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 foster community connections by addressing critical environmental issues such as water scarcity and climate change. Through programs like We Are Water and Lens on Climate Change (LOCC), we engage communities in meaningful dialogue, using personal stories to inspire awareness and action.
The We Are Water program brings storytelling, interactive activities, and a traveling exhibit to rural communities in the Four Corners region, encouraging conversations about shared water experiences. LOCC empowers students to explore and document local climate change impacts through film, blending scientific inquiry with creative expression. By providing curriculum materials, videos, and hands-on activities, these programs facilitate deeper connections through shared narratives about water and the environment.
While CEEE collaborates with communities to amplify their stories, we remain deeply committed to honoring the power of personal experiences and perspectives, ensuring that every voice is valued and respected.
Water, critical and scarce in the Four Corners Region, connects local communities through our shared place and unique stories.
We Are Water is a place-based education program that connects local 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.
- Stories: 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 the We are Water story collection 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 variety of 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 youth-produced films to see the impactful work created through the program.
