Hazard Education, Awareness, and Resilience Task Force (HEART Force)
Engaging rural Colorado middle and high school students, teachers, and communities to take proactive steps in preparing for and responding to natural hazards.
Environmental hazards—such as wildfire, flood, and drought—are increasingly affecting communities in Colorado. With this rise in hazardous events, there is a pressing need for communities to become more resilient through education, preparation, and planning.
Hazard Education, Awareness, and Resilience Task Force (HEART Force) is an award-winning collaborative project implemented by the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and Climate Adaptation Partnership (CAP) partner Western Water Assessment. Recognized for its commitment to excellence and innovation in environmental education, HEART Force was awarded the Innovative EE Program Award from the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education in 2022.
Interested? Please contact our team at: ceee@colorado.edu.
Upcoming Events
Using Place-Based Teaching for Impact: The HEART Force Wildfire Unit
Join us for a free HEART Force workshop designed to help you bring real-world relevance into your classroom. Learn how to engage students through:
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Practicing Decision Making in the Science Classroom: Introducing the Avista Fire Resilience Challenge
The Avista Fire Resilience Challenge is a scenario based role play game that helps students explore strategies for preparing for and recovering from wildfire.The game incorporates trauma-informed practices and real-world challenges such as housing insecurity, mental he
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Curriculum
Videos
Pathway to Seal of Climate Literacy
HEART Force curriculum aligns with NOAA's climate literacy principles and is a great pathway for students to earn a seal of climate literacy by meeting coursework and experiential learning project requirements. Learn more about the Seal of Climate Literacy.
Program Team
Publications
Littrell, M. K., Boyd, K. J., Schloesser, K., Christensen, A., Gold, A. U., & Alam, I. (2025). Place and community engagement in a youth natural hazards and community resilience education program. Journal of Geoscience Education, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2025.2489709
Schloesser, K., Davis, R., Ruffin, T., Gold, A. U., Christensen, A., Littrell, M. K., & Boyd, K. J. (2024). Centering and uplifting youth voice in planning for a more resilient climate future in rural Colorado: A case study of a student resilience team asking for change. Frontiers in Climate, 6(1), Article 1408872. https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2024.1408872
Schloesser, K., Kurz, J., Gold, A.U. (2021): Too much or too little: Empowering students to plan for resiliency to flooding and drought. The Earth Scientist, Vol. XXXVIII, 3, 24-18.
Boyd, K. J., Gold, A. U., & Littrell, M. K. (2021). Teaching practices around natural hazards and community resilience in Colorado. Journal of Geoscience Education, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2021.1964319.
