Joing Our Mailing List

In this in-person 2-credit course, we invite rural Colorado secondary earth and environmental science teachers to learn a new place-based, NGSS aligned science curriculum on natural hazards. The curricular unit includes a lesson on natural hazards (wildfire, flood or drought) that uses current Colorado case studies and local datasets, a scenario-based role-play game, and lessons for students to develop resilience strategies for their hometown to present at a community expo. Instructional strategies include project-based learning, gamification, design thinking, and community engaged learning. Additionally, the workshop will include a field trip to conduct an environmental hazard inventory in Gunnison and meet with several local stakeholders that plan for resiliency and hazard mitigation in their work.

The CIRES Education and Outreach team at CU Boulder developed the curriculum, which is part of a program called the Hazard Education Awareness and Resilience Task (HEART) Force. HEART Force is funded by a NOAA Environmental Literacy Grant and is designed specifically for rural Colorado classrooms to increase students’ understanding of natural hazards and community preparedness, and encourages students to take action to increase their community’s resilience to natural hazards. The grant covers registration for this course, as well as provides an optional stipend for teachers who would like to teach the curriculum and hold a community resilience expo in their community. Expect to dig into local issues relevant to your community in this course, and learn from educators from around the state in a growing community of practice!

*Note: When you go to the registration page, an $80 cost is listed with the course. This cost will be covered when you register, you will not need to enter any payment information. If you register but do not attend the workshop, you will be responsible for the $80 registration fee.