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Storytelling

Storytelling

Everyone has a story to tell - explore CEEE resources that use storytelling to connect communities and help students and educators share impactful narratives about water, climate change, and other environmental topics.

CEEE’s storytelling-based resources help connect communities by addressing critical environmental issues like water scarcity and climate change. The We Are Water program engages rural, Latinx, and Indigenous communities in the Four Corners region through storytelling, activities, and a traveling exhibit, encouraging dialogue around shared water experiences. The Lens on Climate Change (LOCC) program empowers students to document local climate change impacts through film, fostering scientific inquiry and creative expression. These programs provide curriculum materials, videos, and hands-on activities to facilitate conversations and build connections through shared narratives and personal stories about water and the environment.

Water, critical and scarce in the Four Corners Region, connects diverse communities through our shared place and unique stories. 

We Are Water is a place-based education program that connects rural, Latinx, and Indigenous communities in the Four Corners Region of the U.S. with water topics through stories, activities, and a traveling exhibit and engages community members in conversations about their personal and community connections to local water topics.

What does water mean to people living in the Four Corners Region of the Southwestern U.S.? 

  • Curriculum: We are Water provides Take & Make Kits and Conversation Guides in both English and Spanish to utilize storytelling to begin a dialogue about shared experiences with water in communities and help students experience different ways water is important in the Four Corners Region of the Southwestern U.S.
  • Videos: Where does water in the Four Corners region come from? How is water in the Four Corners region distributed and shared? How does climate change impact water in the Four Corners region? Watch We are Water videos to learn about the importance of water in Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States. All videos are available with English or Spanish captions.
  • Images: Explore images of the Southwest taken by those who live there and see how water influences the places, people and environment. We are Water hopes that the image gallery will be a starting place for conversations about the importance of water and how people can work together to preserve it for the future.

We Are Water shares stories that explore the diverse experiences and perspectives of those who live where water is scarce.

The Lens on Climate Change (LOCC) program engaged Colorado middle and high school students in documenting the effects of climate change and environmental issues in their communities through film production. Guided by science and film mentors, students researched topics, planned scripts, filmed interviews, and edited their work using professional techniques. LOCC used an innovative approach to teaching science and technology & project-based, student-directed learning with a place-based hook.

Explore the curriculum materials developed to support classroom implementation of the LOCC program below and use the LOCC Educator Guide, "Sharing Science with Film," to conduct your own filmmaking investigations. Additionally, discover our video library of student-made films to see the impactful work created through the program.

Storytelling Curriculum Resources

Community Climate Stories

Developing Stories

Watch this video to learn how to develop your story and storyboard for a short film.

Illustration of two people high-fiving in a work environment

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CEEE Contact

ceee@colorado.edu
Phone: 303-492-5670
Fax: 303-735-3644

CEEE Mail

CIRES Center for Education, Engagement and Evaluation
University of Colorado Boulder
488 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0449

CEEE Office Hours

8:00 am to 5:00 pm MT -- fall and spring semesters