Climate Resources for Extension Educators
These resources have been compiled by a NECI subcommittee as optional sources of climate information for Extension educators who want to:
1) learn more about climate science
2) locate adult and youth curricula
3) locate funding opportunities
4) discover program partnerships
5) increase their professional development
Many of these sites serve multiple purposes so make time to explore these resources in depth.
Note: This page does not include, with some exceptions, the hundreds of campus-based Extension websites brimming with excellent resources; make time to explore those as well.
Agriculture (Return to Main Menu)
Carbon Underground Project
International farming resources, helping solve climate issues from the ground up.
Climate Change on the Farm | InsideClimate News
Resource for staying abreast of clientele concerns.
Ecosystem Services Market Consortium for Farmers
Non-profit working to compensate farmers and ranchers who improve the environment through their agricultural practices.
Articles/Reports (Return to Main Menu)
Compendium: Biodiversity for a Livable Climate
Scientific and practical resources supporting eco-restoration to address global warming; referenced, open-access in scientific literature, government, industry reports, and journals.
Planet Experts
A community of global changemakers committed to protecting our planet by delivering content that matters. They unite the world’s leading scientists, advocates, innovators, visionaries, and journalists to expose environmental threats and advance sustainable solutions.
U.S. Climate Science Report
Assessment of climate change to serve as a foundation for climate-risk decision-making.
Community Organizing (Return to Main Menu)
ChangeX
Addressing community challenges like climate change, isolation, loneliness, obesity, and polarization using technology to empower community leaders worldwide.
Citizens’ Climate Education
Citizen engagement and climate education.
Climate Smart Florida Communities
A handbook for Municipal Action on Climate Change, this is a 117-page step-by-step guide for climate action planning.
Geos Institute
Climate resilience practitioners that use technical and process expertise to help local leaders build climate resilience in communities.
Local Officials Guide
How local officials can get involved in designing climate change policies, programs and action plans.
Curricula (Return to Main Menu)
Ask Nature
Teaching about nature using biomimicry.
Clean Network
Climate and energy literacy locally, regionally, nationally, and globally, to enable responsible decisions and actions.
Climate Change Communication
For grades 6-12 educators, to immerse students in climate change issues in an accessible, digestible, and interactive way.
Climate Institute
Games, curricula, and tools to educate.
Climate Smart Florida: Climate Smart Floridians’ Program
A nine-unit program with a teacher’s guide for learning about our individual contributions to climate change.
Climate Smart Florida: Climate Smart Kids
A five-unit lesson plan, including learning objectives, using games, videos and experiments to learn about climate science, blue carbon, greenhouse gases, threatened ecosystems and taking action.
Green Education Foundation
Non-profit that develops K-12 educational programs to promote behavior change towards sustainable practices.
National Registry of Cooperative Extension Programs and Assets (2021)
Responding to specific requests in regional meetings and through various projects including EXCITE, the Extension Foundation has developed a National Registry of Cooperative Extension Programs and Assets (NRCEPA). This tool will enable Cooperative Extension professionals to register their projects, programs, or curriculum for nationwide collaboration among Cooperative Extension colleagues. The intent of this tool is to assist Extension professionals to quickly find other like-programming efforts across the system to reduce duplication of work, and help speed up access to digital assets that would be useful to the development of new programs. At the request of Extension leaders, the NRCEPA provides ready-access to a living database of efforts across the system in order to rapidly respond to system-wide funding opportunities. Read more about this tool.
Extension Climate & Extreme Weather Programming: Successes, Challenges & Opportunities (2021)
This report provides a national inventory of Extension programs to better understand the extent to which climate and extreme weather programs are currently being delivered and to characterize the nature of these programs. The report’s database includes a range of attributes for each of the programs identified. The report also presents excepts from in-depth interviews with Extension professionals who led climate and extreme weather program efforts and who identify successes, limitations and opportunities associated with programs. The report is also available from the eXtension website. If you have content to update or add to our database, please use this form.
Facilitating Community Change: Lessons from Climate Adaptation to Guide Extension Engagement (2020)
“Even though adaptation strategies may not address the causes of climate change, they present tangible ways for people to respond. Furthermore, they are most effective at the local level because they can be designed to match the specific context. Climate-related changes are already underway. In many places, farmers, health workers, urban planners, builders, ranchers, and forest landowners are adapting their typical practices to accommodate new conditions. Extension can help community leaders and those at risk become more aware, answer their questions, and navigate a transparent process to make decisions that will affect their future.”
The Role of Extension in Climate Adaptation in the United States (2012)
NOAA’s National Sea Grant Office partnered with NIFA’s Institute of Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment to hold the first Climate Extension Summit (Summit) on March 13-14, 2012 in Silver Spring, MD. The Summit convened a small group of invited experts from both national networks to devise broad strategies and approaches to better engage the nation on issues concerning climate change and climate variability.
NASA Climate Change Vital Signs
Explore the science behind climate change.
Strategic Energy Innovations
Provides services to engage, inspire, and empower K-12 students to become environmental leaders, green their campus and community, and develop green career awareness and skills.
Teaching Climate and Energy
Easy-to-read explanations of science and policy, designed to step students through the key principles of climate and energy.
Databases (Return to Main Menu)
Climate Cabinet Education
Tools designed for decision makers and advocates to pass smart clean energy policy, with co-benefits for communities across the U.S.
Climate Explorer
Databases for coasts, ecosystems, energy, environments, food, health, marines, tribal nations, transportation, and waterways.
The Climate Group
An international non-profit tracking global energy, transportation, the built environment, and industry.
Climate Signals
Real time data to explore how climate crises are affecting areas of U.S.
Climate Watch Data
Offers open data, visualizations, and analysis to help policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders gather insights on countries’ climate progress.
FactCheck.org
Science-based information to address hard questions.
Fire and Smoke Map
Home to the U.S. air quality index.
Flood Factor
Floods, risks, and projections based on peer-reviewed research from the world’s leading flood modelers.
Global Carbon Project
Interactive knowledge of greenhouse gases for human activities and the Earth system.
i-Tree
State-of-the-art, peer-reviewed software suite from the USDA Forest Service that provides urban and rural forestry analysis and benefits assessment tools.
Local Drought Information
Data monitoring and guidance on local mitigation measures.
Local Government Renewables Action Tracker
An interactive web tool that presents renewable energy transactions and engagement efforts completed by U.S. cities, counties, community choice aggregations, and tribal governments.
Planet Local – Local Futures
A library of inspiring grassroots initiatives happening all over the world.
Populations at Risk Tools
Through partnerships, data tools have been developed to provide free, customized maps and reports on socioeconomic trends, climate vulnerability maps in at-risk neighborhoods, wildfire threats, curated studies about outdoor recreation, and land management.
State by State Energy Scorecard
Database tracks policy activity across multiple sectors, including government, utilities, transportation, buildings, combined heat and power, and appliance standards.
Sustainable Recovery Tracker
Database monitoring of energy-related policies and government spending on clean energy measures by country and by sector.
Tree Canopy Lab
Accross neighborhoods, developing an understanding of tree locations can inform and inspire action.
Economic Development (Return to Main Menu)
B Corps
Guidance and tools for growing sustainable businesses.
ClimateECOS
Climate education, advocacy, learning, communication & outreach.
Green-e Certified
Designed for retailers, the site provides community background information about certified clean energy sources and organizations using renewable energy.
Living Room Conversations
Simple ways to connect across divides – politics, age, gender, race, nationality, and more.
Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility
Works with educators to build students’ social and emotional skills, strengthen classroom and school community, and make schools more caring and equitable through restorative practices and brave conversations on race.
National Association of Climate Resilience Planners
Community driven climate resilience planning tools.
Science Moms
Nonpartisan group of climate scientists and mothers designed to help mothers who are concerned about their children’s planet, but aren’t confident in their knowledge about climate change or how they can help.
Strategic Energy Innovations
Nonprofit that builds leaders to drive sustainability solutions partnering with schools, communities, and businesses to develop a youth sustainability leadership pathway from elementary school to early career.
Tribal Climate Resources | Climate and Energy Resources for Tribal Governments
Helping tribal communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Education/Courses (Return to Main Menu)
CarbonBrief
UK site covering world climate science, climate policy, and energy policy providing open-access data-driven articles and graphics to help improve the understanding of climate.
Climate Central
Researching and reporting climate science and impacts.
Climate Interpreter
Learn, collaborate, and communicate about climate change.
Climate Nexus
Stay up to date as journalists do on energy, food, health, and climate science.
Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
Discover the science within our oceans.
En-ROADS
Simulation models, workshops, games, and virtual engagement tools to understand climate interactions.
Land and Leadership Initiative
Both free and fee courses in important aspects of climate science including food, water, climate, conflict, and health.
Project Drawdown
A look at the future when levels of greenhouse gases stop climbing and solutions to make that happen.
Second Nature
Committed to accelerating climate action in, and through, higher education.
Federal Resources (Return to Main Menu)
Elected Officials | USA.Gov
Tools useful for teaching clientele to make their opinions known.
Energy Literacy
Energy resources for climate, vehicles, STEM, weatherization, local solutions, videos, justice and equity, and K-12.
National Centers for Environmental Information
Formerly three data centers that have merged into the National Centers for Environmental Information.
National Climate Assessment Network
Resource for understanding and communicating climate change science and impacts in the U.S.
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit
Website designed to help people find and use tools, information, and subject matter expertise to build climate resilience across federal government in one easy-to-use location.
U.S. Education Partnership
Free tools for community development, business, education, business, and more.
U.S. Forest Service Climate Change Topics
Natural resource sciences and management topics.
USDA Drought Monitoring Tools
This USDA USDM map can be used as a trigger for programs that help agricultural producers recover from drought and other natural disasters.
Funding (Return to Main Menu)
Climate Resilience Fund
Bridging the disconnect between the rapid onset of climate change and the lack of investment in our collective capacity to prepare for impacts.
ClimateWorks Foundation
Grants to support organizations and initiatives around the world that work to end the climate crisis.
EarthShare
Grants that foster engaging communities on the ubiquitous impact of energy in our everyday lives.
The Solutions Project
Empowering partners working toward clean energy and environmental justice.
Windward Fund
Incubates and hosts initiatives which pursue bold solutions to environmental challenges.
Organizations (Return to Main Menu)
350.org
An international movement working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy.
ChangeX: The Best Ideas for Your Community
Worldwide resources for ways to improve communities.
Citizen Science
Organization with a sliding membership scale and educational resources.
Geoversiv
Nonprofit supporting, connecting, and empowering projects achieving social good through climate solutions, clean energy innovation, responsible enterprise, education, peacebuilding, and expansion of the civic space.
Lonely Whale
Explore ocean projects that will involve your clientele.
National Indian Carbon Coalition
Helps tribal nations and individual Indian landowners develop carbon credits and enter environmental commodities markets through carbon sequestration projects.
National Academy of Science
Nonprofit that provides expert advice on some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and world. It’s work helps shape sound policies, inform public opinion, and advance the pursuit of science, engineering, and medicine.
New Energy Economy
Non-profit with goals to lead a just transition to renewable energy.
Rare
Global leader in social change for the environment.
Water Footprint Network Promotes the transition toward sustainable, fair, and efficient use of freshwater resources worldwide.
Professional Development (Return to Main Menu)
Association of Climate Change Officers
Certifications, leadership, courses, advocacy, and networking.
Braver Angels
Understanding climate opinions.
Words that Work
Tools to deliver effective sustainability communications.
RECORDINGS – SPECIAL MEETINGS AND PROCEEDINGS (Return to Main Menu)
Climate Change in Extension: Priority Actions, Federal Steps Taken, and Prioritizing Meeting
This meeting was an opportunity for the Climate Program Action Team to share current work, hear from USDA about emerging priorities, engage in deeper discussions and begin coalescing in Priority Implementation Teams for National Initiatives. The meeting was hosted October 5, 2021 by Extension Foundation and features NECI Steering Committee members, Dr. Ros McCann and Dr. Paul Lachapelle.
Videos (Return to Main Menu)
CountDown Ted Talks
Global initiative, powered by TED and Future Stewards, to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis.
EarthxTV.org
Hundreds of resources to address climate change.
Generous Films
Films that bring cinematic storytelling to the social impact space, giving voice to communities and movements.
Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe
Education series for youth and adults on global weirding topics including climate, politics, and religion presented by Katharine Hayhoe.
The Redford Center
Films using the power of storytelling to galvanize environmental justice and regeneration.
TED.com
Nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas in short, powerful talks where Technology, Entertainment and Design cover almost all topics, from science to business, in over 100 languages.
The Years Project
Multimedia storytelling and education effort designed to inform, empower, and unite the world in the face of climate change.
Waste Reduction/Recycling (Return to Main Menu)
American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
Nonprofit research organization that develops policies to reduce energy waste and combat climate change.
Further With Food
Public-private partnership with information and tools dedicated to reducing food loss and waste in the U.S.
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Global alliance of 1,200 organizations, businesses, and thought leaders in 75 countries working toward a plastic pollution free world.
Plastics/EPA
Facts and figures about materials, waste, and recycling.
Restarters
Electronics repair movement as an example of what communities can do.
TerraCycle
Social enterprise platform eliminating waste in 21 countries using first-of-their-kind recycling platforms.
