The Climate Science Alliance teams up with the USDA Caribbean Climate Hub to bring the Climate Kids model to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, made possible by collaboration with regional partners and funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Learn more about the Climate Hub and what’s next on today’s blog!
The Climate Science Alliance is excited to be a part of the Enabling Climate-Smart Decisions for Agriculture and Forestry in the U.S. Caribbean project and work in collaboration with the USDA Caribbean Climate Hub to bring a Climate Kids Hub to the Caribbean!
Towards this goal, we are working with our local partners to create a series of Climate Kids Explorer Backpacks. The Climate Kids Explorer Backpacks cover three different climate change topics relevant to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: Climate Change 101, Climate Smart Agriculture, and Regional Impacts of Climate in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The backpacks will be available for check out at hub locations in both Puerto Rico on Taíno homelands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Kalinago, Arawak and Ciboney homelands.
These Explorer Backpacks use hands-on science, storytelling, and art to create a portable resource that an educator can take out into the field and use with learners of all ages. The backpacks contain a variety of books, tools, and activities in both English and Spanish to support hands-on learning across the region.
We are also working with local partners to refine the backpacks and ensure they are regionally and culturally relevant. The finished Explorer Backpacks will be housed at local hubs where they can be checked out at no cost by formal and informal educators. These hubs will enable educators in the region to use the backpacks to teach students about the basics of climate change as well as the specific impacts that climate change has on the agriculture and ecosystems of the Caribbean.
Recently the backpacks made their first public debut at the USDA Caribbean Climate Hub booth at AgriFest in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Extending a big thank you to Viviana Medina, Gabriela Cotto and Bill Gould, from the USDA Caribbean Climate Hub team, for presenting the backpacks at their booth! The Climate Science Alliance team will be traveling to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands this summer to meet with partners and community members in-person, and co-lead training opportunities. We are so excited to share these Climate Kids Explorer Backpacks with educators in the Caribbean!