PCEP Update: November 2016

Learning About El Niño Impacts in Pohnpei

On September 22, 2016, the Pohnpei PREL Service Center hosted an interactive workshop to share and increase knowledge of El Niño and its impacts on Pohnpei’s water resources. Because some of the anticipated climate change impacts around the world include more severe El Niños, education about El Niño in particular is an important part of climate change education overall.

The workshop was led by Isaiah Bolden and Sasha Seroy—graduate students from the University of Washington’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program—in partnership with PREL staff Canita Rilometo and Juanita Lawrence. Participants included elementary school teachers, community members and professionals in environmental conservation and management, farmers, and the local weather services. Partners from the Pohnpei Environmental Protection Agency, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation Society of Pohnpei, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Pohnpei Farmers Association shared their work, their observations of El Niño’s influence on and around Pohnpei, and how these community stakeholders respond to these effects. This 1-day workshop to inform and increase sharing of El Niño information among educators and professionals involved a hands-on demonstration of the global atmospheric and oceanic patterns—changes from normal conditions to El Niño and/or La Niña conditions.

The workshop resulted in teachers taking away posters to use in classrooms to educate students about El Niño. In March of 2017, the IGERT group will visit Pohnpei again and conduct another workshop as a follow-up from the visit in September.

Training Teachers in Chuuk with PCEP Resources

On November 9, 2016, teachers from the Northern Namoneas Region in Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia participated in a workshop on the various PCEP resources available for the classroom. The workshop was facilitated by PREL staff Canita Rilometo (Pohnpei PREL) and Dorsalina William (Chuuk PREL), with assistance from Diana Manuel (Chuuk PREL).

In attendance were 2 teachers from each of the elementary schools located on Weno, Chuuk, as well as members from the Chuuk Local Professional Learning Community, including Wisney Nakayama (Chuuk State Legislature Representative) and Rachael Akapito (Climate Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Education Program of the International Organization for Migration [IOM]). The workshop started off with participants introducing themselves and sharing what they know about their clans, which led to a discussion about place-based approaches to education—learning about who you are and where you are from.

Throughout the workshop, PREL staff guided the participants in exploring activities using the Low and High Island Posters and the Place-Based Resources for Pacific Islands Schools book series. The participants interacted with each other in their different groups, sharing many ideas. The workshop was a success, creating the foundation for a follow-up workshop in January 2017. Participants of the workshop expressed their interest in learning more about the available PCEP resources, having seen the relevance of these resources to our island life.

PCEP acknowledges IOM for their partnership with the workshop, especially in providing tote bags with Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness materials for the participants.