On Saturday, January 25th, 2020 a group of dedicated teachers braved rainy weather to attend a Philadelphia GreenFutures Climate Change Teacher Training Workshop at Fairmount Water Works. A partnership between environmentally focused organizations organized this event for Philadelphia School District teachers to discuss their progress following last summer’s three-day summer climate education workshop.
The GreenFutures Climate Change Teacher Training Workshop was organized by the School District of Philadelphia’s GreenFutures, Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants, National Wildlife Federation’s Eco Schools, The Franklin Institute, and Fairmount Water Works.
The day began with an icebreaker activity, giving attendees the opportunity to share their ongoing projects and ideas to bring climate change education to their schools. From there, the workshop transitioned to an open forum for peers and teachers to collaborate.
Craig Johnson shares his idea to bring climate education into the classroom.
Teachers shared ideas on how to reduce their schools’ environmental footprint--which ranged from decreasing lunchroom waste to bringing vertical gardens into their classrooms. They also reflected on common struggles like obtaining support from school administration and the difficulty merging climate change education with Common Core standards.
Organizers offered solutions and resources for the teachers’ projects. After the open forum, attendees heard from Tamara Peffer, Environment and Ecology Curriculum Advisor for the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Peffer discussed the value and importance of environment and ecology education and offered ideas and resources to integrate environment and ecology standards across the curriculum. As Peffer stated, “We can’t succeed as productive citizens without being environmentally and civically literate.”
During lunch, attendees enjoyed low-waste salads provided by Simply Good Jars and heard from Ellen Schultz, the Associate Director for Education at Fairmount Water Works. Schultz provided more resources, including lesson plans teachers could integrate into their classroom.
Participants work on making connections across the curriculum.
The workshop ended with time for participants to work on their own Climate Change Action Plans. Mary Jones, of Amy Northwest, explained, “I want to re-energize our schoolyard redesign project now that funding is restored. Let’s keep the momentum going.”
While, Leah Wood, of Feltonville Arts and Sciences, said, “My plan is to work on getting students to solve the flooding in our courtyard.”
Ultimately, the day proved productive and rejuvenating as participants left the workshop eager to tackle their projects to bring climate change education into the classroom.
For more information about Philadelphia Area School District GreenFutures here.
This article was written by Shannon Ruane, Sustainability Intern at Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants and recent graduate of University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.
