New Climate Change Educational Toolkit Available

The new “Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators,” now available on the web, is an updated and expanded version of the popular, award-winning “Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit for Teachers and Interpreters” that came out in 2001.

The kit is designed for classroom teachers and informal educators in parks, refuges, forest lands, nature centers, zoos, aquariums, science centers, etc., and is aimed at the middle school level. The National Park Service partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and six other federal agencies, to develop this kit.  The kit will aid educators in teaching how climate change is affecting our nation’s wildlife and public lands, and how everyone can become “climate stewards.”

The kit contains:

• A 12 minute video introducing climate change issues as they affect wildlife and wildlands
• An overview of the science of climate change
• Case studies on 11 ecoregions highlighting regional impacts to habitats and wildlife, and information on what people can do to help
• A glossary of climate change terms to build vocabulary
• Classroom activities keyed to national science standards, developed by participants in the 2008 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program
• Additional hands-on activities and formal and informal educator resources