Media Contact:
Rachel Danford at contact@energydetectives.org
A digital copy of this press release can be found at energydetectives.org/news
Across New England, more than 36,000 elementary school students are reading their way into climate action
Agawam, MA — Cooler Communities, a Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation project, is committed to making climate education in the classroom simple, fun, and free for teachers and students. Their mission is to support teachers in connecting classroom learning to climate solutions through literacy and other means, inspiring students to become climate stewards. Educators across New England are taking advantage of these resources and have already ordered over 36,000 free copies of a new children’s picture book, The Energy Detectives: The Mystery of the Snow, with new orders coming in every day.
The program’s approach is the brainchild of Massachusetts philanthropist Harold Grinspoon and uses children’s literature to make climate concepts concrete and engaging for students. The free books are paired with free, hands-on, standards-based lessons that are adaptable to teachers’ needs. “We kept hearing that teachers wanted to introduce climate education in the classroom, but resources and time were lacking. The enthusiasm for this pilot program shows that there’s a real interest and need for climate education resources that are simple and convenient”, said Uli Nagel, Director at Cooler Communities.
Teachers who have already used the resources are appreciative;
- “The book was a big hit. And I liked it too as a teacher! I felt like the children could easily connect concepts from the lessons with what was happening in the book.” — Robyn Wayrynen, STEAM Educator
- “I would definitely recommend the curriculum, it’s easy to follow and easy to modify, too, for whatever you and your students need.” — Rachel Conklin, K-4 Science Educator.
With many more free copies of the book available for order, a library of free, standard-based lessons and activities on their website, and a second children’s book in the works, Cooler Communities hopes to be a trusted climate education resource for classroom teachers across New England and beyond.
Educators can order free copies of The Energy Detectives: The Mystery of the Snow for all their students and explore the free standards-aligned lessons on the website: www.energydetectives.org.
About The Energy Detectives: The Energy Detectives is a series of free educational books that inspire children to become climate stewards. Through exciting mysteries and relatable characters, these books encourage young readers to explore sustainability, energy efficiency, and climate solutions.
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Antonia Noori Farzan is a Rhode Island native who joined The Providence Journal in 2021. She previously worked at The Washington Post and, before that, spent several years at alt-weeklies in Arizona and Florida. Antonia is a graduate of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Hamilton College.
ustin Silverman is executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition. A Massachusetts-based attorney, Justin helps lead NEFAC’s First Amendment and open government advocacy throughout the six-state region.
Michael Gagne is a native of Woonsocket, R.I., who has been covering local government and education since 2012 in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Michael currently covers local government in the city of Danbury and the town of Brookfield in Connecticut for The News-Times/Hearst Connecticut Media. Before that, Michael was a reporter with the Record-Journal in Meriden, covering breaking news, local government, elections and schools, as well as pursuing enterprise stories. Michael was also a reporter for the Republican-American in Waterbury, as well as the Herald-News in Fall River, Mass. Michael studied journalism and political science at the University of Rhode Island.
Chris Larabee has been a reporter with the Greenfield Recorder since mid-2021, where he covers the south Franklin County towns of Conway, Deerfield, Sunderland and Whately with a focus on community news. His reporting interests include the environment, science and the deep history of Franklin County, particularly in Deerfield. After graduating from Boston University, he joined the Recorder, where he has learned more about farms and culverts than he ever thought he would.
