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Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network

Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network

The CLEAN collection offers ~1,000 free, peer-reviewed, NGSS-aligned climate and energy teaching resources—easily searchable and ready to use.

The Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) provides the official government climate teaching database through syndication with NOAA Teaching Climate. CLEAN partners with climate scientists and educators to help review educational resources for our collection. CLEAN also provides pedagogical support for teaching climate and energy topics through educator support pages, professional development offerings, and a professional learning community to help educators with many aspects of teaching climate.

CLEAN is led by climate education experts at the Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation(CEEE) at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Science Education Resource Center(SERC) at Carleton College. CLEAN was funded as the official content provider for NOAA’s climate.gov/teaching climate webpages.

If you have any questions, please email clean@colorado.edu.

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Audience

Educators

Contact

clean@colorado.edu

Visit the CLEAN homepage

Curriculum

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The Emotions Wheel

Elementary School, Middle School, High School, University/College, Out-of-school/Non-formal
Climate Change, Climate Mental Health

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Active Listening Skills

Middle School, High School, University/College
Climate Change, Climate Mental Health

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Facilitating Discussions and Creating Solidarity

Middle School, High School, University/College

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Nature Appreciation

Elementary School, Middle School, High School, University/College, Out-of-school/Non-formal
Climate Change, Climate Mental Health

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Mindfulness Practices & Guided Meditation

Elementary School, Middle School, High School, University/College
Climate Change, Climate Mental Health

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Connecting with Special Places in Nature

Elementary School, Middle School, High School, University/College, Out-of-school/Non-formal
Climate Change, Climate Mental Health

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Visioning Possibility

Elementary School, Middle School, High School, University/College, Out-of-school/Non-formal

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Climate Solutions

Elementary School, Middle School, High School, University/College, Out-of-school/Non-formal

All CLEAN Curriculum

Resources

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CLEAN Collection of Educational Resources

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Educator Support

Webinar

CLEAN Webinars

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CLEAN Educator Newsflash

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Follow Us on Social Media

Get Involved

Program Team

Anne U. Gold

Alicia Christensen

Naomi Ochwat

Patrick Chandler

Gina Fiorile-Desranleau

Publications

Boyd, K.J., Gold, A.U., Chandler, P.D., Crim, H.A. (2025): Climate change education in the new landscape of climate literacy. PLOS Clim 4(5): e0000623. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000623

Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network

Environmental Education Research cover image

Boyd, K. J., Busch, K. C., Gold, A. U., Ward, E. G., Niepold, F., Poppleton, K., … Morrison, D. L. (2024). Using social network analysis to assess connections within climate and energy education organizations: A case study conducted by the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN). Environmental Education Research, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2024.2408424

Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network

Connected Science Learning cover image

Christensen, A., Welton-Mitchell, C., Gold, A., James, L., & Zeitz, L. (2023, June 27). Beyond Doom and Gloom: Teaching Climate Change to Foster Empowerment. Connected Science Learning, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/24758779.2023.12318633

Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network

Cover: Journal of Geoscience Education

Ledley, T. S., Gold, A.U., Niepold, F., McCaffrey, M. (2014): Moving Toward Collective Impact in Climate Change Literacy – The Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN). Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 62, No. 3, pp. 307-318, https://doi.org/10.5408/13-057.1.

Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network

Cover: Journal of Geoscience Education

Gold, A.U., Ledley, T.S., Buhr, S.M., Fox, S., McCaffrey, M., Niepold, F., Manduca, C. & Lynds, S. 2012. Peer-review of digital educational resources—A rigorous review process developed by the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN). Journal of Geoscience Education. 60: 295-308, https://doi.org/10.5408/12-324.1.

Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network

Cover: Journal of Geoscience Education

Gold, A.U., Ledley, T.S., Buhr, S.M., Fox, S., McCaffrey, M., Niepold, F., Manduca, C. & Lynds, S. 2012. Peer-review of digital educational resources—A rigorous review process developed by the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN). Journal of Geoscience Education. 60: 295-308. https://doi.org/10.5408/12-324.1

Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network

Cover: Special Issue: Energy Education

Gold, A.U., Ledley, T.S., Sullivan, S.B., Kirk, K.B., Grogan, M. (2015): Supporting Energy Education Online: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN). Journal of Sustainability Education.

Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network

Upcoming Events

Jul

Mon - Thu

14 - 17

2025

9:00 am MT

Teach Climate Network Summer Institute hosted by Climate Generation

CLEAN is leading a cohort at the 20th Annual Teach Climate Network Summer Institute hosted by Climate Generation! This virtual, three-day conference focuses on climate change education for both formal and non-formal educators. As a cohort leader, CLEAN has had the opportunity to evaluate and plan sessions for #SI2025, and you won’t want to miss this!

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Jul

Tue

22

2025

11:00 am MT

ACCEL Summit - "Play-along" of iBiome – Changing Ice with Jane Ji

As part of the ACCEL Summit convened by CLEAN, the Simulations and Games for Climate & Energy Education working group invites you to a series of virtual sessions over the coming months, where the working group will present demos or arrange "play-alongs" of the featured educational games.

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Aug

Tue

26

2025

11:00 am MT

ACCEL Summit - "Play-along" session of the game Daybreak with Carine Ullom

As part of the ACCEL Summit convened by CLEAN, the Simulations and Games for Climate & Energy Education working group invites you to a series of virtual sessions over the coming months, where the working group will present demos or arrange "play-alongs" of the featured educational games.

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