Environmental change is all around us—the neighborhoods we live in, the tree canopies we walk under, the nature preserves we visit. To advance discussion of climate change’s broader contexts and empower teachers and students, the Environmental Resilience Institute works with faculty and education partners to provide classroom resources and professional development opportunities focused on environmental science and climate change.
Teaching environmental change
Educating for Environmental Change
Educating for Environmental Change (EfEC) is a professional development program for K-12 teachers to effectively teach the science and policy of climate change. Utilizing hands-on labs and activities, EfEC is deepening educator understanding of key concepts related to environmental change, including how scientists know the climate is changing, how humans are accelerating these changes, and steps to mitigate the severity and impact of climate change.
Educational Resources
To help students recognize the widespread impacts of climate change and how to address them, ERI is releasing activities and discussion questions that build on the research and implementation work being led by the institute. These materials are free for anyone to use. Current offerings include:
ERI Data Scavenger Hunt
How will climate change affect Indiana’s water supply? What do Hoosiers think about environmental change? How can Indiana communities anticipate future climatic conditions? The ERI Data Scavenger Hunt introduces students to multiple data tools created by the institute that can be applied to answer questions about climate change’s impact on Indiana and beyond.
Education level: high school or college
Time commitment: 20-30 min
View the ERI data scavenger hunt
Resilient Communities Case Studies
Communities across the US are preparing for the impacts of climate change and taking steps to reduce local emissions. ERI is documenting these actions in case studies to serve as a resource for others. To facilitate discussion on communities’ resilience activities in the Midwest, the institute offers discussion questions with each case study.
Education level: high school or college
Time commitment: 20-30 min/case study
See the case studies
FutureWater Lessons
How much water will be available to Indiana communities in the future and at what quality? These two exercises will familiarize students with using hydrological models to analyze and interpret data to project how environmental changes will impact water supplies in the state.
Education level: high school or college
Time commitment: 1 hr/lesson
View the FutureWater lessons
Hoosier Resilience Heroes Coloring Book
This coloring book tells the stories of nine real-life Hoosiers and what they are doing to educate others about climate change and protect Indiana's environment. The book is free to download and distribute.
Education level: K-3
View an accessible description
Download the coloring bookQuestions about educational materials can be submitted to eri@iu.edu.
Additional IU Resources
Research and Teaching Preserve
The IU Research and Teaching Preserve offers both lab space and a natural setting for classes from multiple disciplines. The RTP is available to facilitate IU courses, community workshops, high school camps, and K-12 class visits.
Learn more about the RTP
Campus Farm
Situated just east of the IU Bloomington campus, the IU campus farm offers experiential learning opportunities for classes of any level. Details on how to schedule a meeting or classroom visit are available on the farm website.
Learn more about the campus farm