LAURA: Good morning, everyone.

I'm here  with Mollie Parsons this morning and we're   talking about education.

Good morning, Mollie.

MOLLIE: Good morning, Laura.

Thanks for having me.

LAURA: Thanks for joining me.

So, just so  you all know, at NMPBS, we've been turning   our Our Land segments into educational lesson  plans for middle school students and Mollie is   the brains behind all of that.

She's the one who  turns our content into something that makes sense   for teachers and students.

We've got two lesson  plans out there so far.

Can you tell people what   those are and how they might find them?

MOLLIE: Yeah, absolutely.

So,   for those of you that are not familiar with it,  there's an incredible resource online called   PBS Learning Media.

And, this is a place where  teachers can go and download lesson plans and   student materials that then match up with videos  that have been created by various PBS related   organizations around the country.

But,  this is a really special one that's   really focused on New Mexico.

So, if you  go to PBS Learning Media, learningmedia.org   and then search for Our Land, you'll pull up a  series of different lessons.

The most recent one   that we posted is three different lessons on  the impact of wildfires on forests, which is,   as we all know, a really relevant topic right now.

LAURA: And, we'll put the links in comments   to that, to both those lessons and lesson  plans so people can find them.

I'm curious,   you know, there's all sorts of age ranges.

Why, why did you decide to focus on middle   school students for these lesson plans?

MOLLIE: Yeah, so it was something that,   after conversations with Laurel,  who's also at New Mexico PBS,   there's sometimes a lack of resources for middle  school students.

And so, these are issues that are   relevant that students can see  and touch and relate to.

So,   it's really just a good fit for kids of that age.

LAURA: I love that there's different... like,   there's the videos and there's resources for  teachers and then there's various lesson plans   and activities for students.

And, I know as  you've been sending me these lesson plans   and I've been looking at them, there's so  many activities that I would love to do.

Are there any, as part of either the climate  impacts on wildlife or forest and fire,   that were, maybe, like exciting for you to put  together?

That you think anybody would want to do?

MOLLIE: Yeah, so I definitely feel like this  could be adapted for different age groups or   even things to do at home and try out at  home, to learn about about these topics.

I love the ones that are hands-on so things that  you actually get to go out into the environment   and try out and do.

So, looking at snowmelt  questions around when, how does shade and tree   cover impact snowmelt?

And, how does that  impact our water availability?

That's a fun one   and it's super simple.

You can just take some  ice cubes, if you really wanted to turn them   into snow, you could grind them up and put some  in the sun and some in the shade and then time   what's the difference?

How much longer does it  take to melt in the sun versus the shade?

And then   that's a nice little model to think  about how our snow packs that are up   in the mountains really feed our streams  and rivers and how we depend on those.

So, creating small models that then have a bigger  impact and help us understand a bigger thing.

LAURA: So, I know as a kid, and even now  as a grown-up, I will do anything to get   outside and away from my computer or my  desk.

But, I'm curious, aside from, like,   the getting outside aspects of environmental  education, why do you think that environmental   education is so important?

Especially,  maybe, for this middle school age group   and really why it matters for New Mexico students?

MOLLIE: Yeah, so middle school kids tend to   be really concerned about justice.

They  care a lot about what's fair and unfair   and environmental justice is one of those topics  that they tend to really gravitate towards,   because it relates to both what's fair and unfair  for people, but also what's fair and unfair for   the environment and the world around us.

And kids  have a lot of empathy at that age.

I think they   get, middle school students get a bad rap, because  we all remember how hard it was to be that age.

But, they're an incredible group of  young people in New Mexico that really do   care about the world around us, that want to  learn about it, that want to engage with it.

And, one of the really cool things about  New Mexico is we have such a wide variety of   different biotic communities, different ecologies,  different geological settings that we can explore   and see almost everywhere in the state.

I mean,  you look around, you can see mountains around you.

You can see dry areas.

So, it's an amazing  place for kids to get to explore and I think   there's a real movement around that.

And, getting  kids outside, and there was some legislation   this year also that, that went into outdoor  education and funding outdoor classrooms.

And,   it's, it's an exciting time to be doing this work.

LAURA: So, you've been an environmental educator   for a long time and I'm curious for, you  know, maybe there's parents or teachers out   there who say climate change is too scary.

Forest fires, like, you know, these are,   these are topics that are too big and too scary.

What would you say to those parents or educators?

MOLLIE: I think, first, that your kids know about  these things anyway, right?

They're hearing about   it and I think a lot of times kids are made to  feel very powerless in the face of these issues,   especially when they're just being told about it  on the news.

They hear some story in passing and,   you know, it's the end of the world.

And, I  think, by actually learning about it, learning the   causes, learning the effects, and then learning  what students can actually do to make changes   in their own lives.

To think about the future,  to think about adaptations, and mitigations.

We're empowering them.

So, you  know, like most scary topics,   you can't just hide it from kids.

They're gonna,  they're gonna learn about it one way or another.

And, by creating opportunities to  have them engage with real facts,   with the things that are happening  around us in our environment,   I think it's an opportunity.

LAURA: Yeah, I think we also we   have a really cool... the next lesson plan  coming up, it's really neat.

We've been   checking in with some of the people we  featured on the show over the years.

Can you   talk a little bit about what's coming next?

MOLLIE: Yeah, absolutely.

So, there's two   additional modules that are going to be coming  out here, hopefully pretty soon.

The first   is on waterways and drought and water resources in  New Mexico and how those are really dependent on   weather patterns and climate might affect  those pretty dramatically, will affect those   pretty dramatically.

And then, the second is on  environmental careers.

So, careers that students   could potentially follow and participate in and  make that difference.

So, as we're thinking about,   you know, positive ways that kids can and  think about the environment around them,   there's ways that they can make a  difference in the long term.

And,   helping them visualize what they would  need to do, to have different careers.

So,   all kinds of incredible individuals, who are  doing things like forestry or entomology, or...

I'm trying to think of, politics,  activism.

So, just kind of thinking   about the environmental field a little bit more  widely than just an academic perspective, but   who are the people that are really out there  doing this work, and making a difference in   the world?

And then, highlighting those things.

LAURA: Yeah, I love our show for that very reason,   as we get to meet and get to know all of  these people around New Mexico, who are   doing these really cool things.

I also just want  to mention that grown-ups should definitely use   this.

I know that I come across, I have a high  school student and I hear her and her friends   through elementary school, middle school,  high school, talking about climate change,   talking about these issues.

They understand what's  happening, like you said, Mollie.

They know,   they know these things are happening in the  world.

And, I sometimes wish that more adults   would dive into the science, be willing to be  open-minded and learn new things.

So, we're going   to have those links for the lesson plans in the  comments.

I would love for anybody, whether you're   a student or a teacher, to open those up and try  out some of those lesson plans.

Mollie, I can't   wait to see what you come up with next.

You have  been a dream to work with.

I love seeing these   plans that you share and I think, it's just, it's  really cool to be able to work with you on this.

MOLLIE: I feel the same way, Laura.

I  feel like I've been given an amazing set   of videos and expertise from all  these people around our state.

And,   getting to highlight them and connect them with  our students has been just a pleasure.

So, thank   you so much for including me on this project.

LAURA: Awesome, well, thanks Mollie.

I appreciate   you talking with me this morning.

MOLLIE: Thanks Laura.