SIGN UP TODAY for our Summer Institute for Climate Change Education
The 5th annual Summer Institute for Climate Change Education is on Thursday August 12th, 8:30-4:30 pm at the University of Minnesota Continuing Education & Conference Center in St. Paul, MN. Featuring renowned climate science historian and author Dr. Naomi Oreskes and Minnesota's own climatologist Dr. Mark Seeley.
This year we will look back on our last five years of climate change education outreach and curriculum development and take time to “Go Back to the Basics.”
Sign up online or download an application.
Our keynote speaker is in the news a lot lately!
For a sneak peak on our Summer Institute's keynote speaker Naomi Oreskes. Listen to the podcast produced by Center for Inquiry.
Work Begins on New Will Steger Foundation Curriculum
Thanks to Minnesota's Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota's Resources (LCCMR), we will be receiving funding over the next two years for a new project, Engaging Students in Environmental Stewardship through Adventure Learning. The $250,000 allocated to the Will Steger Foundation will support the development of a new curriculum, teacher training, online learning and collaboration with schools. The focus of the project will be on investigating the connection between Minnesota’s changing climate and the impacts on ecosystems and natural resources. Outcomes will include the development, evaluation, and implementation of an adventure learning climate change education program, which ties Will Steger’s adventures with engaging content on Minnesota’s natural environment and the impacts of climate change.
A big focus of the new curriculum will be phenology, the study of the effects of climate on plant and animal life cycles, and the skills necessary to be a good observer of these phenomena. We are lucky to have the archives of Will Steger beginning from when he was boy, that show how he has dedicated most of his life to practicing these very skills. Items from Will’s archives will be integrated into the curriculum and multimedia elements will be built into a new section of our website.
Read about this announcement on our Education blog, Climate Lessons.
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Stay tuned for opportunities to pilot test our curriculum in the next education edition of our e-newsletter
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Will Steger Foundation Teams up with the British Council Climate Generation Program
The Will Steger Foundation is now the lead partner for the
The program will launch in September in Minnesota with YEA! Minnesota and our school and youth partners across the state to empower youth engagement in climate action projects, resulting in school leadership projects, awards, and select Climate Champions.
Welcome to WSF Summer Education and Institute Interns!
We would like to welcome our two spectacular summer interns. In her role as summer education intern Alma De Anda will be working on a curriculum revision project this summer. Alma comes to us from the University of Minnesota where she will be defending her MS in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. Roy Cloutier will be busy with Summer Institute logistics. A University of Minnesota student as well, Roy was an intern with the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society last fall and instrumental in getting Paul Hawken as a keynote speaker.
WSF hires YEA! MN Coordinator
Will Steger Foundation is excited to announce that we are hiring a YEA! MN Coordinator to mentor the youth steering committee, manage program infrastructure, and support student-led projects in schools across the Twin Cities Metro over the course of the school year. The YEA! MN Coordinator will begin in June in time to join the YEA! MN student retreat, June 16-17, and begin planning for the Green Schools National Youth Summit to be held in Minneapolis, October 24.
WSF Hosts Youth Climate Summit in Chicago
WSF Youth Programs Director, Abby Fenton is planning a Midwest Youth Climate Gathering in Chicago during the first week of August. The event is co-sponsored by youth climate staff and students across the Midwest, including the Sierra Student Coalition, Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition, Ohio Student Environmental Coalition, Global Exchange, RE-AMP, and the National Wildlife Federation. Key youth leaders, at the high school and college level, will gather for a day of skills sharing, community building and strategizing with the goal of launching a sustainable Midwest youth coalition committed to regional action on climate change solutions.
Featured Lesson Plan, Citizen Climate Lesson: Carbon Tax
On May 12th John Kerry and Joe Lieberman introduced the American Power Act a bill that, if passed, would put national limits on carbon emissions that cause climate change. This bill is a fantastic beginning to a discussion in your class about the complexities of environmental policymaking and the provisions the bill lays out.
Our Citizen Climate Lesson Plans offer an 8-lesson unit that allows you to dive into environmental policy more deeply. Lesson 6 is focused on carbon tax, a key piece of the American Power Act legislation. Similar to a cap and trade system, a carbon tax is a market-based approach to lowering greenhouse gas emissions and stabilizing global warming. Like a cap- and-trade system, a carbon tax introduces a cost for carbon emissions. The lesson provides students and teachers with a brief background on carbon taxing and then gives students the opportunity to play the role of different stakeholders that bring their concerns to the table. Through the activity students are able to gain a real sense of the complexities of environmental policymaking, and because of the American Power Act currently being discussed, have a real and current connection to make their learning more relevant.
Photo of the Month:
Will Steger Foundation team with St. Paul Academy senior, Libby Fones, who interned in the office and assisted the Education Program this May. Thanks Libby for volunteering 74 hours! Best of luck at Whitman College this fall!
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