Voices of Youth: Six ways to improve climate change education in Kalamazoo Public Schools’ high schools 

Editor’s Note: This story was reported by Leah Mechtenberg-Berrigan and the accompanying artwork as part of the Winter 2026 Kalamazoo Voices of Youth Program. The program is a collaboration between Second Wave Media and KYD Network in partnership with the YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo, funded by the Stryker Johnston Foundation. The Voices of Youth Program is led by Earlene McMichael. Maya James (writing) was the VOY mentor. 

KALAMAZOO, MI – It’s just another morning at Kalamazoo Central High School. Students gradually filter into the school, pass through the metal detectors at the entrance, and the halls fill with noise when the bell rings at 7:20 a.m. 

The breeze blows, unusually warm for early spring on this particular day. But, likely unbeknownst to many of these students, the planet is warming up, yet high school students will be the generation that faces the worst consequences of climate change.

It turns out the Kalamazoo Public Schools’ current high school curriculum includes limited education on what climate change is and the impact it will have. 

According to an anonymous survey conducted by Ardea Youth Climate Coalition, a youth organization focused on climate change education, many youths in various KPS buildings know very little about climate change. But it seems some would like to learn more. 

Consider this. Out of 371 responses, 290 either checked “yes” or “maybe” when asked if they would like more climate change education in the curriculum. Meanwhile, only 19% of students said they thought they were taught enough about climate change by their school.

When students were asked in the survey how worried they were about the climate, many expressed concern about it. Specifically, nearly 45% of respondents selected “8” on a scale of 1-to-10 as their level of worry. One on the scale meant least worried, and 10 meant most worried.

In fact, Kalamazoo Public Schools recently switched their schedule to semesters instead of trimesters, and in doing so, they cut the amount of time spent on climate education. Environmental science, which was originally a 70-minute class over the course of 24 weeks, was switched to a 50-minute class over 18 weeks. 

Here are six ways to improve the district’s climate education curriculum, based on student responses in the Ardea Youth Climate Coalition survey:

1. The misconception about carbon footprints

The popular term “carbon footprint” refers to an individual person’s carbon emissions from actions they take in their daily lives (such as driving cars, turning lights on, etc.). In the curriculum, personal actions such as recycling, driving less, and picking up litter are emphasized as a way that students can reduce their own carbon footprint. Students are taught this in environmental science, which is one of four required science courses at Kalamazoo Central High School. Some students believe this should be expanded.

This response suggests such an approach is needed: “I think that in school we are guilted into thinking the planet is suffering because of each of our individual carbon footprint. In reality, most of the harm to the climate is caused by big corporations. When we are taught that climate change is all our fault in school, change can feel hopeless,” wrote one survey participant. Although emphasis on personal actions can give people easy ways to reduce their own carbon footprint, it can also pin the blame on a group that isn’t actually contributing that much to emissions. 

2. Let’s be honest – we’re not the main problem

Climate change is caused by the emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Considered a “greenhouse gas,” carbon dioxide holds in the heat from the sun, preventing the planet’s temperatures from dropping to extremely low temperatures each night. However, if there’s too much of it, the planet gets too warm. The biggest emitters are large-scale industries, such as energy production, manufacturing, and transportation. 

According to earth.org, in 2024, 32 companies were responsible for half of global carbon emissions. Some students would like more discussion of these topics in the curriculum. When asked what he would like to learn more about, Jared Kwei, a Kalamazoo Central sophomore, mentions the fast-fashion industry. “Honestly, I learned more about fast fashion in my Spanish class than I did in environmental science. I want to know about the environmental impact it has,”  he says. As an example, one fast-fashion company, SHEIN, emitted 16.7 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2023, yet students are still being taught that it’s due to individual carbon footprints that the planet is warming. 

3. It affects everyone

For many, climate change can seem like a distant problem that won’t affect them. Living in Michigan, the extent of the effects isn’t as obvious as it might be for places experiencing rising sea levels, wildfires, or changes in weather such as extreme heat and hurricanes. However, a NASA research article on the effects that each region of the United States will see warns the Midwest and Michigan that “extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also worsen a range of risks to the Great Lakes.” 

Olive Spoelstra, a Kalamazoo Central student who is a member of Ardea, says about her environmental science class: “We talked about how we can stop climate change, but not what it was doing to the world. We talked about the greenhouse effect, but everything else, humans, the environment, and what it’s doing to animals, we didn’t talk about.” In reality, climate change affects everyone, from the ecosystem of the Great Lakes to wildfires in Canada that worsen the air quality, to more frequent and unpredictable tornadoes, as seen with the recent tornadoes in Southwest Michigan. 

4. We need climate justice

The term climate justice means ensuring that the groups of people least responsible for climate change — minorities, low-income communities, and less developed countries — don’t suffer the worst of its effects. If students learn about it in science class, it’s often because teachers added that topic on their own. Sunshine Kolasinski, an environmental science teacher at Kalamazoo Central, says, “I didn’t cover it this year, but I have talked about how environmentally marginalized people are disproportionately affected.” During the 1930s, government policies encouraged redlining, discriminatory practices that denied minorities loans and home insurance, which created inequalities in housing. A University of Richmond study provides a map showing redlined areas in Kalamazoo, which includes the Northside and Edison neighborhoods. Redlined neighborhoods such as these are more at risk of the effects of climate change, like heat and flooding. 

5. Connection with the earth is important

Obviously, in order to do something about it, young people must have a basic understanding of climate change, how it works, causes and effects, and more. But sometimes, awareness alone isn’t enough to motivate people to take action. Olive, the K-Central student, explains her experience. “I grew up outside. If people form a connection with the earth, they’re going to want to protect and save it…. I think we need to provide that experience in schools for everyone.” The first step isn’t learning about climate change: It’s loving the earth. A strong connection with nature is the foundation for developing awareness of our warming planet and actually wanting to take action. In the age of smartphones, it’s more critical than ever for young people to spend time outdoors and have access to green space. 

6. You can make a difference

Even if many people want to get more involved, they often don’t know how. Throughout Kalamazoo, organizations work to make a difference, big or small. Some of these include the Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition (KCCC), Hope for Creation, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and the Kalamazoo Nature Center. These organizations demonstrate a multitude of different methods of action, including protest, community outreach/education, political lobbying, and more. 

More information about upcoming events and meetings can be found on the website of each, linked below.  For students who would like to be more involved, applications for Ardea YCC come out each spring, and those can also be found on KCCC’s website. 

Kolasinski, the K Central environmental science teacher, offers this advice for students. “It seems like the easy way, but the internet is chock full of very good evidence… The thing I try to instill in my students is this idea that they are actors in this; they’re not just observers, that they do things that can impact people.” 

Student Jared Kwei hopes the district does more to bolster climate education. 

“I definitely feel like there should be more options, or just like, more of an integration into other subjects,” he says. “Because obviously biology, I think that’s really important… I feel like there could have also been a way to integrate pollution and how it can affect animals and humans into biology.” 

Young people need climate education because, as former President Barack Obama once said, “We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change, and the last generation that can do something about it.” 

To learn more, visit these sites used in this article: 

KCCC website

Hope for Creation website

Citizens Climate Lobby website

Kalamazoo Nature Center

Redlining map

NASA

32 companies 50% of emissions

SHEIN emissions

Survey