How Do Teachers Learn and Engage with Climate Change? An Examination of the <em>Shade Our Schools—Leaves Are Cool!</em> Citizen Science Program

Abstract

Schools are the best venue for increasing climate literacy, and teachers are ideal channels to convey meaningful information to students. However, most teachers have not participated in significant learning experiences or training related to climate change. Informed and well-prepared teachers feel more confident to debate or talk about this subject. Participation in active research provides teachers with a sense of expertise that makes them more confident to teach this topic. By participating in the Shade our Schools—Leaves are Cool! citizen science project developed for the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s Fairchild Challenge in South Florida, students and teachers conduct a series of experiments to explore how different plant species will fare under climate change scenarios. We surveyed 100+ elementary and middle school teachers during a period of three years to evaluate teacher knowledge gained over the duration of the annual Challenge and the impact of the project in schools. This project has been a successful experience for our participants to learn and engage with climate change–related topics and plant physiology.