Annie Hornsby, science teacher, STEM-E Coach/Science Club Sponsor at Macon Middle School (MMS), was recently selected for a five-month fellowship with The Climate Initiative (TCI), a nationwide organization that empowers educators and young climate leaders to build more climate resilient communities. The group’s mission is: “Through non-partisan education and empowerment initiatives, TCI seeks to ignite a spark of hope and action, enabling youth to tackle local climate challenges and champion solutions in their communities and beyond.”
As an Education Fellow, Hornsby’s responsibilities will include acting as a direct line of support for educators in the TCI network, assisting with the development and dissemination of resources, working to enhance TCI programming, and contributing to the creation and improvement of educational materials.
“I feel extremely fortunate to be a part of the first cohort of Educator Fellows with TCI, The Climate Initiative (theclimateinitiative.org). I am working alongside extremely talented and experienced educators from all over the east coast. TCI originated in Kennebunkport, Maine, when a small group of educators saw the need to move climate education beyond the usual charts and graphs and into the actual field, with meaningful, student-driven studies and projects. They established TCI and, over time, have stocked the TCI website with an abundance of free resources for educators.”
While some fellowships require fellows to be on-site at a designated location for a period of time, Hornsby will meet TCI representatives weekly via ZOOM and discuss, plan, and work on projects. She pointed out that she would like to eventually travel to TCI’s Maine headquarters.
She added, “Working through all the existing TCI resources and now helping to add to them has already opened my eyes to so many new ways to teach difficult topics. Through collaborating with other cohort members, and making connections with educators coming to TCI for resources, I hope to become more skilled at communicating and connecting over climate topics. And, of course, my ultimate goal is for these skills to transfer into my classroom. Equipping and encouraging students to see that they can make a difference, where they are now, as well as wherever life takes them – that’s what makes teaching so rewarding.”
Hornsby has been a teacher in Macon County for 12 years.