UW–Madison alumnus Brian Counselman, who earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the School of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, is featured in PBS Wisconsin Education’s new “Field Notes on Climate” series.

The series helps students in grades 6–12 explore how climate change affects their communities while learning about the people working to address it.

In the episode, “Improving Watersheds with Water Quality Testing,” Counselman takes students from Malcolm Shabazz City High School in Madison to Starkweather Creek to investigate local water quality issues.  

As a science teacher and project-based learning coordinator, Counselman emphasizes the importance of helping students understand environmental challenges in their own communities so they can become advocates for protecting local waterways.  

“If you don’t know a thing, you’re not going to care about it. If you don’t care about it, you’re not going to protect it,” Counselman says in the episode.

Counselman, who teaches science at Shabazz, was named a Wisconsin Teacher of the Year for 2025.

View the episode and explore the full series on the “Field Notes on Climate” website.