K12 Events & Resources

Columbia Climate School and the Climate Education for a Resilient Future Earth Network developed the Climate Education Resource Hub to offer a range of lessons, activities, and training events designed to enhance science education for learners of all ages. These resources, grounded in cutting-edge research, real-time data, and hands-on learning experiences, are accessible to students, educators, and the general public eager to deepen their understanding of climate science and the world around us.

Climate LIVE K12 is an online video series that features experts from across the Columbia Climate School presenting relevant climate and sustainability content for K12 students, educators, and a generalist audience. The LIVE sessions bring our interdisciplinary research across our centers into classrooms.

Each session has an appropriate targeted grade range based on the topic, and the sessions vary between topical lectures, demos, and skills-based training. In addition to the videos, we offer additional educational resources related to the content covered in these online sessions whenever possible. If you would like to submit any questions before the event, please send them to Laurel Zaima-Sheehy ([email protected]).

NYC Mid-Winter Climate Institute:

The Mid-Winter Climate Institute is a large-scale professional learning experience for K–12 educators across New York City, convening more than 500 NYC Public School teachers each year. This two-day, in-person institute brings together educators from across grade levels and content areas with the goal of identifying meaningful entry points for climate education within existing curricula.

The Institute is hosted by NYC Public Schools Office of Energy & Sustainability, Columbia University Teachers College, and Subject to Climate, with sponsorship from the Columbia Climate Education for a Resilient Future Earth Network. 

The Role of the Columbia Climate School

The Columbia Climate School contributes to the Mid-Winter Climate Institute by leading select sessions that highlight the School’s interdisciplinary climate scholarship. These sessions connect educators with current research, real-world climate solutions, and practical insights to support engaging, classroom-relevant climate education.

The Climate Institute is designed to:

• Provide multidisciplinary instructional content and educational resources for K–12 educators
• Connect educators across schools to exchange best practices for classroom implementation
• Offer tangible support for integrating climate education across subject areas
• Highlight workshops led by partner organizations, NYC Public School educators, and members of the scientific community engaged in climate education

Participants will select a content-area track— 1. STEAM, 2. Math, 3. ELA, 4. Civics/Social Studies, or 5. Health/Wellness/Electives—for deeper exploration of climate education aligned to their teaching context.

Dates & Times (attendance required for both days):

• 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM
• Wednesday, February 18 – In person, Teachers College, Columbia University
• Thursday, February 19 – In person, Teachers College, Columbia University

Additional Information:

• Applications must be completed by Friday, January 30, 2026
• Eligible educators may receive up to $792 in per-session pay and up to 12 CTLE credits
• Charter school employees are not eligible for per-session pay per NYCPS policy
• Applications may be saved and completed later, as long as the same device is used

Questions? 

For questions, please contact Kailyn Fox, Education & Training Manager, at [email protected].

Columbia Climate School Virtual Educator Trainings: 

The Columbia Climate School Virtual Educator Trainings were designed to support K–12 educators by connecting them with climate and sustainability research, tools, and expertise from across the Climate School. 

While this live training series has been discontinued, we are pleased to continue offering recordings from past sessions as a resource for educators.

As an alternative, we encourage teachers to explore our Climate LIVE K–12 video series, which provides 30-minute opportunities to learn directly from Climate School experts about their research and real-world work. These sessions are designed to spark ideas, build educator knowledge, and inspire new ways to bring timely climate topics into the classroom.

Below, you’ll find recordings from past virtual educator trainings available for on-demand viewing.

Earth 2 Class (E2C) is a unique STEM opportunity for K-12 teachers, students, the general public, and geoscientists.

The mission of E2C is:

• To provide teachers and students access to cutting-edge research that can be used to enhance personal understanding of science
• To develop learning activities directly linked to real-world problems
• To provide scientists with an effective pathway to disseminate their discoveries more broadly 

Under the coordination of Dr. Michael Passow, a science educator at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of the Columbia Climate School, E2C is a collaboration among Earth science researchers, classroom teachers, and technology integration specialists from Colégio Bandeirantes, São Paulo, Brasil. 

Earth 2 Class Saturday Workshops for Educators

Earth 2 Class flagship offering is Saturday Workshops for Educators held either virtually via zoom, in-person at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Campus in Palisades New York, or hybrid. Since 1998, E2C has provided more than 225 workshops, featuring over 100 scientists. To participate in an educator workshop, reach out to Dr. Michael Passow