What's Climate Change to You?: Students Doing Science in a Global Network

What does climate change mean to each one of us in relation to our geographic location, our connection to the land, and our sense of place? Does the meaning of climate change differ between the Arctic and lower latitudes? Between urban and rural areas? What is climate change to you?: Students Doing Science in a Global Network (WCCY) will involve K-12 students in exploring these questions. The project will form a network of 40 schools across the U.S. Canada, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Greenland where students and teachers will partner with scientists to do science and explore climate change across tundra, taiga, prairies and maritime regions. The overarching objectives of WCCY are to 1) inspire students to examine how climate change affects their own lives and the lives of those around them; 2) to involve students in doing the science of snow and climate; and 3) to connect students with each other and the wider world through science and study of climate change. The hypothesis is that by developing the capacity for students to conduct research and articulate observations within collaborative spaces online, students can take ownership of ?the issue.? This project will investigate how computer-supported collaborative learning environments facilitate student inquiry and scientific learning, sharing, interaction, and collaboration. Field expeditions are powered by Polar Husky sled dogs, transecting the WCCY locations, to kick off the sampling efforts and generate excitement. Participating schools will collaborate through an online forum. Local observations and strategies to adapt documented in online Community Climate Diaries will add to methodologies of engaging local communities in education and research about their knowledge, perceptions and concerns. A kit for each WCCY school, containing a computer base station, the WCCY Fieldwork & Science Guide and field tools, will enable inquiry-driven investigation. Students will 1) document local environmental observations within online Community Climate Diaries, and 2) collect snow depth and SWE measurements, snow crystal observations and temperature data sets. The students will be trained during the field expeditions and thereafter supported by regional science advisors. Two web casts each year will provide continuity and collaboration among the WCCY community. Minority students and teachers in the circumpolar Arctic will include Gwich?in, Yupik and Inupiat in Alaska; Chukchi and Yupik Inuit in Russia; Sami in Finland, Norway and Sweden; Inuit in Greenland; and Inuvialuit, Denee, and Oji-Cree in Canada. GoNorth!, with its substantial outreach, will push WCCY to an audience upwards of 20 million reaching pre-K to senior citizens and into its exciting network of 3000+ classrooms on six continents and across the 50 US states. Student collected data will be used by WCCY scientists, for example, to improve AMSR-E satellite algorithms and interpretation of satellite data. Partnering with such programs as Reindeer Mapper, IPY Snowflake Network, Thermochron Quest and HOW (NASA) build strong science connections for the students? data beyond the realm of WCCY.