The Council for Resilience Education was a group of University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate students who advanced ecological resilience science by making its concepts understandable and available to the public. Drawing members from diverse fields like natural sciences, agronomy, computer science, communications and design, the Council for Resilience Education fostered a collaborative environment that produced a range of educational materials—including modules, in-class exercises, case studies and even a podcast—centered on ecological resilience. While the council is no longer active, CRAWL has curated its valuable resources below for anyone interested in exploring and teaching the principles of ecological resilience.
Resources Created by the CRE
Modules on Ecological Resilience
The core of the Council for Resilience Education’s work was creating encyclopedia-style modules on key concepts in ecological resilience. These modules became valuable educational tools used in University of Nebraska–Lincoln classrooms and elsewhere.
View ModulesAdaptive Cycle Case Study
This case study introduces the adaptive cycle, a key concept in ecological resilience theory, showing how change occurs in complex systems like ecosystems and economies. It uses a role-playing scenario where students acting as stakeholders debate a fictional town's wind energy project.
"What the Heck is Resilience Anyway?" Podcast
Ever wondered what people mean when they use the term “resilience”? This podcast breaks down what resilience is and explores the different concepts related to resilience. CRE producers focused in particular on ecological resilience. Each episode covers scientific papers, real-world events and interviews with experts to make resilience concepts accessible to a wide audience and explain why they matter to science, policy and everyday life.
Listen to PodcastJenga Classroom Activity
Use Jenga to teach the concepts of ecological resilience in your classroom or take your students through the case study of Sandville to learn more! Teacher and student instructions can be found in the booklet linked below. An Excel scoresheet is also provided to calculate the results from the activity.