2025 Schedule Deep Dive: The Future of Environmental Education

The fight against climate change has been ongoing for decades. With global temperatures rising and ocean levels increasing, imparting thorough environmental education to the next generation is now more important than ever. When oil and gas representatives in our hometown of Austin are fighting against adding climate change to the state curriculum, finding opportunities to educate students becomes all the more essential.

A recent study by The Lancet reveals that 70% of young people aged 16-25 are “very or extremely worried” about climate change. This climate anxiety shows the urgency of addressing environmental education for learning’s sake and to empower students with actionable steps to take toward fighting climate change. By providing students with knowledge and solutions, educators have the opportunity to give young people the tools to make a difference in their own lives, no matter how small their actions may seem.

While the youngest generations have unprecedented access to information at their fingertips, the prominence of misinformation online and its influence on children highlights the importance of equipping students with the ability to discern fact from fiction. Teachers can help students cut through the noise and understand the true state of our planet. Thoughtful instruction can provide both wide-lens observations of the issues at large and help alleviate the stress of feeling powerless in the face of such a vast issue.

In a world where climate anxiety can run high, teaching is a beacon of hope that sheds light on actionable ways to engage with and protect the environment. Explore the following sessions that uncover concrete ideas to prepare students to become climate-conscious citizens.

Save These Sessions to Your Schedule:

Join global affairs and climate education experts and teachers for Teaching Climate Change Across Disciplines in 2025 as we discover how to integrate local and global solutions-based approaches to studying climate across subjects.

Exchange stories and strategies for engaging schools and communities in environmental learning at the Environmental Education & Action Meet Up, and build community through conversation prompts from host speakers.

Listen in to How Popular Media Can Help Kids Navigate the Climate Crisis as creators of popular children’s shows discuss their approaches to how children’s media can help kids learn about climate change.

Participate in the Integrating Environmental Literacy into the Classroom workshop to explore middle school student and teacher perceptions of Environmental Education and how it can be integrated into mainstream curriculum across academic disciplines.

Browse the schedule and start building out your favorites. Stay tuned for more sessions to be announced leading up to March.

See You at SXSW EDU 2025

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Photo by Tico Mendoza