World Wildlife Fund

Climate change is among the most pervasive threats to the Earth today. We have the power to address its root causes and limit its impact on the planet. Educating young people plays a critical role in this effort.

In the Gulf Coast region, many students have already felt the trauma of devastating climate events. WWF and Allianz gave displaced youth from Hurricane Katrina an opportunity to learn more about the science of climate change, as well as tools for exploring and explaining the vulnerability of their region to climate change, a forum to tell their stories of how climate change has affected - and will continue to affect - their lives and way of life, and the opportunity to do something about it..

Southeast Climate Witness Student Research Opportunity
Through the Southeast Climate Witness Program, 25 students were chosen from Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi to participate in vulnerability research of their region. Participants were high school students who were interested in the environment, planning on attending college, and who had been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Selected students attended Climate Camp in June 2008 as well as a Youth Summit in Washington D.C. July 7-11, 2008; and received a $1500 stipend and an HP laptop computer for college. 

While in Washington, the students had the opportunity to speak at a briefing sponsored by Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. During the briefing, they presented the findings of the research project they participated in. Later that day Congressman Markey mentioned the Southeast Climate Witness Program in his introductory remarks at a hearing on "Global Warming effects on Extreme Weather"

"Perhaps no weather disaster highlights our weakness to climate challenges than our inadequate response to Katrina, which still haunts us several years later. Today, we have several students in the room who have seen the devastation of extreme weather, and our nation’s failure to cope with this devastation, first hand. These participants in the Southeast Climate Witness Program were all displaced by Hurricane Katrina and are now studying the vulnerability of their regions to future storms and climate change. We thank them for their work and for coming today. They illustrate that climate change is not just an environmental or economic issue, but it has impacts on real people and their communities."
- Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

See the WWF Allianz Program video!

 

Your Climate, Your Future
The WWF Climate Change Team has also developed a comprehensive educational curriculum that will elevate students' knowledge of the issue and spur dialogue about what each of us can do to make a difference. To include climate change in your classroom, enter our teacher page to access fifteen lessons that include handouts, a glossary of terms and additional resources for ongoing discussions and research. The curriculum is available for all high school teachers nationwide.