West Virginia students and teachers have important climate messages to share with fellow citizens—from using renewable energy to reducing their carbon footprint and addressing flooding and food security risks due to climate change.
A Clay County Middle School Teacher, along with students from Huntington and Wheeling Central Catholic High Schools, share these messages in their winning Public Service Announcements (PSAs) created for the West Virginia Professional Development Climate Change (WVCCPD) Project’s Earth Day PSA Contest. The Clay County Teacher won 3rd Place, and the Huntington High School Students won 1st and 2nd Place Awards for their Audio PSAs in this contest which is generously supported by the Appalachian Stewardship Foundation.
The WVCCPD Project is a teacher education program offering K-12 educators data-driven and hands-on activities for engaging students in learning the science of climate change and in taking action, according to WVCCPD Director Kathryn Williamson, Ph.D . “Understanding climate science is essential, but that alone is not enough to effect change. WVCCPD emphasizes civic engagement and communicating climate issues as key to raising awareness and solving the climate crisis. By creating PSAs, students learn to communicate the climate science knowledge they’ve gained and develop skills to participate in the climate conversation.”
The project began in 2019 with workshops and online networking sessions and most recently offered several semester-long Continuing Education courses through Fairmont State University. The project has engaged 130 teachers in a dynamic collaboration among physical and social scientists, science communicators, media consultants, social activists and educators.
You can read more about the WVCCPD Project in the article, A Case Study for Climate Change Teacher Professional Development in West Virginia, recently published in the Journal for Sustainability Education at:
https://www.susted.com/wordpress/content/a-case-study-for-climate-change-teacher-professional-development-in-west-virginia_2023_03/
Or at the WVCCPD website: https://sites.google.com/view/wvclimatechangepd/home
The WVCCPD Project is sponsored by West Virginia University, Fairmont State University, the NASA West Virginia Space Consortium, NASA IV&V Program, and the Appalachian Stewardship Foundation.