The Forum discussions focused on governance, roles and responsibilities of Coalition members; refining the strategy and approach for developing common goals and shared priorities; and communicating Coalition’s high priority activities and potential impacts with philanthropes and funding organization.

Participants agreed that the collaborative efforts should begin with a regional assessment and gap analysis intended to:

• Develop a framework for districts to evaluate environmental and climate education capacity
• Identify the enabling conditions for high-quality Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs)
• Leverage university research partnerships for data collection
• Use Maryland’s 24-county structure as a pilot model
• Create case studies that demonstrate coalition impact

Participants identified the following implementation priorities and next steps:

• Demonstrate the collaborative structure within the Chesapeake Bay pilot project
• Develop other specific examples the Coalition for Climate Resilient Communities can use to engage more stakeholders and increase impact
• Identify additional coalition members who could contribute to the project
• Aligning the project(s) with the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recommendations on climate education
• Create replicable models for other regions and topics

Participants agreed to establish four teams with assigned responsibilities:

1. Proof Points (Lead: The Climate Initiative)
2. Collaborative Programming (Lead: Earth Force)
3. Outreach and Communications (Lead: Subject to Climate)
4. Funding and Outreach (Co-Leads: iCREST and Earth Force)

The remaining coalition members expressed their willingness to support the work of these teams as needed.

The participants endorsed the following deliverables and associated timelines for completion:

• Proof Points team: Develop a theory of change informed by ELP and Christina’s work.
• Collaborative Programming team: Map coalition members’ professional development and program offerings and produce the Chesapeake Bay strategy and collaborative agreement by August/September 2026.
• Outreach and Communications team: Identify target conferences and communications channels and develop materials for a pitch, proposal, one-pager, or opinion piece.
• Funder Outreach team: Identify prospective funders, initiate conversations, and work toward submitting at least one proposal.