Volume 3, Issue 3 | March 2026
Spring greetings from the Climate and Equity Project! We are finally coming out of a long cold winter, here in New England, and very glad to welcome the returning or emerging birds, bats, bugs (except maybe the ticks), amphibians, and flowers.
Send in news stories, resources, or queries for your colleagues —Deadline for April Newsletter: April 24th.
Call-back session: Join us for a call-back session on April 14th at 7 pm Eastern time. Presentation by Kelli Grabowski on the NY Climate and Resilience Education Task Force (see update below).
Updates from Climate and Equity Fellows
Kelli Grabowski (2023) writes:
My policy push group (Climate and Resilience Education Task Force, or CRETF) got climate change required in K-12 education in NYS!!! It’s a big win, but we also know that the NYS education department is well-known for tossing around unfunded mandates, only for schools to find the path of least resistance. In this case, we are certain that although we pushed so hard for interdisciplinary to be a major component, likely schools will just leave it to the science teachers. https://www.nwf.org/Home/Latest-News/Press-Releases/2026/3-10-26-NY-Climate-Education
I was interviewed about it this week with some of the other group members. https://www.wxxinews.org/show/connections/2026-03-24/nys-mandates-climate-change-education-what-will-students-learn
I’m running a climate workshop for science teachers tomorrow, with a couple teachers from nearby and a former student! Another of my former students is on a panel we created, of community members telling us how climate change is impacting their lives. And I’m teaching climate change in my Earth Science and Environmental classes – and it’s going really well.
Bess Hjartarson (2024) writes:
Just wanted to share an upcoming activity – my students are hosting “Earth Day in the Garden,” on April 23rd (the day after Earth Day!), in our school campus Native Plant Garden. Throughout the day different groups from the school district and community will present various activities in an informal, drop-in format. My students are excited to showcase their new worm farms (thanks to our sponsors Glacier County Conservation District and “Let’s Go Compost”), as well as meet our special guest Mariah Gladstone of IndigiKitchen.
In other news, I have a different group of students who have been conducting an air quality study throughout the year, culminating in a DIY Air Filter Design Challenge in May. Our school is on the Purple Air Map, and we have also been monitoring locally using Temtops, donated to us by Montana State University’s Science Math Resource Center. We would love to collaborate with a school in another state to compare data over time if anyone is interested!
Erika Riddington (2024) writes:
One piece of news is that I am collaborating with Annawon Weeden from the Mashpee Wampanoag, and the First Light Foundation to infuse my classes with indigenous perspective. He will be visiting weekly with students in my Environmental Justice and Mystic River classes. We are hoping to have song and dance outside by the River in late April, weather willing.
Resources and Opportunities
Oisin Gunning (2024) reports: Northwest Natural Resources Group’s forestry curriculum for high school students
Over the past two years I’ve been working with the Northwest Natural Resources Group, a local forestry organization, to develop and pilot a forestry curriculum for high school students. The program is roughly a month long, and culminates with an exam that gives the students an industry-recognized certification in Forestry Basics. They have just recently made the curriculum public, with both a teacher version and a self-paced student version available to anyone who wants to try it! It’s been a lot of fun developing the lessons, and it’s really rewarding to see it put out there into the world. One of the big highlights every year is taking my students out to work in the field with forestry professionals – we spend a day in the Cascade Mountains out in the woods collecting data and measuring forest plots, and the kids have an absolute blast.
The link to the curriculum is below, it’s totally free to download – just put your email address in and it will automatically send it to you.
We Build the Road As We Go, Brian Drayton, Annie Sussman, Gilly Puttick, Folashadé Solomon, Hands On! (2026)
An article from the TERC team about our approach to working with the Climate and Equity Fellows.
Read Full Article: https://www.terc.edu/climateandequity/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2026/03/TERC-Hands-On-Spring-2026_We-Build-the-Road-as-We-Go.pdf
Now’s your chance! Deadline for next newsletter
Send us your ideas, your news items, or resource reviews by April 24th for next month’s newsletter.
Call-backs: Feel free to suggest topics for future call back sessions
Contact Brian at climateandequity@terc.edu with ideas and proposals!
The Climate and Equity project is funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.