ABOUT
The “Gikinoo’wizhiwe Onji Waaban” (Guiding for Tomorrow) or “G-WOW” Initiative is a unique approach to increasing awareness of how climate change is affecting the environment, people, cultures, and economies; and promoting action to address it by:
- Integrating scientific climate change research with place-based evidence that you can observe about how climate change may be affecting cultural practices that you value. These may be recreational or business practices, or traditional cultural "lifeways" of your community or culture place-based evidence
of how climate change is affecting traditional cultural practices of the Lake Superior Ojibwe Indians to demonstrate how climate change is affecting people of all cultures.
- Bringing Native perspectives, tribal knowledge, and involvement to addressing issues of climate change.
- Providing learners with knowledge about what they can do to mitigate or adapt to a changing climate.
Key G-WOW message points- Climate change is real.
- Humans contribute to climate change.
- Weather and climate are different.
- Climate affects culture
- We can make a difference
G-WOW Climate Field Course
Project Partners include the:
University of Wisconsin-Extension , Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, US Forest Service, National Park Service, and the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, Ashland, WI.
Additional Partners Include the:Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and Chicago Botanical Garden.
This project is funded in 2014-15 by the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources Management
under the Coastal Zone Act, Grant #NA11NOS4190097
With additional support from The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative National Parks Foundation, NASA through a partnership with the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, and EPA through partnership with the Chicago Botanical Garden.
Special thanks to the following organizations and individuals:
- Climate Wisconsin videos
- Climate Wisconsin, a project of the Wisconsin Media Lab, for climate videos, Finn Ryan-producer.
- Project Budburst phenology resources, Project Budburst, National Science Foundation
G-WOW CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
CURRICULUM DESIGN TEAM
- University of Wisconsin-Extension:
- Cathy Techtmann-Environmental Outreach Specialist, University of Wisconsin-Extension
- Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission:
- Sue Erickson-Public Information Director and Jim St. Arnold- Program Specialist (Nigaanigiizhig) - Program Director/Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Coordinator
- Apostle Island National Lakeshore-National Park Service:
- Neil Howk-Assistant Chief of Interpretation and Education and Damon Panek-Park Ranger/Ojibwe Cultural Specialist
- US Forest Service:
- Jason Maloney-Director; Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
- Wild Rice Harvesting Unit
- Peter David- Manoomin Biologist and Lisa David-Wildlife Biologist; Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
- Fishing Unit
- Mark Luehring- Inland Fisheries Biologist and Bill Mattes- Great Lakes Section Leader Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
- Respecting Our Culture Unit
- Jonathan Gilbert-Wildlife Section Leader and Tanya Aldred, GLIFWC Wildlife Biologist; Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
- Maple Sugaring and Birch Bark Harvesting Unit
- Alexandra Wrobel-Forest Ecologist; Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
- “What Can We Do” Section, service learning template, and curriculum editing
- Megan Brown- Environmental Outreach Intern; UW-Extension, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center
- G-WOW Logo Development
- Jennifer Burnett-Outreach Specialist; Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
- Project Support
- Sarah Traaholt- Office Manager; UW-Extension, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center