What Educators Need This Year, and How We’re Showing Up – Climate Generation

This July, we marked a milestone, Climate Generation’s 20th annual Summer Institute! For two decades, this cornerstone event of the Teach Climate Network (TCN) has brought educators together to share teaching tips, instructional resources, and build community. 

Each year, the TCN Cohort Coalition and participants of the Summer Institute help shape the TCN offerings by identifying what teachers need most. In 2025, needs are changing quickly. With the Trump Administration back in the White House, shifts at the Department of Education, and a steady stream of discouraging climate headlines, uncertainty is high. But one thing remains steady: educators’ commitment to their students and to teaching climate change with honesty and hope.

That’s why this year we are taking a fresh approach to reground in how we center the realities educators face and help them build resilience in the classroom and beyond. Here are five key lessons we’re carrying forward from the Summer Institute into another year TCN programming:

1. Strengthen relationships, especially local ones

If there’s one thing we know, it’s that we thrive on connection. Over 80% of Institute attendees said they loved building local connections and wanted to stay connected with their cohort leaders.

Why does this matter? Because climate change isn’t a faraway problem and it shows up differently in every community. What flooding looks like in Vermont isn’t the same as wildfire smoke in California or heat waves in Phoenix. When educators build local connections, they’re better equipped to ground climate lessons in the realities their students see and feel around them. These place-based connections help make climate change less abstract and more personally relevant, sparking deeper student engagement.

Local networks also act as support systems for educators themselves. Teaching climate change can feel isolating or even politically charged. But when teachers connect with others in their district, county, or region, they gain confidence, share strategies, and learn how to navigate challenges together. These relationships don’t just strengthen individual classrooms, they strengthen entire communities.

As one Summer Institute participant put it:

“Being part of a group with shared interests was refreshing. Despite being in different regions, we faced many of the same challenges. It helped me see the power of collective learning and the importance of localized solutions within a global issue.”

Climate Generation will keep nurturing these connections throughout the year, because when educators feel supported by one another, they’re more empowered to bring climate education to their students in impactful ways.

2. Pair accurate information with actionable tools

In a time when reliable climate information can disappear from websites overnight, educators need trusted sources they can count on. But here’s the thing: resources alone are not enough. Teachers also need support and time to translate information into age-appropriate, standards-aligned lessons that resonate with their students. When educators have both reliable information and support for embedding it into their classrooms, they can shift from simply delivering content to equipping students with tools for understanding, critical thinking, and meaningful action. That’s why the Teach Climate Network provides practical examples, activities and curriculum, ready-to-use strategies offered in 1:1 coaching, and workshop time. 

The Teach Climate Network remains a go-to hub for both accurate content and instructional strategies. And we’ll continue sharing resources, lesson guides, and professional development opportunities from our partners because we know building from what already exists is how we can best move forward together.

3. Use multiple entry points to make climate approachable

Yes, science matters. But teaching climate change isn’t only about graphs and greenhouse gases. It’s also about art, storytelling, history, civic engagement, and student empowerment. By weaving climate topics into subjects students love and are already learning, educators can make learning both accessible and inspiring.

Why does this matter? Because not every teacher or student connects with climate change through the same lens. For some, data spark curiosity. For others, exploring climate themes through a novel, a piece of art, or a local history project creates the “aha” moment. Having multiple entry points makes it easier for educators to integrate climate content into their existing curriculum without feeling like it’s one more thing to teach. It also helps students connect climate issues to their personal interests, which deepens learning, strengthens retention, and encourages students to imagine how climate can be woven into their anything they do. When climate education is relevant to a student’s life, they’re more likely to remember it and more likely to act on it. 

As one Summer Institute attendee shared:

“I came in focused mainly on the science, but I now see the value of a broader, more inclusive approach — one that connects climate issues to equity, local communities, and student empowerment. This experience reshaped how I think about teaching climate change.”

This year, the TCN will highlight teaching pathways that span disciplines, science, english language arts, social studies, health, and more, so educators can find entry points that feel engaging and tailored to their classrooms. By broadening how we approach climate change, we give teachers the tools to feel confident and students the opportunity to connect meaningfully with the most important issue of our time.

4. Recognize that every classroom is different, and that means every teacher’s needs are different

Teaching climate change in the U.S. is a patchwork. Some districts fully embrace it, others barely mention it. While 44 states, representing 71% of U.S. students, have science standards that include climate change, the how it’s taught varies widely. In some places, climate shows up as a single unit in science; in others, it’s integrated across disciplines; and in many classrooms, it’s still left out entirely.

Because of this, teachers’ needs differ dramatically. Some are searching for ready-to-use lesson plans that fit into a tightly scripted curriculum. Others are looking for strategies to navigate political pushback in their communities. Still others want to connect climate content with student well-being, resilience, or social justice. In short, the way climate change is taught shapes what support teachers need most.That’s why Climate Generation remains committed to being needs-based in our work. We’ll keep a pulse on what’s happening in classrooms by staying connected with Teach Climate Network members throughout the year. That way, our resources and professional development remain grounded in the real challenges and opportunities that educators face every day.

5. Offer flexible ways to engage

Let’s be real; life happens. This year, 20% of registrants couldn’t attend the Institute after signing up. Schedule changes, strikes, job loss, burnout; sometimes it’s just too much. We get it.

That’s exactly why flexibility matters. Teaching climate change isn’t just another item on an already packed to-do list, it’s something educators want to do well, but it can feel overwhelming without the right kind of support. Some teachers are just starting their journey and need quick, approachable entry points. Others are ready to dive deep into interdisciplinary curriculum or community projects. And many fall somewhere in between.

Providing multiple pathways helps ensure that every educator, no matter their time, experience level, or teaching context, can find a way to build confidence and capacity. Short online workshops give teachers fast tools they can use tomorrow. Recordings allow busy educators to catch up on their own time. Longer-term fellowships provide a space to collaborate, reflect, and grow as leaders in climate education. Together, these options make climate professional development more accessible, equitable, and impactful.

We’ll continue offering a range of opportunities in different formats so educators can plug in however it works best for them. 

Find the schedule of events and recordings of past workshops on our website.

Moving Forward Together

Even if it feels like climate change is being pushed to the back burner nationally, it remains the most pressing issue of our time. As educators, we have the opportunity to empower the next generation not only to understand the challenges ahead, but to lead with creativity, courage, and care. If you aren’t a Teach Climate Network member yet, we encourage you to join!

Lindsey Kirkland supports on-going climate change education programs for K-12 educators and public audiences. As the Education Manager, she also develops a vision for and provides strategic coordination for programs focusing primarily on professional development for teachers and informal educators. Lindsey is adjunct faculty at Hamline University and supported the development of their Climate Literacy Certificate, a contributing author of NSTA’s Connect Science Learning journal, and an active member of Climate Literacy and the Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) and the North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE) Guidelines for Excellence writing team. Lindsey has served as an environmental educator with the AmeriCorps program the NJ Watershed Ambassadors, worked as a naturalist and education program coordinator for the NJ Audubon Society, and assisted in program development for museums, universities, and new nonprofit organizations in the United States and Australia. Lindsey holds a BS in Environment, Conservation and Fisheries Sciences from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA and a MEd in Science Education from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. In her spare time, Lindsey enjoys spending time with her husband and her son.