HomeYouth LessonsGardening in Our Warming World: Youth Grow!Unit Two – “What Do I Know” about Climate Change?Exploring Climate Resiliency

Exploring Climate Resiliency

Overview

This activity will introduce Climate Resiliency and how local and global communities are preparing for the future.

Skill Level

Intermediate/Advanced

Learner Outcomes, Youth will:
  • Apply existing knowledge about how climate change and its effects on communities.
  • Use web-based resources to research and identify methods of climate resiliency practices.
  • Reflect on the stories of others in climate sensitive environments.
  • Perform role play to understand roles and responsibilities of communities planning for climate resiliency.
Education Standards
  • NS.5-8.6 Personal and Social Perspectives: Personal health, resources, and environments, Natural hazards, Risks and benefits
  • NS.9-12.6 Personal and Social Perspectives: Personal and community health, Natural resources, Environmental quality, Natural and human-induced hazards
  • HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem and environmental impacts.
  • HS-ESS3-1. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
Success Indicators

Demonstrate how they and others embrace and adapt to climate change.

Life Skills

Civic engagement, resiliency, critical thinking, problem solving, responsibility

March for Climate Change
Cornell students marched to lend support for the Global Climate Strike.
Time Needed

45 Minutes

Materials List: Devices with Internet access to watch videos (listed in “Let’s Do It!) for research; newsprint or sketch pads, colored markers, pens, pencils.

Space

Appropriate space and technology to view videos and space for youth to perform role-playing.

Suggested Group Size

15-20 or more

Introduction

Actions to address climate change may be a result of destruction and displacement from unexpected extreme weather events. Communities are taking action to plan for such future catastrophic events. This activity will introduce Climate Resiliency and how local and global communities are preparing for the future. Climate Resiliency, defined as the power for communities to understand stresses that occur as a result of a climate change event, and how they cultivate a plan to be better prepared, to adapt, reorganize, for increased sustainability for the future. Later on, in Unit 4, your group will have the opportunity to dive deeper into finding and brainstorming solutions that help prepare for climate change impacts and will work together to develop a comprehensive plan for Climate Resiliency.

Opening Questions: In what ways are people and living things affected by extreme weather-related events (flooding, hurricanes, etc.)? What are important roles of people in communities that will need to be part of the emergency planning process?

Background Information

Before the Activity

Prepare materials, technical devices and handouts; provide or suggest devices (mobile phone, tablet, laptop) with Internet access and video capability. Participants may provide their own or use a computer lab at school or in the library; Review introductory videos.

Let’s Do It!

People Taking Action
  • Unless you have a meeting space to view videos as a group, have participants view these short videos before you meet to do this activity.
  • Explain to youth that they will be watching a series of videos and researching websites showing people taking action and developing plans for climate resiliency. Ask opening questions.
  • Adapt: The Key to Climate Resilience: This video highlights Climate Smart Communities (CSC) certification program’s action to “develop climate adaptation strategies.

  • Virginia environmental conservation organization is teaching local school children from Grandby High School, climate resilience strategies to live with rising waters
  • Cornell University New York State Water Resources Institute,
  • The Hudson River Estuary Program
  • Planning a Resilient New York City
  • Eight Ways Cities are Building Climate Resiliency,
  • Explain that later on in the program, your group will be coming up with a Plan for Resiliency they can do in their own communities. Ask: What in these videos inspired you? Who inspired you, and why? Are you and others you know inspired to take action in a similar way? What might that look like? How might you bring your strengths and skills to the table, when helping your community plan for resiliency.
  • Have youth work in small groups to sketch comic strips that explores way to solve the problem and illustrates the path needed to create a plan for resiliency: What is the environmental issue/problem? Policy or practice to be changed? What is the goal: (We want _____ to _____ , which will result in _____.) How will we do this: strategy: (In order to achieve this, we will _____.)

Talk It Over

Share

Have groups share their comic strips and explain why they chose to explore this problem.

Reflect

Reflecting on what you’ve watched, and imagining your way into creating your own video to inspire others, what and who would you feature?

Generalize

Think about a video you will create- what would be the look and feel of your video?

Apply

Take Action! How do you see yourself taking action in the same way the leaders in your community are? What ways can you continue showing others in your community how to take action? What are some actions you will take today to mitigate climate change? Continue the discussion and take action for Climate Resiliency by developing an Action Plan, which you will find in the Until Four activities.

References

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