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Storytelling as Movement Building: The Grassroots Intergenerational Movement for Climate Education and Action in New York State (Poster 6)

Fri, April 25, 3:20 to 4:50pm MDT (3:20 to 4:50pm MDT), The Colorado Convention Center, Floor: Terrace Level, Bluebird Ballroom Room 3A

Abstract

Objectives
The state and nature of climate change education (CCE) has become an increasing concern for educators, researchers, parents, and various stakeholders as young people increasingly call for action to receive the education they need to support them in a rapidly changing world. In response, CCE policy is gaining significance in global and local contexts across many sectors, including school boards, local and state governments, and non-governmental actors (Bieler et al., 2017; Læssøe & Mochizuki). In this poster, we share findings of a case study of a grassroots state-level CCE policy initiative led by intergenerational actors. The actors engaged in this work share our story of policy protagonism and examine its broader implications.
Framework
We draw upon research that explores climate change social movement mobilization (Callison, 2014; Fisher, 2024). This work anticipates complexity in social movements around climate change, which has historically been represented as and for privileged people in developed nations.

Methods
We utilize a participatory case study approach (Reilly, 2017). Participatory research disrupts traditional research relationships by involving participants and communities in all aspects of the research process (Reilly, 2017; Tolbert et al., 2018). Participants and researchers work to decenter power relations through jointly framing problems, developing shared objectives, sharing expertise, and co-developing knowledge (Gaventa & Cornwall, 2001). Our case study documents the lived experiences of youth and adult activists who engaged in grassroots mobilization and policy protagonism for CCE (from 2018 through 2024). Our study documents our participation and efforts and is written in the collaborative “we.”

Data Sources
Participants include one adult who helped found the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force (CRETF), seven adults (including two retirees) who made up the policy action committee of CRETF, five members of the Youth Steering Committee of CRETF and their young adult facilitator, and another involved youth activist. Data include participants’ reflections on their activism and policy protagonism; personal narratives; archival meeting notes documenting weekly meetings; and participants’ published opinion articles, news articles, and radio interviews.

Results
We draw upon the experiences of intergenerational participants in the New York CCE movement. Our research engages in storytelling to expose the founding of CRETF and the Youth Steering Committee (YSC) and highlights the ways that the intergenerational group of activists engaged policy-makers in dialogues, advocated for and engaged in communication across governmental sectors, and in Summer 2023 co-wrote legislation to pursue a collaborative infrastructure for statewide CCE. Our research reveals the foundations of mobilization, focusing on coalescing factors and significant groundwork laid by multiple different actors in CRETF and other CCE individuals and networks across the state, which led to a widespread grassroots movement.

Significance
While researchers are documenting the phenomenon of CCE policy initiatives globally (Læssøe & Mochizuki, 2015) and in the United States (MECCE & NAAEE, 2022), we have little documentation of how and under what conditions CCE policy emerges. Our story provides this needed insight and works to shed light on the complexities of policy praxis to assist policy advocates in similar conditions.

Authors