How do you teach climate to 7-year-olds without scaring them?

We all have those teachers we remember for decades. Sharifa and Desiree are two of those teachers. Their second graders went beyond planting seeds to building pollinator habitats and rain collectors, and even raising money for farm workers by selling esquites. As a mom, I'm always teetering between protecting my kids' innocence and telling them what's really happening to the planet, so I went to see how two teachers at Creative Arts Charter School in San Francisco handle it with 35 kids who are 7 and 8 years old. Sharifa talks about where she draws the line, why she only takes it there when it's rooted in hope, and the moment she realized she was a climate teacher after all, and both classes take their projects all the way to SF Environment's Climate Action Youth Summit. This episode is part of Any Job Can Be a Climate Job, a podcast exploring how people bring climate impact into everyday work, even in roles that aren't labeled "climate." Who's the teacher you still remember, and what did they do? Tell me in the comments. Chapters 0:00 Two classrooms, 35 second graders 1:41 Navigating the climate conversation 2:45 Farm to table 3:52 Catching the rain 4:47 Testing water collection designs 5:50 Making bee hotels 6:19 San Francisco's Climate Action Youth Summit 8:05 “I’m not a climate teacher... wait, I am.” 8:52 Advice for anyone looking to make a difference About the teachers Sharifa Khan is a second and third grade educator at Creative Arts Charter School in San Francisco. She has more than 14 years of experience supporting young learners in making meaningful connections between the topics they explore in the classroom and the world around them. Sharifa designs her thematic units and curriculum to integrate the arts and project-based learning, empowering her students as advocates for the planet and social change. She hopes to inspire her students to remain curious about the natural world and engage with their community as creative problem solvers. Desiree Salomon teaches second and third grade at Creative Arts Charter School in San Francisco, which she joined in 2025 after years as a classroom teacher and paraeducator in India, New Mexico and San Francisco. This spring her class took their pollinator study off campus. They interviewed farmers at the farmers market, harvested chard at Alemany Farm and Pie Ranch, and raised money for United Farm Workers by selling esquites. She also teaches yoga and English. Sharifa was also my son's kindergarten and first grade teacher. Resources mentioned Creative Arts Charter School: https://www.creativeartscharter.org Climate Action Youth Summit (SF Environment): https://www.sfenvironment.org/campaig... United Farm Workers: https://ufw.org Listen to the podcast Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1aM09CM... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Substack (behind-the-scenes + updates): https://anyjobcanbeaclimatejob.substa... Work with me: https://kidoki.com Partnerships: partnerships@anyjobcanbeaclimatejob.com Credits Produced and hosted by Louisa Henry:   / louisas   Edited by Alex Leff: https://www.resilience.org/human-natu... Theme music by Run Riot Run: https://www.runriotrun.com/ Logo by Cassidy Frost: https://www.getlostcassidyfrost.com/ This episode is for informational purposes and reflects the experiences and views of the people featured.