Students in our Climate Kids - Washington program recently finished a semester long inquiry using the Climate Science & Carnivores Traveling Trunk. Their final projects included a fusion of science and art focused on the impact of climate change to carnivore species and their habitats - check out their amazing perspectives here!
Students in our Climate Kids - Washington program recently finished a semester long inquiry using the Climate Science & Carnivores Traveling Trunk. During this time, students learned about the ecology and life history of several carnivore species in the Pacific Northwest. Through their exploration, the Climate Kids also investigated the climate impacts to carnivores both locally and beyond and what they could do to help them. Their semester culminated in a final written synopsis as well as a science-art project to summarize what most inspired them.
“Since climate change is largely a function of human action and inaction, my art piece looks at the choices we make in our interactions with wildlife. A Cherokee folk tale tells the story of a young boy listening to a tribe elder who speaks about an inner conflict all of us face. The elder says that within each of us, there is a battle between two wolves: one is good and one is evil. The good wolf in us behaves ethically, compassionately and with kindness. The evil wolf in us acts greedily, arrogantly, and selfishly. The boy then asks which wolf wins in the end, to which the elder replies, “The one you feed.” (First People, 2020). The decisions we make, the wolf we feed, will determine our fate as a whole. If we care for the environment, if we act with kindness and generosity, if we feed the good wolf, the world will thrive. My inspiration was a painting by artist Tara Richelle entitled, “The One You Feed.”
- Anna Galdo, 6th grade
Climate Kids - Washington
Climate Kids, the primary focus of the Alliance’s community engagement effort, is a multi-generational collaborative that supports youth education on climate change and natural resources through hands-on science activities, storytelling, field trips, and art. We nurture the budding scientists and stewards in students from all socioeconomic backgrounds with activities that demonstrate climate impacts in the form of ocean acidification, drought, precipitation, and temperature extremes. Since 2014, the Climate Kids program has successfully inspired over 100,000 students and trained 2,000 formal and informal educators on consistent climate change messaging. Through strategic partnerships with climate scientists and qualified educators, this program encourages curiosity about the natural world while providing the tools necessary to take educated action on how to protect our community and planet now.