Scenic+Hudson+Climate+Change+(MB)



Matai Blacklock
 * __ Scenic Hudson: Climate Change in the Hudson Valley __**

Scenic Hudson developed the //Climate Change in the Hudson Valley// curriculum. he organization’s main goal is to protect and restore the Hudson River and the surrounding landscape. They want to preserve the river and habitat for local citizens, visitors and the people that use or benefit from the river. The organization has been active since 1963 and considers itself a “modern grass-roots environmental movement”. They are attempting to raise awareness about environmental issues that threaten the Hudson River and the surrounding landscape in order to help gain support for the restoration and protection of it. The organization claims that Americans have a right to enjoy the true majesty of the Hudson River and that they must do everything thing they can to further the restoration of the river. The Climate Change in the Hudson Valley curriculum aims to educate local residence of the river and its surrounding communities about the general causes and effects of global warming on a global scale and also focuses specifically on how it affects the Hudson River and its surrounding environment and communities. The curriculum does a good job explaining the basics behind the scientific method for which scientists determined the effects and causes of global warming which helps to deter global warming skeptics. The curriculum tries to illustrate how interconnected out ecosystems are and that we must work to repair and maintain them. The curriculum also illustrates several steps that students can take to decrease their carbon footprint and how to begin making positive changes in the environment while reversing and or stopping negative changes. The curriculum does a good job of conveying the topic of Climate change to the student. What makes this curriculum stand out is how it relates the problem to a specific area and one that we happen to be a part of. This curriculum does a good job and conveying the intended learning outcomes but may leave some kids desiring more knowledge. To make up for this it supplies the student with various other resources that he or she can visit to learn more about the topic or get more involved. This curriculum is a very good first step toward improving environmental sustainability and increasing awareness. The curriculum coveys some of our literacy goals but does not cover them all. This curriculum illustrates to the student the basic problem of global climate change and what he or she can do to help do their part in preventing it but it also attempts to impart a sense of group responsibility which is one of the goals of our research group. This curriculum also attempts to illustrate the scientific reasoning behind climate change data which is a key step toward imparting understanding of scientific research in students. In order for this curriculum to better address the learning outcomes that the EcoEd Research Group advocates it should link to topic of air pollution and global warming better so that students become aware of the negative environmental effects from air pollution as well as the negative health effects. The curriculum also mentions that many different occupations deal with improving the environment but does not go into specific enough detail explaining the specific roles and how they are interconnected, a key learning outcome that our group is trying to illustrate. The best thing that the article does do is say that our ecosystems are interconnected but could still go into more detail on this subject to really drive the point home. Overall this curriculum is one that I support but some key adjustments and further advertising of it needs to be done for it to become convey the learning outcomes that the EcoEd Research Group conveys.

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