What is climate stewardship?

The UC Climate Stewards course is offered in various locations around California. It's predominantly online with on-site field trips. It focuses on climate change literacy and community engagement. The information on this page is related to Climate Stewardship, a new Initiative from the University of California Cooperative Extension in partnership with the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods.

​PROGRAM GOALS:

• Increase access to up-to-date and locally relevant climate science to improve climate literacy through a UC certification course for the public.
• Establish a community of practice focused on stewardship, communication, and community solutions to advance resiliency.
• Build statewide support for and capacity to effectively advance state and local climate goals.​​

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What extreme events get your attention?

For many in Santa Cruz County, it was the August 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire. Dry lightning, a couple of days before the fire was detected, was a phenomena we rarely see on the Monterey Bay. In various parts of the State there were thunderstorm events that produced close to 11,000 bolts of lightning and started hundreds of fires. Dry lightning events have increased in areas experiencing mega-droughts. A mega-drought is a prolonged drought lasting two decades or longer. 

​Other events caught my attention as well:

• missing tree rings (no growth in conifers in drought areas),
• the rising level of CO2 in the atmosphere, and increasing ocean temperatures and acidification.
• and more recently, atmospheric rivers that will test California’s flood mitigation infrastructure: levees, dams, and floodplains. Read A New Threat Looms Over California, by Marcus Kahn, California Communications and Development Associate.​

The emotional impacts of climate change often make it difficult to talk about the subject. Some aren't sure how to process the science, others can't process the emotions. It’s scary to think about the implications for future generations...especially loved ones. This video below shows two scientists addressing this very important issue. In order to address climate change, we need to be cognizant of the trauma/stress associate with the science.

​Talking to the Community

Acknowledging a felt relationship with nature
"We are, as a species, finding it increasingly hard to imagine that we are part of something which is larger than our own capacity. We have come to accept a heresy of aloofness, a humanist belief in human difference, and we suppress wherever possible the checks and balances on us—the reminders that the world is greater than us or that we are contained within it. On almost every front, we have begun a turning away from a felt relationship with the natural world."*
*Macfarlane, R. (2018). Wild Places. (pp. 202-203). London: Granta Books. 

Reconnecting the Community, Questions to Ask

• How do you interact with the life around you? What relationships have you formed with nature? Can you describe your current surroundings in a way that is connected to your life?
• Are your communities already working with nature to respond to changes they are experiencing? 

​Check out the website, Climate & Mind, where you can "explore the relationship between climate disruption, human behavior, and human experience.

To effectively address climate challenges, communication’s is key:

•  know your audience before you speak; listen…listen…listen
• establish your credibility early; eschew listing your titles, and use shared experiences instead
• learn about their values and identities
• what are they hearing, what are they feeling?
• use current science, and translate into shared experiences using analogies and imagery; make sure you feel comfortable with the basic science behind your communication and know reliable sources to go to for additional information when needed 
• problem questions will happen (be prepared); you can respectfully acknowledge their point without agreeing with them
• use a calm, reasonable, measured tone of voice; and humor when appropriate
• allow for small group discussions
• RELAX and SMILE

I often lead school groups through the redwoods, and climate change is generally mentioned in the context of carbon sequestration, and human impact on plants, wildlife, and watershed habitats. Below are some tips both interpreters and parents can use.

Six Tips for Helping You Talk to Kids
​NPR Life Kit

Give them the basic facts
Here's a suggested script, based on conversations with several educators and psychologists, that could be used for kids as young as four or five:

• ​Humans are burning lots and lots of fossil fuels for energy, in planes, in cars, to light our houses, and that's putting greenhouse gases into the air. Those gases wrap around the planet like a blanket and make everything hotter.
• A hotter planet means bigger storms, it melts ice at the poles so oceans will rise, it makes it harder for animals to find places to live.
• And it's a really, really big problem, and there are a lot of smart people working hard on it, and there's also lots that we can do to help."

Get outdoors  
You don't have to live near mountains or the ocean to expose your kids to nature. You can start with ants on the sidewalk or bugs on plants. 

Focus on feelings
Have a toolbox of comforting activities to try when kids are feeling anxious or low. It's one way to help everyone become more resilient to stressors — whether it's something on the news, or a storm coming to your town.

Taking action
Check out the Parents' Guide to Climate Revolution: Ways to Build a Fossil-Free Future, Raise Empowered Kids, and Still Get a Good Night's Sleep.

Find hope
Reminding kids to take breaks and enjoy just being a kid. It's important that they are "still also feeling carefree and joyful and finding things that are wonderful about the world, learning ways that the world is worth living in, even though they're also addressing big life challenges."

Check out How to Raise Climate-Resilient Kids