The Maryland and Delaware Climate Change Education, Assessment and Research (MADE CLEAR) program has awarded funding to nine programs with initiatives aimed at improving sustainable climate change education on participant campuses.

The funding is an outcome of the MADE CLEAR Higher Education Summit held earlier this year. Each awardee received a $5,000 mini-grant to initiate a project.

“The MADE CLEAR team is excited to be able to support institutional development of higher education programming to improve climate literacy,” according to Jennifer Merrill, MADE CLEAR principal investigator (DE). “With these dynamic new programs, more students from a diverse suite of educational programs will be able to make the connections between their field of study and climate change impacts. These are critical skills for our young workforce to have at the ready when they graduate from our programs.”

The 2016 projects selected are as follows:

• “Addressing Climate Change through Teacher Education,” awarded to Anisha Campbell on behalf of The Terrapin Teachers program at the University of Maryland.

• “The Tidewater Project: A Faculty Development Workshop for Applied Liberal Arts Climate Change Learning,” awarded to Barry Ross Muchnick on behalf of St. Mary’s College.

• “Climate Change Evidence and Solutions: An Elective for the Interprofessional Health and Service Provider,” awarded to Robyn Gilden on behalf of UMB School of Nursing.

• “Increasing Capacity for Climate Change Education across the Curriculum at Loyola U of MD,” awarded to Bernadette Roche on behalf of Loyola University Maryland.

• “Creation of Baltimore Higher Education Climate Consortium,” awarded to Germán Mora on behalf of Goucher College.

• “Making Climate Change Socially Relevant through Curricular and Co-Curricular Activities at Goucher College,” awarded to Meredith Durmowicz on behalf of Stevenson University.

• “Infusing Climate Change across the Curriculum,” awarded to Don Hayes on behalf of University of Baltimore.

• “Capitol Climate Day: Undergrads learn about climate change and teach youths; teach competition for solutions,” awarded to Nayef Abu-Ageel on behalf of Capitol Tech University.

• “Coastal Resiliency Design Studio: Creating landscape architecture courses that integrate sustainable design, energy efficiency and resilience to climate impacts,” awarded to Stephanie Swartz on behalf of the University of Maryland at College Park.

About MADE CLEAR

MADE CLEAR is led by the University System of Maryland and the University of Delaware and includes participation of faculty members from the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Towson University. 

MADE CLEAR aims to make climate change science an integral part of public education in Delaware and Maryland through partnerships among Delaware and Maryland’s research institutions, federal and state agencies and public schools.

This project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) program, works to strengthen climate change education through development of high quality educational programs and resources. 

To learn more, visit www.madeclear.org.