I've been busy with 2 projects. First, I've just put some curriculum for STEM with Cog up on Teachers Pay Teachers. It's free, so check it out.
The second project came about serendipitously. Having just launched Episode 10: The Slow Carbon Cycle, I'd completed the "science-behind-climate-change" videos, and was looking for a way to pull them all together into one big picture. That's when I stumbled upon Katherine Hayhoe’s January 29, 2023 newsletter. In it she recommends that everyone on the planet should attend a free Cl!mate FRESK workshop to understand the science behind climate change. Perfect!
Based on Hayhoe’s advice, I immediately signed up for a free FRESK online workshop without bothering to question what it was really. She’s my climate hero. When she speaks. I listen.
But you may want to learn a bit more before you sign up. So, here goes. First, let me say that the workshop was amazing! Okay, now here’s how FRESK describes the workshop.
“Climate FRESK is a science-based and collaborative workshop. It aims to make people understand the causes and consequences of climate change. Three hours, forty-two cards, one facilitator and magic happens.”
I’m not sure “magic” happened, but learning sure did. In my free online workshop, some participants knew very little about climate change. Others were well informed. We worked together with a facilitator to create a large "mural" by arranging batches of information cards to create a kind of mind map showing connections. Here’s what makes FRESK so special.
Community. No card is placed unless the group unanimously agrees on its position. This ensures that different viewpoints are considered and everyone is educated about significance of each card.
Active learning. Participants don’t just passively listen. Participants use critical thinking skills to rearrange when new information is presented.
Facts. The information on each card is drawn from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report. The summary alone of the 2023 report is 42 pages long. Not many people on Earth have read it or the actual report.
Batching. The cards are presented 8 – 10 cards at each, so you don’t get overwhelmed.
The workshop is neither biased nor political.
After making the mural, participants explore their feeling about climate change. What is your anxiety level? From there we discussed what each of us could do immediately to help. Climate FRESK doesn’t teach about solutions because those vary from nation to nation, community to community. [But you will be able to learn about the "Science of Climate Solutions," at STEM with Cog when I start making those videos mid-year, 2024.]
Any, I hope you’re ready to sign up for a FREE FRESK workshop.
OR
You can send me an email Sharon@stemwithcog.org and ask to join an in-person or online group facilitated by me. Yes, I loved the FRESK experience so much that I’m now a trained FRESK Volunteer Facilitator.
To conclude, I just want to restate what Hayhoe wrote. EVERYONE on the planet should attend a free Cl!mate FRESK workshop to understand the science behind climate change.
I hope you’ll join the ranks of the 1.5 million people globally who have done just that.
Photo Source - Fresk Mural
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