Teaching Resilience in the Face of Climate Change

Damariya Carlisle, age 9, jumped as an instructor hauled a crab pot onto the steel deck of the barge docked on the Elizabeth River, a Chesapeake tributary in Norfolk, Va.

She marveled at the Atlantic blue crabs’ claws but worried they might pinch her. The visit was part of a fourth-grade class trip in October.

“They get to see and feel real crabs,” said Janet Goldbach Ehmer, an educator with the Elizabeth River Project who pulled the trap from the water. “It helps to create a personal connection and investment in the river.”

The Elizabeth River Project received about $500,000 for youth resiliency education as part of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grant program to encourage children’s resilience when faced with climate-related disasters. The grants are intended to teach young people and adults to better respond to threats like sea-level rise, severe storms, flooding, drought and extreme heat.

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