​​​​​​​​​

Building resilience also means building understanding. Maryland offers climate education and training resources to support teachers, community leaders, and decision-makers in communicating about climate change. These resources can be used to:

• Share clear and confident messages about climate science and solutions.
• Strengthen climate literacy across schools, communities, and organizations.
• Assess and meet the state’s training and education needs for a climate-ready future.

By expanding access to trusted information and practical training, Maryland empowers​ people of all ages to take part in building a resilient future.

DNR Resources

Communicating About Climate Change with Confidence – Teachers, park staff, nonprofit workers, and anyone who might address climate in public interactions can learn a "toolkit" of communication techniques (including values, metaphors, art, storytelling, and focusing on solutions) to build confidence in addressing climate change and collective behavior change to support climate action. Attendees leave with vetted and reliable resources for having productive conversations that center on solutions. This is a minimum of 90 minutes training, with 3 hours preferred for best results. – Contact [email protected] to learn more.

Strategic Framing for Climate Change Communication – Participants learn about strategic framing as a communication approach to engage audiences to think productively in how they would create or support solutions to climate change. In addition to training around strategic framing, values, and solutions, this program increases participants’ ability to clearly and confidently communicate climate change issues. This is a two-day in-person training opportunity with instruction provided by National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpret​ation (NNOCCI) facilitators from the Maryland Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

MD Coastal Training and Climate Education Market Analysis and Needs Assessment (2023) – The department conducted a market analysis and needs assessment to evaluate existing resources and identify needs related to coastal resilience and climate change education. This “Hot Takes” presentation distills the results of this 325-page report. Contact [email protected] or [email protected] for more information about this study and presentation.

Wildlife Atlases – The department develops wildlife atlases for plants, breeding birds, and amphibians and reptiles​. The atlases provide distributions of observed species and establish baseline documentation that will support future research, conservation, and protection efforts. Educators can use these resources to communicate about Maryland’s plants and wildlife, including how climate change can affect different species’ habitats and distributions.

​​​​​​​​​

​Other Resources

Skills and standards

• North American Association for Environmental Education Guidelines
• Climate Literacy Guide
• Inner Dev​e​lopment ​Goals
• Transformative Skills Guide​
  

Teaching Solutions

• ​​En ROADS (Climat​e Solutions Simulation Dashboard) - An online simulator for policymakers, educators, businesses, the media, and the public to test various climate solutions.
• DRAWDOWN (Climate Solutions)​ - A leading resource for global climate solutions.
• All We Can Save (Essays and Poetry around the Climate Crisis) - An anthology of essays, poetry, and art for climate solutions.
• What if We Get it Right? - A book that considers inspiring climate futures.
  

Climate and mental health

• ​​Climate Mental Health Network Resources - A coalition of community advocates creating space and resources to address the impact of climate change on mental well-being.
• Climate Emotions Wheel - A tool to help bring awareness to emotions around climate change.
• Climate Emotions Toolkit for Educator​s (NEEF) - A teacher-tested resource for middle school educators addressing student emotions related to climate change.
  

Data in the classroom

• Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet (NASA) - NASA’s daily updates on climate data.
• Climate.​Gov - NOAA’s data, tools, and information to help people prepare for a changing climate.
• Yale Climate Opinion Maps - Social science data on American’s beliefs and attitudes on climate change.
• Climate Explorer​ - Built to accompany the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, this tool has graphs and maps of observed and projected temperature, precipitation, and other climate variables for every county in the continental U.S.
• ​​​​Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data Explorer - A tool to visualize greenhouse gases by industrial sector.
• ClimateCentral Resource Library - A library of graphics for your classroom, including local data for Baltimore, Salisbury, and Hagerstown.
  

Data visualization and climate art

• Climate Stripes
• Climate Spirals
  
• 3 Millimeters by Greg Kahn
• Earth.nullschool.net
• Artist Jill ​Pelto
• Climate Change Science in Haiku by Gregory Johnson
• ​Temperature Anomalies by Country, 1880 to 2017
• The Tempestry Project​
  

Regional climate education

• Education for Climate Action​ - A blog examining local climate education for action resources, going beyond a quick activity or lesson.
• Bay BackPack Climate Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience​ Examples - Educational experiences that center climate change.
• Mid-Atlantic Climate Change Education Collaborative Organizations and individuals throughout the Mid-Atlantic participating in a network to advance education for climate action, with an annual conference in June.
• Youth Climate Institute - An organization certifying the next generation of leaders in climate science and environmental justice.

District-level support

• Prince George’s Public Schools Climate Action Plan - Prince George’s County’s plan reviews how the school system can lessen its impact on the environment and become more climate resilient.
• UnDaunted K12 Climate Toolkit - A toolkit to assist school board members in driving climate solutions and collaborating with students and the community for climate action plans in their districts.
• ​Lost Learning Days - A map showing school closures caused by extreme weather from 2021 to 2025. Report Maryland climate-connected lost learning days here.