Climate change collage.
Climate Change Education
For CATs & veteran Master Gardeners
Support the Master Gardener Program

Getting up to speed on Climate Change

Looking for places to further your education on climate change? Right here is a good place to start. While climate change is too large a topic to have a one-stop-shop for everything climate related, in this and related pages we put an “Extension Master Gardener Filter” over the content and highlight some of the most relevant information for you.

Cougar head spirt circle.

WSU & Climate Change

As a land grant research institution, Washington State University has many endeavors related to climate change. We have ‘cherry-picked’ from WSU Insider those articles related to climate change.
If you want to get an overview of the range of efforts WSU is undertaking in relationship to our changing climate…

Go to …..

Outdoor class on gardening.

EMG Education

Lead: Jim Little (King).

Jim is leading the effort to create education to increase the knowledge level of veteran Master Gardeners in the area of climate change.

He is in development of a three-part series broken down into:
Climate Challenges;
Climate Solutions &
effectively Communicating about Climate Change.

Image of book cover of Nature's Best Hope by Douglas W. Tallamy

Recommended Books

We’ve curated with an eye towards the kind of topics Master Gardeners would be interested in. So, if you are looking for a treatise on nuclear power, well, this isn’t the place.

But if you want to know more about the kind of actions that Master Gardeners can undertake in their communities to deal with the effects of climate change, then this is the place to get a quick synopsis of relevant book titles.

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
Written by Microsoft founder Bill Gates in 2021 and surprisingly readable, forward looking and generally positive.  Gives a good “50,000 foot view” of all that needs to be done to tackle climate change.  Across all industries, worldwide.  If you are looking for a good overview of what is involved, this is a place to start.  Not a ‘doom and gloom’ book, instead he focuses on what needs to happen with a bent towards tech & innovation.  Adds important perspective that new technologies must be cost competitive and must be able to scale.
Gates, Bill.  How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Published 2021 by Alfred A. Knopf New York Toronto. ISBN 978-0-385-54613-3

Nature’s Best Hope
Author Douglas W. Tallamy, promotes the idea of homeowners strategically designing their yards to help wildlife populations with ‘conservation corridor’ wildlife habitats.  Tallamy is one of the leading thinkers in this area and his ideas are often quoted and influence other works.  A little tough to read, sometimes swinging to the negative, but the underlying message is “here are things you can do” to make it better.
Tallmy, Douglas W.. Nature’s Best Hope, Published 2019 by Timber Press Portland, Oregon.
ISBN: 978-1-60469-900-5

Mini-Forest Revolution
In Mini-Forest Revolution, Lewis presents the Miyawaki Method, a unique approach to reforestation devised by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. She explains how tiny forests as small as six parking spaces grow quickly and are much more biodiverse than those planted by conventional methods. She explores the science behind why Miyawaki-style mini-forests work and the myriad environmental benefits, including: cooling urban heat islands, establishing wildlife corridors, building soil health, sequestering carbon, creating pollinator habitats, and more.
Lewis, Hanna. Mini-Forest Revolution, Published by Chelsea Green
https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/mini-forest-revolution/

The Hidden Life of Trees
An illuminating account of the forest, and the science that shows us how trees communicate, feel, and live in social networks.
Wohlleben, Peter. The Hidden Life of Trees, Published by Greystone Books
https://www.peterwohllebenbooks.com/the-hidden-life-of-trees

The Book of Wilding
The Book of Wilding is a handbook for how we can all help restore nature. It is ambitious, visionary and pragmatic. The book has grown out of Isabella and Charlie’s mission to help rewild Britain
Tree, Isabella. The Book of Wilding, Published by Bloomsbury
https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/book-of-wilding-9781526659309/


The Climate Change Garden: Down to Earth Advice for Growing a Resilient Garden
The Climate Change Garden book is full of simple and practical ideas for gardeners to adjusting gardening practices to create productive, low-maintenance, climate-savvy gardens that are resilient to the the current realities of our climate change, and suggestions for practices to reduce one’s carbon footprint.
Sally Morgan & Kim Stoddart (2023)

No Dig
This book provides a wealth of knowledge for vegetable gardeners who are looking for ways to increase the quality and quantity of their gardens, while using the “no dig” approach which reduces the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere and increases the ability of the soil to capture carbon.
Dowding, Charles 2022

Fen, Bog & Swamp: A short history of the peatland destruction and its role in the climate crisis
In this book, the author “makes radically clear that in addition to reducing carbon emissions, we must preserve and restore the wetlands that store those emission and are critical to human survival and the survival of the planet.” (quote is from the book jacket). This book provides fantastic background information for those interested in learning the “why” behind the need to eliminate those gardening practices that contribute to our current climate change crisis.
Proulx, Annie (2022)

Recommended Videos

Don’t feel like reading? Well, we’ve collected a few videos & PDFs that may attract your interest:

Climate Change ‘Core Concepts’. Created by WSU Prof. Cogger, these 10 short videos give those new to Climate Change a good overview of the topic from a Climate Science perspective.

5th National Climate Change Assessment (NCA5). The latest research on Climate Change, produced by the US Global Change Research Program. Huge volume of material. Key subset to look at:
– Chapter 27, the Northwest (WA, OR, ID)
– Chapter 12, the Built Environment, Urban Systems and Cities
– Western Wildfires
Also, if you prefer videos to reading:
– Webinar Series

How Americans feel about Climate Change. From Pew Research. 10.25.2023

Image of initial screen of the video: Climate Change, What Does the Science Really Tell Us? by Craig Cogger, WSU Puyallup
Logo for the 5th National Climate Assessment
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Throughout this site there are links to documents of various file types.
Please contact our Statewide Program Leader if you require this information in a different format.