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Bridging climate science and the classroom can start with a simple walk to a place that matters. In this episode, we talk with Kristin Valle Geren—former elementary teacher, now a doctoral candidate and research assistant with the Stories-To-Live-By collective—to explore how story and place help children make sense of climate change in their own communities. 

Kristen shares how “Explorers Club” invites elementary students to read the world around them: snapping photos by the Hillsborough River, mapping school grounds, composing social media-style videos, and asking the questions adults often miss. A small linguistic shift—asking what “matters” rather than what’s “important”—unlocks personal stories and genuine curiosity, turning observations into research and narratives.

From Hurricane Irma’s lingering impact in the Florida Keys to slow, uneven recovery across tourism economies, we trace climate as a lived, local reality that shows up in housing, work, and daily routines—not just in headlines.

If you’re curious about how you might integrate climate literacy without overhauling your curriculum, this conversation offers concrete moves, hope, and a path forward rooted in eco-justice, local knowledge, and the everyday literacies students already use.

Kristin Valle Geren is a doctoral candidate in the Literacy Studies program in the College of Education at the University of South Florida and the Graduate Research Assistant for the Stories-to-Live-by Collective. 

Before beginning her doctoral studies, Kristin taught elementary school and worked as a literacy coach in Tampa, Florida. Specifically, she worked in the community where she now engages in community-based educational research in an after school program with elementary-aged youth. 

As a child, Kristin’s family moved often due to her father’s military service, but she has lived in Florida for over 20 years now - all of her adult life. She came to the Stories-to-Live-By project through her interest in the ways children and teachers make sense of the places in which they live and teach and the possibilities of placemaking literacies for exploring issues of climate crisis. 

You can read about Kristin and Alex's collaborative work here: 

Geren, K. V., & Panos, A. (2025). Perspectives on Practice: A Walk along Our River: Naming and Placing as a Start to Climate and Ecojustice Literacies Inquiry. Language Arts, 102(4), 274–278. https://doi.org/10.58680/la20251024190

To cite this episode: 

Persohn, L. (Host). (2025, Oct 14). A Stories-To-Live-By Conversation with Kristin Valle Geren. (Season 6, No. 3) [Audio podcast episode]. In Classroom Caffeine Podcast series. https://www.classroomcaffeine.com/guests. DOI: 10.5240/1ED7-9611-83DC-AB04-C26E-F

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