FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SAINT PAUL, MN (September 6, 2022) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has provided Twin Cities PBS (TPT) with funding for a two-year Environmental Literacy Program (ELP) Award. Minnesota and Wisconsin communities are facing multiple climate-related hazards including wildfires, drought, pollution, severe storms and flooding, health emergencies, and habitat and species loss. To build a strong youth component to state and local climate resiliency efforts, Twin Cities PBS, in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Hennepin County 4-H programs in North Minneapolis, Native Sun’s Solar Cub youth program at the Ojibwe language school Endazhi-Nitaawiging, in the Red Lake Nation (Miskwaagamiiwi-Zaagaiganing), and the University of Wisconsin-Superior and schools in Superior, Maple and Hayward and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research’s Center for Science Education will support place-based learning about climate resiliency with middle and high school youth using NOAA assets and elevate their voices through a new public media podcast series for youth in partnership with American Public Media.
“This project will examine how climate change education programs and storytelling activities in urban, rural and suburban schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin impact youth’s knowledge about how their local economies and cultures are being impacted by climate change and their confidence in acting as agents of change,” said the project’s principal investigator, Rita Karl, TPT’s Senior Managing Director of STEM. Participating youth will share their solutions with their communities, school boards, and local and state legislators. Public media platforms will carry the new podcast series including Minnesota Public Radio’s American Public Media and PBS Learning Media, inspiring more youth to create their own climate resiliency solutions.
Additional collaborators include Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy in Minnesota, the Lake Superior Research Institute, the NOAA Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, members of the Minnesota Governor’s Climate Change Subcabinet, the Minnesota House Climate Caucus, the Wisconsin Governor’s Taskforce on Climate Change, the City of Superior Mayor’s Office, FEMA’s State Mitigation Hazard Officers in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and TPT NOW, a partnership between PBS and public health, NOAA weather forecasters and safety agencies. For more information on the NOAA Environmental Literacy Program, visit https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp.
ABOUT TWIN CITIES PBS (TPT)
Twin Cities PBS (TPT)’s mission is to enrich lives and strengthen our community through the power of media. Established 64 years ago, TPT now operates as a public service media organization that harnesses a range of media tools to serve citizens in new ways — with multiple broadcast channels, online teaching resources, educational outreach and community engagement activities reaching more than two million people each month. Over its history, TPT has been recognized for its innovation and creativity with numerous awards, including Peabody awards and national and regional Emmy® Awards. For more information, visit TPT online, follow TPT on Facebook and Twitter.
Contact: Rita Karl | 651-229-1480 | [email protected]
© Twin Cities Public Television - 2022. All rights reserved.
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