Caribeth

Caribeth on the Crescent Harbor breakwater, near where she remembers there were trees before the Sea Walk was built.

This used to all be trees, and now it's all paved over.

[A] concern I have is about changing priorities because I feel like in Sitka and in a lot of smaller towns it's becoming more built for just the attractions, and not in regards to worrying about maintaining the habitats for animals who already aren't doing well [because of climate change]…

The main reason I chose this area is because there was no need for them to take the trees out and put the lookout here... I feel like it was just for tourism.

I feel like especially because there's so much natural resources here, they should be being protected and made sure that they can't just be exploited...

I remember when I was little we used to come to the SJ playground a lot -- like I remember I would swing on the swings and across from it I would look at all the trees that were there.

Do you remember learning about climate change at Sitka High?

We learned about climate change a little bit. I feel like it was an overview. We didn't go into much detail or anything. We learned about what global warming is and what's causing it, and that's kinda it.

Is there anything you wish you learned in high school?

Something I learned in college that I wish I had learned in high school was that -- they really emphasized that it isn't a natural process that's causing these changes. And I feel like a lot of people that I went to high school with who don't believe in climate change... they don't understand that it's not just a natural cycle. They didn't really go over that. They were like this is what global warming is -- they weren't like 'it's not caused by natural stuff' -- like it's not anything to do with Earth's natural heating and cooling cycle.

Do you remember learning about other aspects of society that climate change will affect?

I feel like they didn't touch on that at all. They did teach us like 'oh yeah it's gonna affect the ocean' -- the thing I heard the most was about ocean acidification, but I feel like they didn't touch on how it's going to change other things. They just talked about how it's going to change -- the main impact on the plants and animals.

Are you worried about future in terms of climate change?

I do worry about it because it's happening so fast and it's escalating so fast, and I feel like people don't realize that and most people aren't taught that.

I do definitely worry about fires a lot because when I go to college I live in a desert that has bushes and trees, and the whole area has been known for wildfires, so it's definitely something I worry about when I'm at college. And also we get really bad thunderstorms, and I've heard that they've gotten a lot worse over the past 10 years because of the changes in humidity.

Caribeth wants:

More in-depth and interdisciplinary climate change education

STEAM, Scientists in the School, and GLOBE (Programs #1, 2, 4) incorporate climate change education into regular school classes in different contexts.

TROP ICSU, Podcasts, Climate Lit, and Weather Stations (Resources #1-4) are all resources to help teachers incorporate climate change into their classes in many different subject areas. Climate change is such a broad and important issue that affects so many topics that it needs to be taught in many different contexts, many times.

A change of priorities from tourism to sustainability

Apprenticeships (Idea#2) would give students a chance to work in sectors they're interested in and advocate for issues they care about within their workplace, or learn about how they could go into a field of work where they could influence a large-scale change in priorities to focus on sustainability.

AYEA (Program #5) gives students the tools to spearhead campaigns and projects to advocate for issues they care about. It enables students to impact environmental issues like sustainable development.

Legislative Internships (Summer Opportunities #5) give students a chance to learn the political process so they can advocate for issues like changing priorities toward sustainability, and so they can become leaders in their communities.