Building Climate Resilient Communities:
A Transdisciplinary Toolkit

We're here to explore the explicit role that K-5 educators and communities have to play in building lifelong climate change literacy, not only for children but for themselves. Climate and weather have been taught starting in kindergarten for many years, but climate change is often reserved for a few select science classes in grades 6-12, if even then. As elementary school teachers, we believe that it is not only possible but critical to start younger. Climate change is a human rights and social justice issue, and leaving it out of learning is perpetuating the injustices and environmental racism in our local and global communities. However, for climate change education to be appropriate and transformative for young minds, it should be a transdisciplinary approach that takes social-emotional learning (SEL) into account. Inspiring a local love of nature and teaching children concrete environmental stewardship habits are practices that are critical in laying the foundation so that the climate change literacy gained in grades 6-12 can translate into positive urgent action and not anxiety, depression, and denial.

We are not here to stop climate change. The climate has changed and will continue to change.

We are here to build resilient communities that will be equipped to survive climate change and reverse the warming of the planet.

We believe schools and all educators are critical partners in building a climate resilient community, and so we have created this toolkit, which includes a standards-supported and transdisciplinary curricular framework that makes climate change education accessible, educator empowerment, letters explaining its importance to the community, and additional resources. While the educators are digging in here, we hope that the parents, administrators and other community members are doing their part to take climate action in school governance, facilities and operations, and the community at large.

Our framework has been informed by CASEL, National Learning Standards (NGSS, Common Core), sources such as David Sobel's Climate Change Meets Ecophobia, and UNESCO’s “Getting Climate Ready” guide for schools, in addition to consulting with some of the leading minds in the transdisciplinary field of Environmental Education. As defined in the 1977 Tbilisi Conference:

Environmental Education is a learning process that increases people’s knowledge and awareness about the environment and its associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action.

You can see in the graphic below that young minds should begin by learning about local weather, not global. They should feel cared for, not worry yet about caring for others. How can you care for a planet if you have never been well cared for? They need to deal with concrete examples, be inspired to love nature, and begin forming habits that will pave the way for a lifetime of adaptive and resilient actions.