CLIMATE: A team of teachers is working towards environmental sustainability in RUSD schools.
By Emily Hughes, Editor
Researchers in every scientific field of study have worked on ways to fight the growing global issue of climate change for decades. Across all corners of the globe, policies that reduce carbon emissions and increase the usage of wind and solar power are being implemented in order to decrease human impact on the world’s environment and climate. In the spirit of these moves towards sustainability, some Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) teachers are cranking up the heat to combat climate change — using renewable fuel, of course.
Last year, eight RUSD teachers, including Poly French teacher Mrs. Kristin Kund, were awarded fellowships through a program called Earthwatch to travel across the world and study the visible effects of climate change in the Arctic. The teachers traveled by train to Canada’s Churchill, Manitoba, where they, according to Kund, “explored the local area, saw beluga whales, arctic foxes, ptarmigans, polar bears, caribou and many other species that can survive in that harsh environment.” This was not the only purpose of their journey; the teachers also took samples and measurements of pond water, tadpoles and plant species in an attempt to chart the effects of climate change on Arctic ecosystems. Each night, the RUSD educators went to lectures discussing climate change and the environmental problems we face today.
None of the teachers who embarked on this journey specialize in science education. In fact, the Earthwatch team’s credo is to choose volunteers who do not have a background in science, effectively creating what they call “citizen scientists.” People of almost all ages can participate, with some volunteers over the age of 80, and some as young as 10 years old. Earthwatch has been running these inclusive programs for over 40 years, and in that time, they have sponsored over 1400 projects to benefit the planet. The Earthwatch team notes on their website that the organization is “passionate about the opportunity [Earthwatch has] to make a meaningful impact on people and the planet.”
Currently, Earthwatch is sponsoring expeditions in India, South Africa and Texas to conserve and protect animal species, and the group also hosts projects for environmental conservation, climate research and sustainability. The trip RUSD teachers embarked upon was more than a year ago, but the effects of the experience still endure for Kund.
In order to keep the momentum of this summer project going, Kund emailed Dr. Mary Droser, the University of California, Riverside (UCR) correspondent for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Along with two RUSD teachers who also went on the Earthwatch trip, Kund and Droser discussed ways in which RUSD could incorporate sustainability into its schools and facilities. “What we’re trying to do with these Earthwatch teachers is have the teachers who are keen about climate change and reversing what’s going on right now with climate change get involved via UCR’s climate change outreach group in the Department of Earth Sciences,” Droser noted.
The educators want to implement recycling programs into RUSD schools in response to the amount of paper and water bottles that are thrown away each day. “We hope to establish more recycling programs and a general awareness of the reality of the problem we are facing,” Kund expressed.
The teachers will also be assisting Droser and her team of graduate students during the annual Long Nights of Arts and Innovation, a downtown Riverside event that is alive with the city’s promoters of technology, art and sustainability. “The Earthwatch teachers will be part of the Earth Science’s five booths,” Droser explained. “We’re very excited to be working with these guys.”
Kund also expressed her gratitude for the project and her work with Earthwatch. “It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” she noted.