Connecting People and Planet

Why Care about the Polar Regions? These Polar Climate Ambassadors Will Tell You!

Plankton Are Central to Life on Earth. How Is Climate Change Affecting Them?

A Summer of Science Saturdays: Casting a Wide Net at Lamont

Gowanus Canal Visit Offers an Educational Opportunity to Environmental Science and Policy Students

Events

On Saturday, October 14 10am-4pm, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House (lamontrocks.com)—our biggest, best science fun and discovery event of the year—will take place on our beautiful campus in Palisades, NY! Open House is free and open to the public, with a $5 suggested donation. RSVP and learn more at lamontrocks.com.

Columbia Climate School has once again been named University Partner for September 17-24 Climate Week NYC, and our experts will be among the climate leaders working to accelerate climate action and solutions. Learn more.

Hudson River Field Station

Uncovering Stories through Data Collection

This summer, the Next Generation of Hudson River Educators Program, a 6 week high school internship program, taught our interns how to sein off the Piermont Pier. They learned how to collect biological data such as fish, invertebrate species, and abundances. By the end of the program, the interns were immersed in the collected data.

The students uncovered some interesting stories. They noticed that spikes in fish numbers in the hauls were connected to schooling species such as juvenile Atlantic Menhaden and Atlantic Silversides. These fish are known to congregate in large numbers in the brackish zone of the Hudson estuary during the summertime. The interns also caught a bluefish--a marine pelagic species, and a channel catfish--an invasive freshwater species. Catching both on the same day may indicate that their salinity distinctions are potentially more fluid than previously believed. In fact, during the past two years of seining next to the Piermont Marsh, Next-Gen interns have caught several (two this year and four last summer) juvenile Black Drums, which could provide evidence that the marine species is using the Hudson River as a breeding ground. 

These are just a few instances of how the data collected by the Next-Gen Interns is helping us understand the behavior and life cycle of different river species. We look forward to seeing what next summer’s interns discover!

Education

Pre-College workshops are for high-school students (Grades 9-12, and rising 9th graders) who want to sharpen their knowledge and skills in climate change and sustainability, advancing their learning outside of school, and preparing them for the college experience.

Professional Learning workshops are for working professionals and adult learners who want to upskill and explore new topics to further job-related interests without the commitment of a degree program, developing an understanding of climate and sustainability challenges with our experts.

All workshops are 15 hours, non-credit, and generally run from October to December. Upon completion, participants receive a certificate of participation from the Columbia Climate School. Questions? Contact learn@climate.columbia.edu.

Polar Climate Ambassadors explored the polar regions through the eyes of science!

The Polar Climate Ambassadors met with students from the Next Gen Program to share some hands-on teaching and learning about the importance of the poles in our climate system. 

Funded by the GreenDrill and GRate science projects, the Polar Climate Ambassadors launched this summer. Our participants spent equal time learning about the polar regions and creating communication pieces to share what they learned. During their time together, they engaged with the public through our Science Saturday events and connected with their peers through the Next Gen Program. At the end of six weeks, they shared some of their takeaways, which included how to communicate polar science: “People know less about the poles than I thought -- I learned how to more carefully discuss basic concepts and climate topics with a very solution-orientated mindset.” Their eyes were also opened to different pathways into polar science: “It was eye-opening to me to see how many of the scientists I heard from didn't fit the standard mold I had in my mind.” The public will have a chance to meet some of our Polar Ambassadors at Lamont’s Open House on October 14! They will be looking for you there!

Columbia Climate Corps participants traveled around the world to learn about climate change!

Columbia Climate Corps high school students travel across the country and abroad to experience a destination through the lens of climate change. Students learn from Columbia Climate School experts, local partners and organizations, and each other. At the end of each program, students create a final project that applies the knowledge that they have gained through their travels, which they can then bring back to their own communities to make change. 

This summer, students traveled to Iceland to learn about carbon dioxide removal and storage, Alaska to focus on climate communications and exploration, and Chile and Argentina to learn about climate impacts and risk. Their final projects ranged from a children’s book about climate and environmental challenges and solutions to a history of protest in South America to inspire a climate march in the student’s own community.

Lamont in the Media (Selected Stories)