As scientists around the globe work to create clean energy technology to reduce the effects of climate change, citizen participation in understanding and reducing the human carbon footprint on the environment is growing.
In the Valley, the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Easthampton is doing its part to boost climate literacy in local schools.
Over the last year, Arcadia has piloted a new interactive curriculum called “Life in a Changing Climate” in the Hampshire Regional Middle and High School, and it is receiving high marks from students and educators.
“We think this program has been a big success,” said Hampshire Regional Principal Kristen Smidy. “The fact that students could connect what they were learning to their lives was big, and to have the people from Arcadia keep coming back and reaffirming what they were learning was great.”
The 7th, 8th and 9th grades participated in the program.
Max Able, 12, of Southampton, said the class was a powerful experience that made a big impression on him.
“I thought it was very interesting to be able to go outside and see how climate change affects our world,” Able said. “I knew that climate change was happening, but this has really helped me to understand how it works, and how bad it is becoming.”
Jonah Keane, director of Arcadia, credited educator Brittany Gutermuth with developing the curriculum.
“Brittany has been the lead on this,” Keane said. “She is a great asset to us as a certified earth science teacher, and she has a lot of experience in the classroom and in museums.”
Gutermuth said she did a lot of research and spoke with several climate-change scientists so she could provide the most up-to-date scientific information on the depth and breadth of the issue, and to inspire students to explore solutions on a broad level.
“The size of the solution has to match the size of the problem,”Gutermuth said. “Individual actions are extremely important, but now we have to take those actions and blow them up to a bigger scale. That is why we try to get them to think more on a community level.”
According to Keane, the pilot program served roughly 400 to 500 students this year.
The curriculum includes classroom learning components and culminates in a field trip to the sanctuary where educators and volunteers lead students through a series of real-world observations and examples of how climate affects various ecosystems, plants and wildlife.
Based on appropriate grade levels, the classroom sections can include an in-depth introduction to the science behind climate change in which students explore satellite data, the predictions of climate scientists, and learning how to calculate their own carbon footprint.
Students analyze actual examples from maple sugaring data to see how climate affects this process and how changes will impact the local economy.
They also examine bird population data to track changes over time, looking at range, distribution, habitat and breeding, and the role climate plays in these populations.
A variety of solutions are explored, weighing the economic, social and scientific benefits of each to ascertain the best ways to reduce climate change. Students also have the opportunity to explore green career paths that may suit their interests.
During the field trip component, participants visit the grounds of the sanctuary examining forests, wetlands, fields and vernal pools, and the wildlife associated with these ecosystems, as well as how they might be affected by rising temperatures, droughts and floods.
They take tree measurements to calculate carbon uptake, and identify and examine invasive species.
The trip also includes a visit to the sanctuary’s solar array for an up-close view of the system while learning about how the panels operate, how much power they supply, how much carbon this keeps out of the atmosphere, the history of solar development, and the technologies on the horizon for future solar applications.
“We heard about a lot of clever ideas for alternative energy sources and how far solar energy has come over the years,” Able said. “Now my group is making a poster on things that we can do to help solve climate change like using better, cleaner modes of transportation.”
Gregory Poitras, 14, of Williamsburg, said that he enjoyed learning in the outdoors.
“I liked going into the forest and learning about the animals and the different kind of trees and edible plants,” Poitras said. “I hadn’t really thought about climate change too much before I took this class, and it was interesting to find out that it can cause drought and that can lead to forest fires.”
Patti Steinman, education coordinator at Arcadia, said that its volunteers have been a crucial part of the education team for this program.
“It is really nice to be able to pull on the skills of our volunteers,” Steinman said. “Auril de la Cretaz put together a fantastic program about trees, forest habitat and sustainability, and Alison Ryan just did a talk on solar power.”
What makes this program particularly relevant is that in the fall, the new Massachusetts educational standards will include criteria for climate literacy.
“Obviously for us the main goal is to increase the understanding of climate change. That we can help schools address the new standards is an added bonus,” Keane said.
Nancy Cheevers, director of curriculum for the Northampton schools, said the new science standards reflect more rigorous elements to help students become more environmentally fluent.
“I love the new science standards. Kids are asked to think very deeply about the interactions between humans and the environment, and the effect of humans on the environment,” Cheevers said. “This isn’t science in isolation, it is about how science, mathematics and technology work together to solve real world complex environmental problems.”
Keane said that Arcadia is currently looking into bringing this program to the JFK Middle School in Northampton and Northampton High School.
Keane said that Arcadia is starting a new environmental education fund that will help subsidize this new program.
“On May 22, we will be celebrating the 40th year of our pre-school and we will also be officially kicking off the fundraising for this program with a goal of $20,000 for 2016,” Keane said. “When people contribute, their gifts will be matched by one of our donors. So we are hoping to have a strong start in May.”
Keane said that Arcadia originally received a $15,000 grant from the Community Fund of Western Massachusetts for the program. That money paid for, among other things, curriculum review, in-class time, training volunteers, and teacher-training workshops.
“The foundation has played a key role in getting this program started and we are very grateful for that, but we can’t rely on foundation funds throughout the years,” Keane said. “Ideally we will continue the program through grant funding, our educational fund, and contributions from the participating schools when possible.”
Steinman said educators at schools interested in partnering with Arcadia should contact Gutermuth to discuss the possibilities. She can be reached at bgutermuth@massaudubon.org or 584-3009, ext. 5823.
“We have been very happy to have this partnership, and to help bring the science of climate change into the classroom and we are hoping to do work with more schools in the future,” Steinman said.
Fran Ryan can be reached at Fryan.gazette@gmail.com.