Climb-IT Change
Provided by: The Nature Conservancy|Published on: March 25, 2025|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Type: Videos
Subjects: Biology, Health
Authors: Nature Lab by The Nature Conservancy
Location: North America > United States > Colorado, North America > United States > Idaho, North America > United States > Montana, North America > United States > Washington, North America > United States > Wyoming
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This video from Nature Lab by The Nature Conservancy shows the journey of Conservation Biologist Trevor Bloom and his team as they travel (and rock climb) to determine the impact of previous wildfires on populations of Saxifraga austromontana.
- The research team traveled through and climbed Idaho's City of Rocks, East Spanish Peak of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, Jackson, WY, Missoula and the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana, and Prusik Peak of Washington's Enchantments.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The video has a cinematic quality and feels like the retelling of an adventure.
- Students will get to see an example of a green career that allows for time outside doing what you love.
Prerequisites
- Students should understand climate change and some of its impacts, such as increases in wildfires, invasive species, and flooding.
- Teachers may want to preface the video with a quick introduction to rock climbing and how it works.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Using the call to action at the end of the video, students can brainstorm and implement strategies to convince others to get outside and become stewards of the land. Students can create infographics, artwork, videos, songs, or other media to share the message.
- These researchers used their passion for the outdoors and rock climbing to understand climate change and help work towards solutions. Students can take some time to brainstorm what they are passionate about and how that passion can be used to contribute to solving the climate change problem. This brainstorming can also be transitioned into a conversation about green careers.
- To understand more about how climate change impacts lead to wildfires, students can view the Youth Climate Story: Pine Beetles and Wildfires in Colorado or use the resources in the Wildfires Student Lab. Additionally, math classes can use the lesson plan Fired Up Over Math: Studying Wildfires From Space to connect wildfire research to mathematical concepts like area and data analysis.
In this video viewers follow researchers as they collect data for a research project looking at alpine ecosystems and how they are impacted by climate change. In order to collect data the researchers had to climb mountains and travel, which provides a great example of what a scientists research can look like. The information presented is accurate and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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