The new program, developed to address the impact of and adaptation to the rising challenges of climate changes in Sonoma Valley. The pilot program rolled out this spring in partnership with middle school science teachers Shirley Austin-Peeke, Eric Brockway and Sheila Morrisey at Adele Harrison and Kenwood school.

The program facilitated by educators Tony Passantino and Alana Fichman includes three visits in class for activity based lesson plans. The activities include having students measure their own carbon footprint, playing out a scenario called “Game of Floods” in which students are the city planners determining what measures to take to accommodate for 8 inch sea level rise by 2050 in our community and working out solutions to increasingly common wildfires through proper land management and stewardship.

“This new program with the Sonoma Ecology Center has been a wonderful addition to our sixth grade curriculum,” said Austin-Peeke. “In a short time, they did a great job teaching the students how human activities can affect climate change and also how climate change impacts our lives. Being able to study the effects of fire on the Sugarloaf State Park ecosystem made it even more real.”

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