Background: 

Communities hold the collective power to innovate and demand climate action, driving long-term and systemic change. Since 2006, Climate Generation has collaborated with communities to envision a just and sustainable world beyond the climate crisis. Through education, storytelling, and community organizing, efforts have been made to ignite and sustain the ability of educators, youth, and communities to act on the systems perpetuating the climate crisis. 

Education is a key component of Climate Generation’s mission and is recognized by Action for Climate Empowerment as a vital tool for raising awareness of the climate crisis and identifying solutions. Climate change education can take different forms depending on the audience, profession, and location, with various strategies employed to communicate its urgency. This session will explore best practices in climate change education and provide insights into how individuals can contribute to driving climate action within their communities. 

Objectives:  

• Provide an overview of why education is important for creating and sustaining climate change solutions. 
• Provide an overview of Climate Generation’s Becoming a Climate Change Educator Toolkit, which outlines key steps anyone can take to better prepare themselves to be a climate educator for their communities.  
• Describe and discuss how everyone can play a role in educating their community to inspire climate action.

Outcomes:

• Participants will be able to identify the potential impact they can have as an educator and communicator of climate change in their communities.
• Participants will understand key actions they can take to better prepare themselves to be climate change educators for their communities