By Sarah Ranney
Against a national backdrop of environmental rollbacks, deregulation, and climate change skepticism, and amidst the terrifying and historic fires that destroyed neighborhoods and lives in the North Bay and Southern California, it has been a disorienting time to make hopeful plans. And yet, there’s never been a more critical time to advocate for climate literacy in our schools.
Climate literacy is a cross-disciplinary concept that is defined as an understanding of the causes of climate change; its potential for harm; requirements to avoid destabilization and ensure a livable future; and the key people and institutions involved in implementing those actions. The Bay Chapter of the Sierra Club has taken on the charge of having local schools sign on to this commitment.
Since the formation of the Climate Literacy Committee in November 2016, the volunteer leadership has been focused on building a coalition of interested teachers, parents, activists, labor leaders, and partner organizations. The committee has also created a set of resources—including a model climate change resolution, curricular support, and other tools to support their efforts in local school districts.
Momentum is building in several school districts, notably the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Students from Joe Senn’s AP Environmental Science classes at Oakland Technical High School are leading the charge. Student Cabrel Kapsiak voiced the shared opinion of her classmates, saying “we believe … climate literacy in high schools is essential to informing and engaging the next generation of environmental advocates.” Students are reaching out to local leaders and activists, as well as to school board members, to build a coalition. They plan to present a Climate Literacy Resolution at the OUSD School Board meeting in April.
The students have a bold goal: to persuade the Oakland Board of Education to adopt the Resolution by June 2018. It’s an ambitious goal, but one they feel driven to pursue. Cara Plumhoff, another student leader, declared, “creating a policy that all students are climate change literate in the district is a crucial step towards ensuring that future generations of policymakers care about our planet.”
In taking this initiative and making it their own, these OUSD students are demonstrating the power for good that members of the Bay Chapter can achieve by working together.
The Climate Literacy Committee is committed to supporting their efforts, and those of other Bay Area school districts. We recognize that today’s young people will look back at this time and remember the lessons they learned about climate change… or wonder why it was ignored.
Inspired? There are several ways to get involved:
- Attend the next meeting of the Climate Literacy Committee at 12-2 pm on March 10 at the Bay Chapter’s Berkeley office;
- Find out if work is already happening in your school district (or start it yourself!);
- Offer your own ideas, connections, or suggestions. Whether you can build a website or have curriculum suggestions, we welcome your contributions;
- Sign the OUSD students’ petition and share it with your networks; and
- Sign up to attend the April OUSD School Board meeting to support the student effort.
To get started, please email Sarah at clc@sfbaysc.org.