Developing and Evaluating K–12 Education Resources for New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)

Abstract

New York City (NYC), like many coastal communities around the world, faces growing climate risks such as increased flooding and irregular rain events–threatening the city’s infrastructure and residents’ safety. Holistic water management approaches, like NYC’s One Water Initiative, address these threats to secure resources for current and future stakeholders. Through place-based environmental education, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection’s Education office (DEP) seeks to inspire climate action and enhance community resilience. To assist DEP’s evolving education initiative, the team delivered: 10 climate change curricula, three classroom challenges, and an evaluation of climate education resources. These deliverables were designed to empower students with knowledge, encourage pro-environmental behaviors, leveraged by the expertise of local educators.