In this episode, guest host and leadership team member Crystal Allen asks Christine Taylor-Butler about strategies for writing stories that acknowledge the diversity of Black Americans’ experiences of climate change, and about incorporating STEM content into children’s media in ways that promote hope, agency, and a knowledge of how to prepare for and respond to a wide variety of climate-related threats.

In this episode, Taylor-Butler also mentions several resources for broadening the representation of diverse youth in children’s literature, including:

• Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions – in this STEM picture book, author Chris Barton and illustrator Don Tate provide a biography of Lonnie Johnson, inventor of the SuperSoaker.

• Abby in Orbit – written by Andrea J. Loney, this series tells the story of Abby Baxter, a third-grader whose parents are scientists at the OASIS International Space Station.

• NASA – a government agency whose research focuses not only on outer space, but on planet Earth and the various species whose lives are being impacted by climate change.

• International Tiger Project – A project launched by Wildlife Conservation International whose work looks at how conservation efforts can help mitigate the effects of climate change.

In this episode, host and project PI Ed Greene asks Jason Low, co-owner of Lee & Low Books about diversity in the children’s publishing industry and ways to support writers of color interested in producing climate-related media.

In this episode, Anthony also mentions several individuals and organizations that are contributing to child-centered climate change solutions:

• The Diversity Baseline Study – information about how Lee and Low tracks the publishing industry’s progress toward becoming more inclusive.
• Our Children’s Trust – a non-profit public interest law firm that represents young people in efforts to secure their rights to a safe climate.
• Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted a Million Trees – a book by Franck Prévot and Aurélia Fronty (illus.) that explores the life of Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai, whose tree-planting campaign helped catalyze climate action across the world.
• Read Banned Books – a website from Penguin Random House dedicated to ensuring that children have access to books offering a wide range of perspectives.
• We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) – an organization seeking to diversify the publishing industry and to make bookshelves more equitable.

In this episode, host and project PI Ed Greene asks Tulani Thomas about strategies for creating STEM stories that resonate with and speak to the concerns of Black audiences, and that encourage Black children and families to adopt green living practices.

In this episode, Tulani also mentions several individuals and organizations that are raising awareness about the ways Black children can contribute to climate change solutions:

• The HBC Green Fund – which offers financial support for environmentally-themed events and programs geared toward Black youth.

• Christine Taylor Butler – an author whose series The Lost Tribes weaves STEM themes and messages into a child-friendly discussion of climate change.

• Veronica Chapman – an author and founder of the Black Children’s Book Week, which works to ensure that Black children are represented in children’s media.

• Tutu’s Green World – Tulani’s green lifestyle and education company, which offers resources, tips, and advice for helping children discover creative ways to be eco-friendly.

In this episode, host and project PI Ed Greene asks Dr. Tresha Gibbs about ways that STEM education can help Black children build the kinds of mental health resilience needed to cope with and respond to climate-related threats.

As part of the NSF Funded BlackRep4Kids project, we’ve launched a podcast series with our partners at ABF Creative to build awareness of the knowledge and skills required to create quality climate-related media for Black children. The podcast is called “Roots of Representation,” and it engages these topics through thought-provoking conversations with experts.

In this leadoff episode, host and project principal investigator Dr. Ed Greene speaks with Dr. Fikile Nxumalo about ways to bring the climate-related concerns and responses of Black communities into an educational curriculum dominated by colonial erasures and deficit framings.