Facing the Future: South Florida vs Climate Change

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Grades9, 10, 11, 12Biology, Earth and Space Sciences, Civics, Geography

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by WLRN Public Television and Radio

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What it is

This hour-long documentary follows researchers, activists, artists, educators, and public officials across South Florida over the course of the 2024 hurricane season as they respond to escalating climate threats: record heat, flooding, and hurricanes.
The film explores specific resilience efforts, such as Key Largo's Stillwright Point seeking flood-mitigation funding, the University of Miami and Broward's Climate Compact coordinating regional policy, FIU's citizen-scientist king tide monitoring, and the Florida Wildlife Corridor's land conservation work.
It emphasizes likely scenarios and equitable, community-based solutions, framing climate adaptation as both an urgent, science-driven challenge and a collective, community-led effort.

Teaching tips

Classroom Implementation:

This video is roughly one hour long and would make a good introduction or closing to an Earth week unit.
Because it features many expert and community voices, consider giving students a viewing guide that asks them to track which challenges and which solutions each speaker describes.
Use the film's focus on equitable solutions to prompt a discussion of how climate impacts and responses can differ across neighborhoods and communities.

Interdisciplinary Connections:

Earth and Space Science:
- Have students explain why densely developed, low-lying South Florida is especially vulnerable to sea level rise and stronger storms.
- Explore why South Florida's porous limestone layer poses challenges for sea-level rise.
Government/Civics:
- Develop a viewing guide for students to track civic actions and government actors that push forward or undermine climate action.

Options for Action:

Explore the different organizations mentioned in the documentary to find out if there are any events students can join (for example, join the CLEO Institute's genCLEO Youth Movement or arrange a field trip to the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science).
Have students create presentations, posters, or infographics about the impact of urbanization and population growth on the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

From the scientist review

This video resource explores climate resilience in South Florida. The video is clear, featuring a wealth of dialogue from experts and community stakeholders. Throughout, the tone remains measured, focusing on likely scenarios and equitable solutions rather than eye-catching extremes. This resource is recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences, Civics, Geography
Format: YouTube Video
Language: English
Location: North America > United States > Florida
Provider: WLRN Public Television and Radio
Authors: WRLN Public Television and Radio
Published: July 23, 2026
Last updated: July 24, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · D2.Civ.12.9-12 + 9 more

Core

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D2.Civ.12.9-12Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.
D2.Geo.4.9-12Analyze relationships and interactions within and between human and physical systems to explain reciprocal influences that occur among them.
D2.Geo.6.9-12Evaluate the impact of human settlement activities on the environmental and cultural characteristics of specific places and regions.
D2.Geo.6.9-12.Evaluate the impact of human settlement activities on the environmental and cultural characteristics of specific places and regions.
D2.Geo.9.9-12.Evaluate the influence of long-term climate variability on human migration and settlement patterns, resource use, and land uses at local-to-global scales.

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

HS-ESS3-5.Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.

Maine Climate Education Hub

Science and Engineering

HS-ESS3-1Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
HS-ESS3-4Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.

Social Studies

Civics& Government 3 (D1): Students understand political and civic aspects of cultural diversity by analyzing constitutional and political aspects of historical and/or current issues that involve unity and diversity in Maine, the United States, and other nations through selecting, planning, and implementing a civic action or service-learning project based on a community, school, state, national, or international asset or need, and evaluate the project's effectiveness and civic contribution.
Geography1 (F1): Students understand the geography of the United States and various regions of the world and the effect of geographic influences on decisions about the present and future by analyzing the local, national, and global geographic data on physical, environmental, and cultural processes that shape and change places and regions.

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