ELEMENTARY-Age
Talk Climate resource pages are designed to support justice-based climate education, to encourage child-centered climate conversations, and to offer ways to take climate action. According to The Lancet, today's children are affected by climate change at every stage of development. Caregivers have essential roles as health advocates, and are well positioned to take action for the health and future of all young people. On this page, our linked-to resources support caregiver-child relationships in the climate era, with well-being as the central focus.
"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now." -Chinese Proverb
Books, Videos & Music
Booklist
We are Water Protectors (40 pgs, 2020; Audio Link)
The Water Princess (40 pgs, 2016; Audio Link)
The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life With Chimps (48 pgs, 2011; Audio Link)
Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World (32 pgs, 2012)
Seeds of Change: Wangari's Gift to the World (40 pgs, 2010; Audio Discussion)
The Sea, the Storm, and the Mangrove Tangle (40 pgs, 2004; Audio Link)
The Great Kapok Tree (40 pgs, 2000; Audio Link)
Flutes Journey (40 pgs, 1997; Audio Link)
50+ page length
Earth Squad (160 pgs, 2021)
All the Feelings Under the Sun (160 pgs, 2021)
Fur and Feather Stand Together (2020; Audio Link)
Our House is on Fire (40 pgs, 2019)
Greta's Story: The Girl Who Went on Strike to Save the Planet (144 pgs, 2019)
The Tantrum That Saved the World (64 pgs, 2018; Audio Link)
Me and Marvin Gardens (256 pgs, 2017)
Hoot (292 pgs, 2015)
Climate Justice Organizations
Youth-led, Intergenerational Climate Justice Organizations
Climate Action Families (Washington state)
Fridays for Future (Global and local chapters)
Plant-For-The-Planet (Global and local chapters)
Adult-led, Family Centered Climate Justice Organizations:
Climate Parents (National and local chapters with Sierra Club)
Climate Parents (National and local chapters)
Eco Action Families (United Kingdom)
Families for a Livable Climate (Montana)
Moms Clean Air Force (National with state chapters)
Mothers Out Front (National with state and local teams)
Mothers Rise Up (United Kingdom and Europe)
Our Children’s Trust (National)
Our Kids Climate (National)
Parents for Future (Global)
Parents Together (National)
Science Moms (National)
Reading Resources
Websites
Climate Action Heroes -- National Children’s Museum
Learning in Places: For Families
Learning in Places: Para Familias
Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring
Books
How to Talk to Your Kids About Climate Change: Turning Angst Into Action (2020)
The Parents’ Guide to the Climate Revolution (2018)
Raising Children in the Midst of Global Crisis (coming soon)
Climate Activism Articles
Native family values: Writing the ‘whale child’ (Yes! Solutions Journalism, 2021)
In Montana, children file suit to ‘protect the last best place’ (Inside Climate News, 2020)
3 kids learned about Greta Thunberg on Earth Day: see their reactions (Grist, 2020)
Education Articles
Teaching climate in classrooms critical for children, top educators say (Guardian, 2020)
The Benefits of learning outdoors (Psychology Today, 2018)
Electrify school buses (Moms Clean Air Force)
Connecting with Nature Articles
How do you create the conservationists of tomorrow? Get kids outside (Grist, 2021)
6 ways nature helps children learn (Greater Good Magazine, 2019)
Child and nature: Who let the kids out? (Great Schools, 2015)
Videos & Podcasts
Videos
Talking to kids about climate change (Climate Reality, 2020)
How to Talk to Kids About Climate Webinar (Our Kids Climate, 2020)
Can a tantrum save the world? We asked a class of first graders (Grist, 2018)
Presence, Parenting, and the Planet (Dan Siegel, 2019)
Full-length Films to Watch With Young People
Youth v Gov (2020)
2040 (2019)
The Biggest Little Farm (2018)
Podcasts: Climate Communication
How to Talk With Children About Climate Change (Climate Psychology Alliance, 2019/2021))
6 tips for talking with kids about climate change (NPR, 2019)
Podcasts: Climate Activism
Latinx Moms for Climate Change (Parenting and Politics, 2020)
Parent power for political change (Parenting and Politics, 2020)
Activist fatigue and taking care of ourselves (Parenting and Politics, 2019)
The roadmap to activism (Parenting and Politics, 2019)