To address the NASA global climate change education (GCCE) strategic goals and objectives, this project assembles a unique and collaborative team with complementary goals to ensure an effective, transformative, and innovative approach to advance climate change and ecosystem education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Gulf Coast region. The collaborative partners are Southern University - the largest Historically Black University System in the nation, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia University Center for Climate Systems Research, Louisiana State University, East Carolina University, USDA Forest Service Research Stations, and Society of American Foresters. Our team members consist of science educators, climate change science content experts, a NASA climate change expert, NASA-funded university researchers, and a prior NASA GCCE awardee. The evaluation and advisory group is being constituted for project evaluation. The project goal is to increase the number of under-represented/under-served undergraduate students prepared for employment and/or graduate school in technical fields relevant to global climate change (NASA IGCCE Objective 2).

The objectives are to 1. Build partnerships with NASA and prior GCCE awardees; 2. Integrate NASA findings and ongoing activities into HBCUs' curricula; 3. Advance global climate change education at HBCUs; 4. Increase the level of climate change literacy and engagement of under-represented or under-served students; and 5. Enhance students' marketability and preparedness in the global climate change-related fields. The goal and objectives will be accomplished through an innovative ecosystem approach focusing on how global climate change affects the ecosystems and their major components such as forests, wetlands, and water, and how to mitigate the effects thereof. We will utilize many NASA products, for example, the Educational Global Climate Model; MODIS MOD12Q1 Land Cover Product; the NASA-modified North American Land Data Assimilation System 1/8th degree precipitation; NASA product assisted Hydrological Simulation Program - FORTRAN model; and modules developed by prior GCCE awardees.

We will 1. Build partnerships with NASA and prior GCCE awardees through site visits, web conferences, and joint planning meetings; 2. Incorporate NASA products, materials, and modules from prior GCCE projects into HBCU curricula and into a new course focusing on climate change and ecosystems; 3. Utilize NASA global climate model simulations and data to enhance teaching and learning through climate change and ecosystem modeling and data analysis; 4. Leverage ongoing GCCE efforts through summer research experiences, internships, field trips, and short courses at NASA centers, prior GCCE project sites, USDA FS research stations, and collaborating universities; 5. Enhance scientific exchange between NASA and HBCUs through HBCU climate change and ecosystem workshops and e-symposia; 6. Foster student critical thinking and engagement in climate change literacy by establishing a student forum; and 7. Utilize the network of HBCUs to broaden the distribution and adaptation of GCCE products and materials in the Gulf Coast region. The project will enable students to gain knowledge about GCC and learn strategies to address the complexities of climate change and ecosystems, which will translate into being better able to apply learned knowledge to related STEM fields for increasing their competitiveness. The project will advance the GCCE capabilities at HBCUs and enhance students' marketability and workforce preparedness therefore increasing the number of students in GCC related fields. It will provide the students with opportunities to engage in NASA-related education and research activities. The project facilitates the development of sustainable partnerships and contributes to NASA GCCE goals and objectives.