Movie Monday: Growing Up In A Changing Climate

Each week, we share short films created through See Stories programs. These films highlight stories of place, culture, and community from across Alaska. Currently, we are featuring films from our See Stories professional development AHA! Intensive, where educators explored storytelling as a way to share culture, history, and place-based knowledge through film.

In Fairbanks, winters are changing, seasons feel less predictable, and young people are paying close attention. What does it mean to grow up in a changing climate? In Growing Up in a Changing Climate, filmmaker Leila Pyle centers the voices of youth in Fairbanks who are navigating a world already shaped by environmental change. Hear thoughtful responses from teen activists involved in Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA) and see how climate change is experienced not as a distant issue, but as part of daily life.

From rain replacing snow to shifting seasons and disappearing winter traditions, these young people describe a sense of instability and growing up in a place that no longer behaves the way it used to. Their stories carry moments of uncertainty, grief, and frustration, but also something just as powerful: connection.

Change doesn’t come from one person alone. Again and again, the film returns to a simple but grounding truth: community matters. Growing Up in a Changing Climate is a reminder that while the impacts of climate change are deeply personal, so is the response. And in Fairbanks and throughout Alaska, young people are already shaping what that response looks like.

🎥 Watch the film,Growing Up In A Changing Climate, and listen to these voices of resilience and renewal, or click on the still below:

 

 

 

Discussion Questions

1. What is climate change?
2. How are communities in Alaska being impacted by climate change, especially young people?
3. What are some solutions that Alaskan communities are working on to respond to climate change?

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Check out our growing library of lesson plans on our Teacher Tools online community! Register today to access for educators who want to bring cultural storytelling into the classroom! If you’re an educator interested in integrating storytelling and cultural preservation into your classroom, check out Teacher Tools—our online community where educators can access free lesson plans, digital storytelling resources, and more.

Find our TeacherTools online community here: See Stories Teacher Tools Community