Educator Community of Practice

There is a need for inclusive, interdisciplinary climate education that resonates with students and local communities, as well as focused skill development within disciplines to prepare the next generation of climate leaders. Education is a critical aspect of enabling the Midwest to lower emissions, create a thriving green economy, and ensure a just and equitable transition that does not leave any of our rural, suburban, urban, and indigenous communities behind. The Midwest Climate Collaborative (MCC) is developing an education Community of Practice in order to share effective practices, models, and materials for creating this future.

Jump to: Get Involved | Community Meetings | Team

This project seeks to:

  • Establish a Community of Practice and associated face-to-face and virtual learning / collaboration spaces and knowledge repository.
  • Develop capacity for Midwest specific climate learning through curriculum development on central topics such as drought, heat, and floods, as well as business innovation and empowering vulnerable populations.
  • Increase access to high quality, equitable information literacy and climate learning for all students.
  • Strengthen and expand interdisciplinary climate programs at member institutions.

Get Involved

To establish this Community of Practice, the MCC initiates a series of community meetings that will enable members to learn from one another and create the personal relationships that lie at the heart of a learning community. At the same time, the education project leadership is seeking funding for a larger initiative. (Acrobat (PDF) 237kB Jan14 22) Ideas for a larger initiative have built from this initial concept informed by our community of practice. We now hope to support educator ecosystems of K-12, higher education, and informal educators from many spaces (cultural, non-profits, government) in shared work together. To learn about and participate in upcoming events please join below.

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Community Meetings

Community meetings will be structured to promote learning, interaction and sharing, reflection, and implementation in your own context. A fall 2022 steering committee of MCC Educator CoP members planned two community meetings focused on education for climate workforce development and community resiliency. During the Spring of 2023, the Educator Community of Practice collaborated on two meetings with the MCC Research Agenda and with the AGU GeoHealth Webinar Series

See Past Meetings »


Midwest Wetland
Midwest Wetland[reuse info]
Provenance: USFWS- public domain
Reuse: This item is in the public domain and maybe reused freely without restriction.
Recent Events in Spring 2023:

Education As Part of A Midwest Research And Solutions Agenda

Tuesday, March 14, 2023, 2 pm - 3:30 pm CT

In this community meeting, we shared a summary of the research themes that have emerged from a literature review of Midwest specific climate change research as well as the results of a survey on Midwest specific research interests and needs to the Midwest Climate Collaborative community and friends. Both the review and the needs survey suggest the importance of co-creating research and education together to join the discovery of challenges with active work for solutions. Themes included: nature-based solutions, supporting decarbonization, transportation solutions, and integrating climate and equity action into organizational culture. Participants in this meeting will look for areas of greatest traction and potential within their education work. This session was led by Abigail Aderonmu-Omunu a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the International Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (InCEES) at Washington University in St Louis who leads the Midwest Climate Research Agenda initiative for the Midwest Climate Collaborative.

See Program »

Chicago Air Quality Challenges
Chicago Air Quality Challenges[creative commons]
Provenance: Public use
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.
Midwest Environmental Justice Action & Education

Friday, April 14th, 2023, 2-3:30 pm CT

In this session, key policy actions that community members and other stakeholders can take regarding climate change and health in the Midwest were presented. There was a focus on environmental justice in the region, as well as practical applications and next steps for participants. Participants had the opportunity to reflect upon and discuss how these themes could be applied within education and community engagement practices. The presenter was Rachel Lookadoo the Director of Public Health Policy and the Water, Climate, and Health Program Faculty Fellow from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. This meeting was in collaboration with the American Geophysical Union GeoHealth Section to encourage collaboration between scientists and educators needed for environmental justice.

See Program »


Leadership Team

  • Sarah Fortner, Office of Sustainability, Carleton College (principal contact)
  • Beth Martin, Climate Change Program, Environmental Studies, Washington University in St. Louis
  • Kelly Eskew, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
  • Cathy Manduca, Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College
  • Bradlee Cotton, Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College (Technical Support)

Leader Workspace
(Limited Access) »


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