This project provides funding to earth force to implement its project, which will design, demonstrate, and disseminate environmental education practices, methods, and techniques, that will serve to…

This Project Grant award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Environmental Education Grants Program (CFDA 66.951) provides $133,530 to Earth Force, Inc. to implement a project designed to increase environmental literacy and encourage environmentally responsible behaviors in EPA Region 8. The project will bridge the gap between public awareness of climate risk and local decision-making for community-based climate resilience by engaging students to conduct research on local climate resilience efforts, identify relevant issues, and work with community leaders to enhance resilience planning. The project will include a developmental phase to engage educators in creating educational materials, followed by a dissemination phase to distribute, promote, and train 100 educators working with 4,500 students on action plans to increase climate resilience awareness and preparedness in the region. The award period runs from February 1, 2025 to January 31, 2027.

This project provides funding to earth force to implement its project, which will design, demonstrate, and disseminate environmental education practices, methods, and techniques, that will serve to increase environmental literacy and encourage behavior that will benefit the environment in region 8. The grantee will do this by bridging the GAP between public awareness of climate risk and local decision-making for community-based climate resilience. The project-based approach empowers young people to conduct research on local climate resilience efforts and identify issues directly relevant to their lives. Based on what they learn, they delve into the community's policy and practice context surrounding these challenges and engage with community leaders to enhance community resilience planning. Culturerise extends those ideas to prepare educators to guide students towards a deeper comprehension of the unequal impacts of climate change in their community and how, given the unique structures of their communities, they can play a role in community resilience preparedness. Activities:this project will increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues in region 8 and provide students, teachers, and community members the skills necessary to make informed decisions and to take responsible actions. Activities to be performed during this project period include: developmental phase: this stage engages eight educators from underserved communities in a process of reflection on climate resilience education and the creation of educational materials. Dissemination phase: this phase focuses on distributing, promoting, and training environmental education providers in the use of the materials. By the end of the dissemination phase, culturerise will engage 100 educators working with 4,500 students who will undertake action plans to increase awareness and preparedness for climate resilience within region 8. Subrecipient:two groups of subawards will be made under this proposal. The first group will be 8 local education agencies (LEA) that are currently participating in the rise challenge ($2,000 per agency). Those funds will be used to support the participation of educators in a feedback session and the development of materials. The LEA's will be selected based on two criteria: 1) being from disadvantaged communities. Earth force had preliminary work plan - earth force: page 1 conversation with leas in the communities we will draw from that are listed in the full proposal; and 2) past participation in the rise challenge. The second group of sub awardees will be 10 nonprofit organizations drawn from disadvantaged communities across region 8 ($9,000 total). Those organizations will be selected based on their commitment to youth engagement, experience with similar projects and work in disadvantaged communities. Outcomes:IT is anticipated that this project will result in the following deliverables: customized educational tools: the initiative develops educational materials tailored to the unique contexts of educators serving diverse communities within region 8. Accessible resources: IT provides free access to climate resilience education resources for educators throughout region 8, promoting widespread availability. Community capacity building: culturerise empowers ten organizations to deliver climate resilience education aligned with the socio-cultural dynamics of their respective communities. Expected outcomes of the project include: -70% of young people will show an increased likelihood that they will continue to be engaged in local climate resilience efforts. - community engagement in local community resilience efforts increases local adaptation to climate impacts. - locally relevant climate resilience education will lead increased engagement in climate resilience strategies ensuring that those strategies reflect local needs. The intended beneficiaries include students, teachers, and commu