Curriculum Development

Smith-Lever Funding: Developing and Piloting Training for NYS

From 2019-2021, our team received Smith-Lever funding of $25,000/year for three years for a project to “Enhancing the Resilience of New York Communities through a Master Climate Volunteer Program Project” (Principle Investigators: Katherine E. Bunting-Howarth, NY Sea Grant and Allison Chatrchyan, Cornell CALS). We worked closely with Extension specialists from six Cornell Cooperative Extension associations across NYS and staff from the NYS Office of Climate Change to develop a curriculum for an Extension Master Climate Volunteer Program to train community members on climate science, climate change mitigation, and climate change adaption for communities to become resilient to climate change. In 2021, we trained Extension educators from six counties and will pilot the curriculum with volunteers with funding from NYSERDA.

NIFA Planning Grant

From 2017-2020, the Cornell Climate Smart Solutions Program, along with the USDA Northeast Climate Hub and the University of MD, was awarded a USDA NIFA planning grant to develop a new Extension Climate Steward Volunteer Program. This project developed a plan for an innovative Climate Stewards Program to train Extension volunteers who can support their communities to engage in climate change adaptation, resiliency, and mitigation projects at the local level. The project focused on the feasibility in the Northeastern United States, an area comprised of large variability in geographies and land use types, and communities from the largest cities and urbanized areas in the United States, to some of the most rural areas. The program goals were to:

• Goal #1: Develop and Implement a Climate Steward Program to support Climate Smart Communities in the Northeast
• Goal #2: Incorporate Climate Change into Existing Master Volunteer Programs

Read the Final NIFA Project Report: Climate Stewards: Studying the Feasibility of a new Cooperative Extension Climate Change Volunteer Program for the Northeastern USA.

Inventory of Community-Based Programs

Below is an interactive dashboard of our current inventory of community climate change programs. The focus was on programs in the Northeast, however, we did include some notable programs from other regions of the US. This inventory is continually being updated as we become aware of new programs. To view details about each program, hover over each dot on the map. This will provide details on the name of the program, reported cost, duration, website, and primary audience.

 

Curriculum Development & Review

The Cornell Climate Stewards program benefits from a multi-disciplinary team of social, natural, and physical scientists and practitioners with expertise relevant to climate change who have contributed to the development and review of the course content to ensure its accuracy, quality, and accessibility for adult learners. The curriculum was co-developed at Cornell University through a rigorous four-year process, involving many team members and partners. Project development was led by Allison Chatrchyan (Cornell University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences) and Katherine Bunting-Howarth (NY Sea Grant & Cornell Cooperative Extension at Cornell University).

Curriculum Development Team: Sharon Anderson, Mary Austerman, Ave Bauder, Kathy Bunting-Howarth, Celeste Carmichael, Terrance Carroll, Ana M. Cañas, Terry Carroll, Allison Chatrchyan, Helen Cheng, Christina Das, Gabriella D’Erasmo, Michelle Gluck, Katie Graziano, Melinda Herzog, Adrienne Kaplan, Carolyn Klocker, Jessica Kuonen, Isabella Eclipse, Charles Malone, Camille Marcotte, Jim O’Connell, Hazel Robin, Margaret Royall, Jessica Spaccio, Jennifer Tiffany, Pamela Wildstein, and Rachel Zevin.

Reviewers:

Art DeGaetano, Ph.D., Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University	Natalie Mahowald, Ph.D., Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University
Shorna Allred, Ph.D., Professor of Natural Resources, Cornell University	Danielle Eiseman, Ph.D., Cornell University Department of Communications
Ann Armstrong, Ph.D., Dept. of Natural Resources, Cornell University	Mike Hoffmann, Ph.D., Dept. of Entomology, Cornell University
Ashley Helmholdt, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University	Erin Lane, USDA Northeast Climate Hub
Brian Rahm, PhD., NYS Water Resources Institute	Mark Lowery, NYS Office of Climate Change
Rob Breene, NYS Office of Climate Change	Dazzle Ekblad, NYS Office of Climate Change

 

Related Initiatives

The National Extension Climate Initiative has also conducted a recent update on Extension climate change outreach programs across the United States: National Registry of Cooperative Extension Programs & Assets.

The University of California Master Naturalist Program has developed a similar UC Climate Stewards program, geared to help foster the connection of CA residents to the growing number of state and local government resilience and adaptation plans or other local government initiatives needing increased public involvement.