Principal Investigator: Lisa Gardiner
Funder: NOAA Environmental Literacy Program
Hurricane Resilience is a high school environmental science curriculum for use in coastal locations where hurricanes are common. Through 20 days of instruction, students make connections between the science of hurricanes, how they affect their community and region, and how we can plan for a more resilient future. Making local connections, students develop an understanding of 1) the risks that their community faces now and in the future due to hurricanes and tropical storms, 2) how sea level rise increases the risk, and 3) how our actions can help us be less vulnerable and more resilient. The curriculum unit aims to empower high school students to have a voice in resilience planning and understand the relationship between the science of hurricanes and the local impacts these storms have on people and places. The curriculum was developed in collaboration with the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center and with science expertise at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It was piloted and field-tested in Terrebonne Parish and Lafourche Parish schools.