Climate & Culture…G-WOW!

Mark your calendar to attend the “Hear the Water’s Voice” climate change institute being held July 18-21 2016, focusing on water and climate change. This professional development institute is designed for teachers and community educators interested in teaching students about climate change using culturally relevant resources. Training will be based at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center and surrounding Lake Superior areas. It will build understanding of climate change using traditional ecological knowledge of the Lake Superior Ojibwe and place-based climate change investigations, integrated with climate science. More information will be posted here soon or contact catherine.tectmann@ces.uwex.edu for advanced signup.

“Gikinoo’wizhiwe Onji Waaban” (Guiding for Tomorrow) “G-WOW” Changing Climate, Changing Culture Initiative

“G-WOW” is a unique model for increasing people’s knowledge of climate change by integrating scientific research with real world evidence of how climate change is affecting traditional Ojibwe lifeways, and people of all cultures. It brings Native perspectives to addressing issue of climate change and incorporates Ojibwe language and cultural components. The project’s service learning approach promotes community level action to mitigate or adapt to a changing Lake Superior climate.

G-WOW provides the model for climate change environmental outreach programs at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center.

Because the G-WOW model is based on investigating the impacts of climate change on key plant and animal species a cultural practice relies on, it is transferabe to other cultures and locations. We welcome you to adapt the G-WOW model to help your community understand more about climate change and what can be done about it.

G-WOW Service Learning Web-Based Curriculum www.g-wow.org

Four seasonal curriculum units engage middle and above learners in applying scientific research with place-based investigations to determine how climate change is affecting traditional Ojibwe lifeways and people of all cultures. Students develop their own climate change hypothesis, test it, and develop a cliamte chnage service learning project based on their results. Because the G-WOW climate change literacy model is based on investigating the sustainability of key plant and animal species that cultural practices rely on, it is adaptable to other cultures and locations. The G-WOW website features lesson plans, teacher resources, program data bases, visual resources, and interactive blog where students can share their climate service learning projects.

G-WOW Culture and Climate Change Discovery Center

This 200 sq.ft. inG-WOW.Exhibitteractive exhibit and dynamic 32-inch touch screen kiosk at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Ashland, WI explores the impacts of climate change on Lake Superior’s natural resources and peoples and what we can do about it. The exhibit and kiosk use the G-WOW model to let learners explore place-based evidence of climate change impacts on seasonal cultural practices the Lake Superior Ojibwe people while investigating the latest climate science research through intreacive maps, videos, Ojibwe language components. Do culure and science agree that climate change is real? You be the judge!

G-WOW Educator Professional Development Institutes

Water samplingG-WOW Changing Climate, Changing Culture Institutes offer professional development designed to build a network of trained climate change community educators based on the Parks Climate Challenge program. Teacher credit, stipends, and transportation funds are available to help bring students to a national park for climate change field experiences.

Browse the G-WOW Archives to see what we learned at past G-WOW Institutes.

The G-WOW Project received the prestigious 2012-13 Honor Award from the Eastern Region of the US Forest Service in the category of “Courageous Conservation.” Photo shows G-WOW Team members (left to right) Jason Maloney-US Forest Service, Sue Erickson and Jim St. Arnold-Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Neil Howk-Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and Cathy Tecthmann-UW Extension.

G-WOW Team Receives USFS Honor Award

If you would like more information or assistnace in adapting the model in your community, please contact Cathy Techtmann-Environmental Outreach State Specialist at catherine.techtmann@ces.uwex.edu or call 715.561.2695.