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Miami Herald
22-04-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
COLUMN: Teachers, states stepping up to keep climate change education alive as federal government defunds it
This past fall, at an event in New York City's National Museum of the American Indian, a packed room of educators and federal employees applauded the release of a document titled "Climate Literacy: Essential Principles for Understanding and Addressing Climate Change." The 52-page document, released at Climate Week NYC, laid out principles for improving young people's understanding of the science, skills and aptitudes required to address this fast-moving global challenge - including "hope" and "urgency." Frank Niepold of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) told The Hechinger Report at the time that he hoped it would be widely adopted by states and even internationally. "We're not just talking to classroom teachers," he said. "This is for every kind of educator, every kind of communicator and all the decision makers." In April, the Trump administration defunded the lead federal program that put out the guide, the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Many of the other agencies that worked on it, including NOAA, have also been decimated by staffing cuts. And the guide itself has been taken down from its government URL, leaving nothing but an error message. That same week, on April 8, the Department of Commerce argued in a press release announcing further cuts that federally funded climate research has promoted "exaggerated and implausible climate threats, contributing to a phenomenon known as 'climate anxiety,' which has increased significantly among America's youth." The agency, which houses NOAA, said it would no longer fund educational initiatives for K-12 students. Related: Want to read more about how climate change is shaping education? Subscribe to our free newsletter. Youth climate anxiety is real. But it's likely not coming from knowing too much. In fact, climate anxiety coexists with widespread climate ignorance among America's students. That's according to a new national survey of teenagers released in April by EdWeek and the Aspen Institute's This Is Planet Ed (where, disclosure, I'm an adviser): Just 12 percent of teens feel they know "a lot" about the causes of climate change. Only 54 percent of teens correctly identified greenhouse gas emissions from human activity as the biggest contributor to climate change. Only 42 percent of teens recognize that there is an overwhelming scientific consensus on human-caused climate change. Meanwhile, just over half, a majority, wrongly believe that scientists are divided 50-50 on the human role in climate change. This suggests a worryingly high level of exposure to climate denial and disinformation. 51 percent wrongly thought climate change was directly damaging the ozone layer. 57 percent of teens thought recycling would have a "large impact" on climate change, making it the most popular option. (In reality, according to the organization Drawdown, recycling is in the middle of the pack as far as climate solutions go, far behind ideas like reducing food waste or increasing solar power generation). Related: Education that convinces kids the world isn't doomed As the U.S. government steps back, and American teens struggle to master the basics, other countries are forging ahead. The PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), the prestigious international "report card" program, announced last fall that it will develop a new measure of climate literacy, to be administered as part of the 2029 test. Andreas Schleicher, who oversees PISA at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, told me that the test is designed to promote students' sense of agency. He says it will be based in part on material that has long been covered in schools in countries including Japan and Canada. Meanwhile, back home in the U.S., science educators are circulating the climate literacy guide as "samizdat" - the term for self-publication of banned books in the former Soviet Union. Colorado cites the guide in updated state science standards, currently under review. And the University of Washington added a new page featuring a copy of the guide to an existing online open educational resource called STEM Teaching Tools, which gets about 10,000 to 15,000 visitors a month. Education consultant Deb Morrison, who worked on the STEM Teaching Tools resource, says they rushed to release it in time for the National Conference on Science Education in Philadelphia in March, where they held over a dozen sessions on the topic for science teachers from around the country. Related: Want teachers to teach climate change? You've got to train them " I would say that educators in every state are teaching climate," she said. "It may be framed to manage the sort of tensions that exist in different places, to be able to meet people where they're at, but they're still teaching climate in Florida, in Maine, in Mississippi, in Oregon, in Alabama." That said, Morrison said the removal of the guide from its domain, not to mention the cancellation of basic government data collection on climate, poses a challenge not just to scientific knowledge, but to equity, justice and democracy. "Now we're voting based on opinion or pseudo-expertise in different spaces, and nobody's actually learning and using evidence." For Schleicher, too, advancing climate literacy through PISA is a key part of a broader project to promote scientific knowledge as a bedrock of international cooperation. In a world where you can find entire YouTube channels dedicated to the proposition that the earth is flat, he said, "Science actually builds consensus among people on an evidence-based objective reality." Without that, it's hard to imagine a peaceful or prosperous future for anyone. A note: This is my final climate and education column for The Hechinger Report with the support of This Is Planet Ed at the Aspen Institute. I've been contributing to this series since 2022 and have covered early education through workforce development, traditional and Indigenous knowledge, climate storytelling in children's media and more. It's been an honor and you can find my continued freelance coverage of these topics here at Hechinger, at Grist and at my weekly newsletter. You can also sign up for Hechinger's climate change and education newsletter here. Contact editor Caroline Preston at preston@ on Signal at CarolineP.83 or 212-870-8965. This story about climate anxiety was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter. The post COLUMN: Teachers, states stepping up to keep climate change education alive as federal government defunds it appeared first on The Hechinger Report.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Art exhibit shows the history and beauty of Ho-Chunk basketry, and why it's in danger
A new exhibition opening in Oshkosh celebrates hundreds of years of Ho-Chunk black ash basketmaking. But in many ways, it's more than just making baskets — it's a celebration of the history and traditions of the tribe. It's also a warning that the art form is under threat. Here's what you need to know. The Ho-Chunk historically settled in the Great Lakes region, particularly in Wisconsin around what is now Green Bay. Europeans called them Winnebago, but their actual name translates to Big Voice, and reflects their belief that other tribes, such as the Iowa, Otoe and Missouri descended from them. By 1820, the black ash basketmaking artform emerged, borrowing from Indigenous traditions of hand-woven mats, rugs and bags. Ho-Chunk designs and styles were blended with European trade goods. In the 1900s, the growth of tourism fueled the growth of basketmaking. Weavers would sell their work at shops, especially along Highway 12, which parallels what is now I-94 from the Minnesota border through Menomonie, Eau Claire, Tomah and on into Madison, and then continues south to Whitewater and Lake Geneva. Ho-Chunk basketry is an enduring and evolving art rooted in individual expression, as well as Indigenous history. This exhibition features pieces by artists whose works are highlighted in major museums, such as National Museum of the American Indian and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Different artists have recognizable styles. The concern today is that Ho-Chunk black ash basketry is under threat by the invasive emerald ash borer, which is destroying ash trees across the country. A recent study by Michigan State University found that black ash is more vulnerable to the emerald ash borer than any other ash species, according to online notes accompanying the exhibition. The exhibit is being curated by Tom Jones, a Ho-Chunk artist and a UW-Madison professor of photography. Jones has collected and studied thousands of Ho-Chunk baskets for more than 10 years, piecing together tribal history as an act of cultural preservation, according to the exhibition notes. For this exhibit, Jones has works from notable Ho-Chunk basket-makers, including Ruth Cloud, Leola Rockman, Sarah White Eagle and Lila Blackdeer, who are all coveted names in museum collections. The exhibition is organized by the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend. 'Weaving a Legacy: Ho-Chunk Black Ash Basketry' will be at The Paine Art Center and Gardens, 1410 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh. It is just a few blocks from the Fox River. The Paine is a historic and architecturally impressive estate. A mansion serves as its centerpiece, with display gardens outside. More information can be found at It opens March 15 and will run through June 29. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The admission price is $12 for adults and $7 for youth, free for children under 4. Reservations are recommended. Sign up for the First Nations Wisconsin newsletter Click here to get all of our Indigenous news coverage right in your inbox Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@ or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Exhibit reveals blend of history, individuality in Ho-Chunk basketry
CBC
16-02-2025
- General
- CBC
Rising costs push back opening of Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre by another year
A northern Nova Scotia museum that will house Mi'kmaw artifacts has had its opening pushed back a year, as the project has faced escalating costs and had to strip back its design. Tim Bernard, director of the Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre in Debert, N.S., said the cost of building the museum increased from $38 million to $55 million. "And so over the last year we've been looking for ways … to bring the cost down," said Bernard. He said while the original concept had four galleries, they dropped one to save money. Now, the project is expected to cost around $48 million. The higher price tag also means officials need to raise another $12 million for the project. Originally slated to open in 2025, that was later pushed back to 2027. Bernard said the centre should be ready by spring 2028, with a public opening scheduled for fall. He said more than 500 of the artifacts that will be displayed are currently housed at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington. The artifacts include quilts, baskets, garments and even two complete wigwams. Bernard said Mi'kmawey Debert has been collaborating with the Washington museum since the late 1990s, at first to help identify archival photographs taken in the 1900s. Then, teams of beaders, quilters and basketmakers started routinely travelling to the museum to help maintain the collection. Jocelyn Marshall, a beader from Membertou First Nation, has visited the museum to help. She said she was overwhelmed with pride, joy and nostalgia. "We're seeing these artifacts for the first time in a long time, and this is the first time a lot of them are being held and taken out," she said. "My grandmothers, who were both beaders, I wish they were around to see all of these artifacts coming home." They also worked with a Smithsonian lab to identify the species of the feathers on several pieces. Marshall and Nik Phillips, a beader from Millbrook First Nation, repaired over 200 pieces, some of them over 100 years old. Marshall said most repairs were minimal. "They did care very, very well for them," she said. "A lot of the pieces are still very immaculate." Caitlin Mahony, conservator of the National Museum of the American Indian, said most of the belongings were donated from the collections of two anthropologists, Frederick Johnson and Wilson Wallace. While there are purchase records for some artifacts, she said the circumstances behind the purchases are unknown. "There are some purchase records that we have that we've shared with the cultural centre," said Mahony. "On what that exchange was, certainly not the standards of today."
