Two days of community building, collaboration and inspiration. We're excited for this educator energy to ripple out to others across the state!. Thank you to the South Slough Reserve in Coos Bay for hosting on such a beautiful site. A place rich with research and cultural partnerships, caring for the critical tidal Spruce forest estuaries.
To support Oregon classroom teachers across all grade levels and subjects, Oregon Educators for Climate Education partnered with SubjectToClimate to create the Oregon Climate Education Hub, which launched on August 29, 2023. The Oregon Climate Education Hub (www.oregonclimateeducation.org) is an online website that provides Oregon educators with comprehensive resources to integrate climate change across all grade levels and subjects.
Build a community that empowers educators to teach and learn about climate change
Help shape and grow the Oregon Climate Education Hub by sharing resources and providing feedback so that it remains relevant to Oregon educators
Collaboratively identify awareness opportunities that can grow and enrich stakeholders' focus areas.
"Preparing Oregon Students for Climate Change Begins with HB 3365"
Written by Undergraduate Student and OECE Volunteer, Rachel Warner
Panel Discussion on Teaching Climate Change, Kindergarten through High School Science and CTE
A panel discussion with science teachers, from K-5 specialists through advanced high school science courses and CTE programs. A discussion on how to integrate age-appropriate climate science education intentionally; addressing the challenges and barriers, including how to address climate anxiety in our students.
Listen to the Panel Discussion session HERE!
Tana Shepard (OECE/TOSA Eugene 4J SD), Lucas Risinger (Teacher, Albany SD), Bradford Hill (Teacher, Mountainside High School), Sarah Ruggiero Kirby (OECE/Secondary Science TOSA , Eugene 4J SD), Casey Boothby (High School Programs Manager, Greater Oregon STEM Hub), Breck Foster (OECE/Subject to Climate, Teacher, LOSD)
Making it Easier To Integrate Climate Education into the Classroom! Engage and Empower Students with The Oregon Climate Education Hub
Explore SubjectToClimate's Oregon Climate Education Hub, a free, open-source platform that offers scientist and teacher-vetted resources and easy-to-implement lesson plans for K-12 teachers, including many written by Oregon teachers.
A sea of green cards showing a resounding YES vote from educators all around the State of Oregon.
It's time for Oregon
No matter what region of the State, Oregonians love Oregon. Known for its wildly diverse environments and ecosystems, the impacts of a changing climate will affect us all. We and our students care deeply for the health of our state, and we suspect that you do too.
(click links below to see some impacts per region)
What Are Other States Doing?
New Jersey has already implemented Climate-Focused Teaching and Learning Standards (they're embedded in all the content areas listed)
"The UW Institute for Science + Math Education has partnered with ClimeTime, a Washington public schools initiative for climate science education, to put a $4 million science education grant to work, educating teachers and providing equitable access to STEM education."
"While some educators already teach about humans' impact on the climate, they say writing it into state standards would be added muscle if they face pushback from students or parents. And it would help ensure the topic gets taught." -MPR News
Frameworks for Enacting Climate-Focused Education
Several solid frameworks for enacting climate-focused education exist (example a; example b), and such teaching and learning is essential for virtually all aspects of quality of life, and even life itself for many species. Colleges and universities are key, as are primary and secondary settings.
Join Us
Please join this discussion to create and refine concrete ideas for climate change/climate justice teaching and learning objectives that could be supported across K-12 (and beyond) in developmentally appropriate ways in virtually all content areas. We are actively drafting legislation ideas, but wish to do so in partnership with as broad a coalition of Oregon students and educators as possible ahead of teaming with many other stakeholders. We believe teacher voice on these objectives, as informed by our students and our professional expertise, is essential to the success of well-rounded policy implementation. Please invite other Oregon students and educators to this opportunity.
With sincerity and solidarity,
As Reuters' Gavin Jones recently reported, "International bodies and pressure groups are calling for climate change studies to become a standard part of the school curriculum worldwide, saying the step is vital to reach targets on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organisation, UNESCO, said this month that environmental studies should be standard teaching in all countries by 2025."
However, as is clear from what students have told us (example, see page 37), almost no explicit attention is given in their education experiences to climate change, climate justice, or associated topics of sustainable agriculture and natural resource use/reciprocity. Even so, empirical data (example) supports the notion that such efforts not only facilitate students' lower-emission decision-making, but also their willingness to promote related structural changes (further reading).
New Jersey has already implemented climate-focused teaching and learning standards (they're embedded in all the content areas listed), and the states of Washington and Minnesota are developing their own. For so many reasons, Oregon should be next. Our state is bigger than Uganda, Cambodia, or Great Britain, and has wildly diverse environments and ecosystems. We and our students care deeply for the health of our state, and we suspect that you do too. Several solid frameworks for enacting climate-focused education exist (example a; example b), and such teaching and learning is essential for virtually all aspects of quality of life, and even life itself for many species. Colleges and universities are key, as are primary and secondary settings.
Please join this discussion to create and refine concrete ideas for climate change/climate justice teaching and learning objectives that could be supported across K-12 (and beyond) in developmentally appropriate ways in virtually all content areas. We are actively drafting legislation ideas, but wish to do so in partnership with as broad a coalition of Oregon students and educators as possible ahead of teaming with many other stakeholders. We believe teacher voice on these objectives, as informed by our students and our professional expertise, is essential to the success of well-rounded policy implementation. Please invite other Oregon students and educators to this opportunity.
To join or express legislation ideas, please complete this brief survey (tinyurl.com/oeces, if you want to share it!).
With sincerity and solidarity,
Oregon Educators for Climate Education (OECE)
