesota and Wisconsin communities are facing multiple climate hazards including wildfires, drought, pollution, severe storms, flooding, health emergencies, and habitat and species loss. To build a robust youth component to state climate resiliency efforts, the Climate Youth Labs (CY-Labs) project will support place-based learning about climate resiliency with 120+ middle school youth using NOAA assets and elevate their voices through a national public media podcast series for youth. American Public Media and PBS Learning Media will air podcasts, inspiring more youth to create their own climate resiliency solutions. Partners include Twin Cities PBS; the University of Wisconsin-Superior; the University of Minnesota’s Hennepin County 4-H program in Minneapolis; Native Sun’s Solar Cub program at the K-6 Ojibwe-language school in the Red Lake Nation, MN; and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). Rooted in youth empowerment and culturally responsive teaching, CY-Labs will elevate the voices of youth (ages 11-15) as they explore barriers to climate justice. The podcast programs will involve 20 youth at 4-H programs in Minneapolis serving primarily Black youth, 25 Indigenous youth from the Red Lake Nation, and 75 youth from the Northern Waters Environmental school in Hayward, WI (with 25% Ojibwe youth from the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation), the Superior Middle School and Northwestern Middle School in Maple, WI. Educators will learn to use NOAA educational resources including Climate.gov, Teaching Climate, the Global Climate Dashboard, Climate Explorer and the U.S Climate Resilience Toolkit to help youth learn about climate change. Educators will help youth ensure the resiliency and protection of their communities in the face of climate hazards, create meaningful change within their communities, and advocate for climate resiliency solutions aligned with state resiliency plans. CY-Labs draws on recent research that shows that effective climate change education programs are personally relevant, encourage discussion to navigate controversial issues, engage in the scientific process, address misconceptions, and incorporate youth action projects. At the annual Youth Climate Justice Summit in St. Paul, MN and at Superior Days in Madison, WI students will share their solutions with state legislators. Program collaborators include Climate Generation, the Lake Superior Research Institute, NOAA’s Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, the MN Governor’s Climate Change Subcabinet, the MN House Climate Caucus; the WI Governor’s Climate Change Taskforce, the City of Superior Mayor’s Office, FEMA’s MN and WI State Mitigation Hazard Officers, and TPT NOW, a partnership between PBS, public health agencies and NOAA weather forecasters. Project advisors include: Frank Niepold, NOAA Climate Education Program Manager; Anne Gold, Director of Education & Outreach, NOAA Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences; Jen Kretser, Director of Climate Initiatives, The Wild Center; Jothsna Harris, Change Narrative; Dr. Michael Notaro, NOAA Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments; Dr. Chris Tessum, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Capitol Climate Connection podcasters Patti Acomb and Jamie Long; City Climate Corner podcaster Larry Kraft; Brains On! podcast producers Molly Bloom, Sanden Totten and Marc Sanchez; and Dr. Lisa Gardiner, John Ristvey, Keliann LaConte and Becca Hatheway, UCAR. The evaluator is Dr. Lauren M. Shea.

Climate change disproportionately impacts low-income and otherwise marginalized communities that typically have the fewest resources to adapt. Furthermore, the very communities that feel the effects of climate change most acutely have been historically underrepresented in the fields of sustainability and green building. The Building a Green Texas (BGT) project helps address these concerns by giving high school students opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to tackle challenges posed by climate change. In the process, students gain valuable green career skills and credentials and become part of a green building school-to-job pipeline that will help contribute to a more diverse workforce. Texas-based nonprofit EcoRise, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Texas Marine Science Institute/National Estuarine Reserve System of NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management will lead this robust, three-year project beginning in Central Texas in Year 1 and expanding into Houston and Texas Gulf Coast communities in Year 2. Through school-year field experiences and paid summer internships, students in the program will use established scientific evidence, citizen science, and an understanding of location-specific socioeconomic and ecological factors to explore current and future extreme weather phenomena and other environmental hazards facing their communities. They will gain real-world learning experiences and career exposure by directly engaging with scientists, civic leaders, green building professionals, and NOAA data and staff. As students help design community-based green building projects, they will consider scientific uncertainty, cultural knowledge, and social equity, in the real-world context of improving community resilience.