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Climate Change, Youth and Hope: Debunking the Paradox
Filed Under Blogs, Climate change, Megan McGinty, Outdoor education, Programs
by Megan McGinty
North Cascades Institute
Last year we began a service-learning summer program for high school students focusing on climate change. The Climate Challenge program consisted of a summer residency in the North Cascades followed by a service project in which elementary-school students were taught by the returning high-school students back in their home communities that fall. We planned a challenging field itinerary for the summer portion – studying glaciers, interviewing scientists and exploring hydrological systems. The student team made both geographic and intellectual discoveries and practiced presentation skills in order to bring their stories to their hometowns. We anticipated that they would struggle to master new skills, become proficient communicators, and hoped that they would become passionate teachers.
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3 Responses to “Climate Change, Youth and Hope: Debunking the Paradox”
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Megan, it’s nice to have stumbled across you here! You may not remember, but I attended two successive Nature Writing Retreats at North Cascades Institute with you a few years back.
Thoughtful piece of writing . . . I hadn’t quite articulated the “generational hinge” so precisely, but I think you’re right about the nature of younger generations’ resiliency. I look at my own two boys and pray they are not paralyzed by the fear that sometimes washes over me.
My other reaction to your post is a little more wry: you’re clearly working in the PNW. Most young people in Georgia don’t “see climate change as a static fact.” It’s a cultural thing (sigh).
Keep up the good work!
Hi Clark-
Nice to hear from you. Glad to see you are out there at it. Your blog is beautiful, well done!
About the student comment- yep, I agree. I should have made it clear that the students I was referring to were the ones in the program, who by virtue of signing up have already shown that they are willing to entertain the theory of climate change as credible. There are plenty of folks in the PNW that don’t subscribe to climate change. When we contacted various schools and communities regarding recruiting for the program last spring, we were warned by some that our presentation might not be received well. Others simply asked us not to come.
That said, I think you’re right on the mark with it being a cultural thing, which begs several questions on society, education and science.
Keep fighting the good fight!
[...] a moving blog piece titled “Climate Change, Youth and Hope: Debunking the Paradox” she wrote in Clearing Magazine. She writes, “While some of us may see a reason for despair, there are [...]