Our hearts go out to the thousands of Californians who have lost homes, businesses, and loved ones to the devastating wildfires that swept through their communities. As unprecedented blazes consumed tens of thousands of acres and forced mass evacuations from some of California’s most storied neighborhoods, widespread media coverage has brought the human toll of climate disruption into our national consciousness. This disaster, which so far has claimed dozens of lives and is already the costliest wildfire in U.S. history, is a stark reminder that we must fundamentally transform how we prepare our communities for an uncertain climate future. 

Four years before the fires in California, a group of Estes Park, Colorado middle school students recognized an urgent need for community-level climate adaptation. When the historic East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires forced their own evacuation in 2020, these young leaders responded by forming the Environmental Resilience Team (ERT). Through the ERT, they faced the ongoing challenge of adaptation – creating “go-bags” for vulnerable neighbors, developing evacuation plans, and engaging state legislators on wildfire policies. Their proactive mindset demonstrates how communities can respond to climate uncertainty not with paralysis, but with dynamic, evolving solutions that are the cornerstone of real resilience. As numerous climate related crises threaten communities, their experience points to a critical need: reimagining education to prepare the next generation with the adaptive thinking and problem-solving skills that are essential in an era of climate uncertainty.

The New Climate Reality

Climate change presents a complex web of interconnected impacts that manifest differently in each community. As temperatures rise, weather patterns shift, and ecosystems transform, communities face cascading and compounding challenges that demand continuous adaptation. Today’s climate adaptations may not work for tomorrow’s challenges, and success depends not on finding answers, but on building communities’ capacity to create solutions.

Adapting to this new reality requires community members with specific competencies and knowledge. They need the ability to analyze complex data about local climate risks, understand how different systems – from infrastructure to social networks – interconnect, and identify vulnerabilities within their community. They must be able to build consensus across stakeholder groups and participate meaningfully in local governance processes. 

Reimagining Education for Climate Resilience

Education has evolved significantly over recent decades, incorporating project-based learning, computers, social emotional learning. Yet the intensifying climate crisis demands something different – it calls for learning environments that develop problem analysis skills, teach students to navigate policy systems, and ground decisions in scientific evidence. When students analyze flood risks, for example, they have the opportunity to learn to examine scientific data, understand policy constraints, and evaluate potential solutions – from infrastructure improvements to zoning changes. This comprehensive approach teaches them to move from analysis to action and work within governance systems to implement solutions.

The Estes Park example demonstrates how students can develop these essential competencies through real-world engagement. Earth Force educators guide students through a structured process of environmental discovery and action. Starting with their own lived experiences, students identify pressing community resilience issues, gather and analyze evidence to understand root causes, and work collaboratively to develop solutions. 

In Estes Park, this process led students to respond to their community’s wildfire vulnerability – at first by creating and distributing “go-bags” with evacuation essentials for vulnerable residents. As their understanding deepened, they recognized that lasting resilience required broader policy changes. This required them to analyze more data about community needs, communicate technical information with stakeholders, and build consensus with community partners like the local fire department. Finally they engaged with their state senator to discuss legislation supporting wildlife urban interfaces, demonstrating their ability to navigate governance processes and communicate effectively with decision-makers. Throughout this process, they monitored changing conditions, adapted their strategies, and worked collaboratively with community leaders to implement new approaches – exactly the skills needed for ongoing climate adaptation.

Conclusion

As we bear witness to the heartbreaking devastation in Los Angeles—where entire neighborhoods have been transformed into ash and thousands of lives forever altered—we are reminded that the climate crisis demands more than decreasing our carbon output and mustering emergency response teams. The scale and intensity of this disaster reveals how our traditional approaches to climate resilience fall short. While we can model broad climate trends, the cascading effects on our communities remain stubbornly unpredictable. This uncertainty doesn’t leave us powerless – rather, it highlights why we must build adaptive capacity into the fabric of our communities, starting with how we educate young people. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasizes, “Adaptation entails a continuing risk management process. It does not have an end point.” 

The Estes Park students’ journey from personal experience to policy engagement exemplifies this continuous process. They didn’t just prepare for the specific scenario they had experienced during the wildfires; they developed the skills and relationships needed to respond to evolving challenges. Their example, especially viewed in light of the crisis in Los, underscores why transforming education is not just crucial—it’s an imperative for building resilient communities in an increasingly uncertain world.