Teach Climate Colorado Course

The 3-Day Journey

Tuesday, June 9 - Thursday June 11, 2026

8:00am- 5:30pm each day

Across three days, we transition from Thinking (analyzing systems and local air quality) to Relating (exploring water equity and personal resilience) and finally to Acting (designing student-led, policy-based action projects).

• Day 1: Deconstructing Systems & Local Realities. Focus on scientific rigor and identifying environmental injustices using tools like the Carbon Tunnel Vision Audit and a 2-hour lab with the Colorado Air Quality Division using Colorado Enviroscreen 2.0.

• Day 2: Resilience & Knowing. Center the human dimension through water equity, the ethical integration of Indigenous Knowledges via "Two-Eyed Seeing," and addressing climate emotions through the Climate Cafe model.

• Day 3: Policy Advocacy & Action. Operationalize learning through the Earth Force 6-step Action Civics model, stakeholder simulations, and identifying equitable pathways to green careers

Course Description

Teach Climate Colorado provides a welcoming, authentic invitation for educators of all disciplines to join a community of practice dedicated to the most meaningful "teachable moment" of our time. This intensive three-day institute goes beyond traditional "carbon tunnel vision" to redefine climate literacy through the lenses of Indigenous Sovereignty, historical policy, and systemic justice. By pairing concrete planetary science—such as the chemistry of combustion—with human elements like personal storytelling and emotional resilience, participants will develop the foundational inner skills needed to move from understanding the climate system to leading transformative collective action.

Designed specifically to support the implementation of the new Colorado Seal of Climate Literacy, this course equips educators with the instructional strategies to design student-led, project-based learning units focused on policy advocacy and community impact. Participants will engage in professional adventures, including walk-throughs of local parks and hands-on labs with state data tools like Colorado Enviroscreen 2.0 to identify local environmental inequities and overburdened communities. Educators will create a custom interdisciplinary unit tailored to their unique classroom needs and the opportunity to earn 30 continuing education hours or optional SCED graduate credits for license renewal and salary advancement

Target Audience

• The course is specifically designed for K-12 formal and non-formal educators seeking relevant and applicable professional development

Course Prerequisite College reading and writing skills

Course Goals and Objectives:

In this class, students will:

• Analyze Local Systems and Data: Understand the interdisciplinary science of climate change and utilize Colorado-specific tools, such as Enviroscreen 2.0, to identify local environmental injustices and analyze interconnected airsheds.

• Center Justice and Traditional Wisdom: Transition from a narrow focus on individual footprints to a climate justice literacy framework that centers Indigenous Sovereignty and ethically weaves Indigenous Knowledges with Western science through "Two-Eyed Seeing".

• Design Policy-Based Action Projects: Apply Project-Based Learning (PBL) and the Earth Force 6-step model to design student-led projects that move beyond awareness toward systemic advocacy and policy change.

• Integrate Climate Across Disciplines: Build the professional identity and confidence necessary to weave climate literacy into every subject area—including Math, ELA, Art, and Social Studies—to support the Colorado Seal of Climate Literacy.

• Foster Resilience and Emotional Capacity: Cultivate foundational inner skills like self-awareness and empathy to address climate emotions (anxiety, grief) and facilitate peer-support models like Climate Cafes to build active hope.

Course Required Text

All course materials will be provided.

Lunch and snacks are the responsibility of the student.

Course Work and Assignment Deadlines

• Participants are sent email communication 1 week prior to the start of the course with directions for logging into the course canvas website.

• All course assignments are to be completed by Sunday, July 12th . No coursework is accepted after the last day of the course.

Each Course Participant Receives

• Professional Advancement: Earn 30 continuing education hours or optional SCED graduate credits from Adams State University to support license renewal and salary advancement. See details
  

• State-Aligned Expertise: Gain hands-on training with Colorado-specific data tools like Enviroscreen 2.0 to design interdisciplinary units that meet the requirements for the Colorado Seal of Climate Literacy.
  

• Actionable Teaching Strategies: Develop a ready-to-implement student action project using an environmental action civics model and receive a curated toolkit of classroom-ready resources.
  

• Supportive Community: Connect with a regional network of mentors and peers while building the personal resilience and mobilization skills necessary to lead climate literacy education.