The speed with which communities in this region must adapt to climate-related issues is outpacing the rate at which schools can respond. Ripple Effect was founded out of a desire to help schools and teachers catch up in their teaching of climate-related water issues so that today's students are prepared to address the environmental challenges of tomorrow.

All Ripple Effect projects include in-depth curriculum adaptations with multidisciplinary teams of water- and climate-focused researchers, practitioners, educators, and community members. Project activities extend into the classroom as well. Ripple Effect provides teachers and instructional leaders with wraparound support to enact research-based science teaching practices that strengthen student agency through inquiry, scientific modeling, and student-driven discourse. To date, we have developed and enacted multi-week water literacy instruction in over 10 schools, reaching thousands of students through standards-aligned courses and curricula.