Solutions-Focused Climate Education
The Climate Justice Education Project at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education is building educational programs, connecting with communities, and creating resources to better prepare teachers to educate youth about climate change in ways that promote student agency, hope, and justice. We are also conducting research on these programs to inform best practices for educating teachers and youth. Best practices in climate education indicate that implementing a solutions-focused climate change education in K-12 classrooms where students identify and address local problems related to the environment and climate justice help students learn about climate change while developing agency and hope. Thus, solutions focused climate change teacher education for both preservice and practicing teachers is vital to making positive changes in climate education. In our presentation, we will share initiatives in solutions-focused teacher education and professional development that our team is implementing – initiatives that work to connect teacher educators and teachers with schools and communities to build resilience to future challenges brought on by climate change.
Speaker
Danielle Harlow, Professor, Department of Education, UC Santa Barbara
Danielle Harlow is a professor of STEM Education, Associate Dean of faculty development of the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, and Director of the Certificate in College and University Teaching (CCUT), all at UC-Santa Barbara. Her work focuses on educator and student learning in science and connects formal and informal education settings to create innovative programs and curricula, including undergraduate physics courses, engineering-focused museum field trip programming, digital games on quantum computing and professional development for educators on climate change education. She is on the steering committee for the California statewide organization Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPS). Dr. Harlow holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Colorado, Boulder, an M.S. in Geophysics from Stanford (now the Doerr School of Sustainability), and a B.S. in Physics from Valparaiso University.
Resiliency Hubs
Resilience hubs are community-serving facilities that are bolstered to provide emergency functions, and sustain themselves in times of power outages or other climate disasters. On behalf of the Santa Barbara County Regional Climate Collaborative, the County of Santa Barbara Sustainability Division applied for and received funding to launch the Resilience Hubs program. The program supports local agencies and organizations in developing resilience hubs in the county. Three sites were selected to participate in the pilot program: Blue Sky Center in New Cuyama, Girls Inc in Carpinteria and the Franklin Neighborhood Center and Eastside Library Branch in Santa Barbara. This presentation will define resilience hubs, provide an overview of the program and the vision for a resilience hub network, share the experiences of the individual sites and invite the audience to support the expansion of the resilience hub program with feedback, ideas and support.
Speakers
Garrett Wong, Climate Program Manager, Sustainability Division of the Santa Barbara County Community Services Department
Garrett Wong is the Climate Program Manager for the County of Santa Barbara, and the Collaborative Manager for the Santa Barbara County Regional Climate Collaborative. Garrett leads the County’s policies and programs under the One Climate Initiative and collaborates with local and regional organizations to advance inclusive climate action and adaptation. Prior to the County, Garrett led climate and energy policies, programs and projects for the City of Santa Monica.
Em Johnson, Director of Climate Resilience, Community Environmental Council
Em Johnson joined CEC in 2022 and directs the Climate Resilience program. She plays a lead role in enacting CEC’s programs that help our Central Coast communities better respond, recover, adapt, and thrive in the face of climate change-related disruptions. Em has worked alongside frontline communities to design, plan, and implement community projects aimed to enhance local socio-economic resilience. During her five years as Executive Director of the Blue Sky Center, she helped energize creativity, innovation, and investment into the Cuyama Valley in Central California, worked to depoliticize climate change, and bridged the divide between urban and rural communities. She led efforts to connect people to resources and to develop new entrepreneurial initiatives and grassroots efforts to reclaim the power of rural resiliency.
Rachel Pelc, Energy Projects Coordinator, City of Santa Barbara
Rachel Pelc joined the City of Santa Barbara in 2022 as the Energy Projects Coordinator in the Energy & Climate Division of the Sustainability & Resilience Department. She manages a portfolio of projects at City-owned facilities that build climate resilience, develop on-site renewable energy generation and storage, decarbonize buildings and operations, and optimize energy efficiency and energy cost savings. Rachel has over 20 years of experience in climate, energy, and environmental work, including in greenhouse gas emissions reporting, environmental planning, and nonprofit environmental law. She holds a B.A. in Human Biology and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University.
Jamie Collins, Executive Director of Girls Inc of Carpinteria
Jamie Collins is the Executive Director of Girls Inc. of Carpinteria. Her commitment to community service is evident through her involvement in various organizations. Notably, she is a driving force behind the Carpinteria Non-Profit Collaborative, which unifies local non-profits, and the Carpinteria Resilience Hub, a vital initiative aimed at enhancing community resilience and preparedness for emergencies. Jamie is a graduate of the Community Environmental Council's Climate Stewards program, which has equipped her with the knowledge to support climate resilience and help communities respond to and recover from climate-related disasters.