Workshop Series: Improving Weather and Climate Understanding in Ohio

The workshop will be offered via five in-person sessions around the state thanks to an Ohio State Energy Partners grant, and will provide entry-level background on Ohio’s weather and climate, scalable indoor and field activities, time for questions, and brainstorming opportunities to integrate content into current programming. The content, learning experiences, and training opportunities to explore how climate and weather topics could be integrated into public programs reaching diverse audiences across Ohio, and are based on text created for the Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist program by a collaboration of Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center and OSU Extension. Weather captivates with its awe and power and affords ways to connect Ohioans to their natural environment. The workshop and materials are specifically designed to address barriers that educators and volunteers have reported to integrating weather, climate, and climate change into their work, including: 1) a lack of knowledge and experience; (2) concerns over potential controversy; and (3) lack of awareness of applicable curricula and field activities, especially for Ohio. Furthermore, research shows that an overwhelming percentage of Ohioans want to learn about climate change but are seldom given chances to even discuss it. Contact: Geddy Davis, davis.5694@osu.edu, 567-712-4841