Molly Nation is an Associate Professor of Environmental Education at Florida Gulf
Coast University. Her research focuses on environmental education, climate change
education, climate literacy, science communication, and community resilience. She
is a former AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, having served with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, where she worked on climate
adaptation, resilience, and nature-based solutions. Her work bridges science, education,
and policy through place-based learning, community engagement, and experiential education.
She is committed to advancing environmental literacy and connecting scientific research
with real-world environmental challenges.
Discover My Professional Expertise on ScholarsCommons
-
Education
Toggle Education
- Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction, Science Education, University of South Florida
- M.A.T. – Secondary Science Education, Georgia Southern University
- B.S. – Biology, Georgia Southern University
-
Specialties
Toggle Specialties
- Environmental Education
- Climate Change Education and Climate Science Literacy
- Climate Adaptation and Coastal Resilience
- Nature-Based Solutions
- Science and STEM Education
- Science Communication and Public Engagement
- Place-Based and Experiential Learning
- Environmental Policy and Climate Science Translation
-
Research and Teaching Interests
Toggle Research and Teaching InterestsSTEM Summer Camp for Girls Co-Facilitator, In-service Teacher Professional Development
Training Facilitator, Research interests include: Climate Change Education, Water
Resilience Education, Climate Justice, Environmental Justice.
-
Courses Offered
Toggle Courses Offered
- EVR 4924 – Environmental Education
- EVR 4930 – Environmental Change and Communication
- ISC 3154C – Environmental Research Design
- EVR 4940 – Internship in Environmental Studies
- ISC 4940 – Internship in Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences
-
Publications
Toggle Publications
- Nation, M., Feldman, A., (2026) Identifying and Overcoming the Challenges in Achieving
Climate Science
- Literacy in the K-12 Environment. Journal Education Sciences
- Nation, M., Thomas, T., & Ellis, M. (2026). From storm drains to wetlands: Engaging
middle school students
- in place-based investigations of water quality. The American Biology Teacher.
- Feldman, A., Nation, M., (2026) In-Service Teachers and Climate Change Education:
Identifying Gaps in
- Curriculum and Professional Development Handbook of Climate Change Research in Transdisciplinary
- Education Springer (2025)
- Nation, M., & Skaza-Acosta, H. (2026). Exploring Teacher Participation and Engagement:
Climate Change
- Professional Development and Collaboration. The Electronic Journal for Research in
Science & Mathematics
- Education, 29(4), 63-80.
- Feldman, A., & Nation, M. (2025). Introduction. In J. K. Frisch, D. M. Alston, A.
Feldman, R. Hagevik, & M.
- Schpakow (Eds.), Wicked problems in PreK–12 science education: Stories and strategies
for confronting
- complex topics in the science classroom. Routledge.
- Nation, M., & Feldman, A. (2025). Teaching about the wicked problem of global climate
change in secondary
- science. In J. K. Frisch, D. M. Alston, A. Feldman, R. Hagevik, & M. Schpakow (Eds.),
Wicked problems in
- PreK–12 science education: Stories and strategies for confronting complex topics in
the science classroom
- (Chapter 9). Routledge.
- Nation, M., Skaza Acosta, H., & Marcolini, J. P. (2025). Enhancing pre-service environmental
educators'
- training: the impact of field-based instruction and experiences. Discover Education,
4(1), 142.
- U.S. Global Change Research Program. (2024). Climate literacy guide: Essential principles
for understanding
- and addressing climate change. (Contributing author: Molly Nation).
-
Conference Presentations
Toggle Conference Presentations
- Nation, M., Jackson, B., Rajwade, A., Palmer, I., Community Environmental Leadership
in Action:
- Advancing Civic Engagement for Coastal Resilience. Poster Presentation accepted for
North American
- Association of Environmental Educators Annual Conference. October 5-9, 2026, Portland,
OR
- Laux, K., Feldman, A., Ortiz., R., Nation, M., Alsultan. J., Connecting Communities
and Classrooms
- Through Authentic Scientific Data, Professional Development Workshop accepted for
presentation ASTE
- Annual Conference. January 11, 2027, Providence, RI.
- Jackson, B., Nation, M., Rajwade, A., Environmental Literacy for Community Resilience:
Program Insights
- and Vision. Presentation at the North American Association of Environmental Educators
Annual Conference.
- October 4-6, 2025, Virtual
- Ceyhan, G., Feldman, A., Nation, M. Advancing Teacher Development in Climate Change
Education:
- Transdisciplinary Approaches Across. European Science Education Research Association.
August 25-29,
- 2025. Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Educational LevelsMarcolini, J., Nation, M., Skaza Acosta, H., The Impact of Field-Based
Instruction on
- Pre-Service Educators. ITLC Lilly Conference Innovative Strategies to Advance Student
Learning. August
- 11-13, 2025, Asheville, NC
- Feldman, A., Lauz, K., Alsultan, J., Nation, M., Engaging Science Teachers in Dialogic
Collaborative Action
- Research. National Science Teacher Association Conference (NSTA). March 26-29, 2025,
Philadelphia, PA
-
Grants & Awards
Toggle Grants & Awards
- 2021 NOAA - NOAA Gulf of Mexico Bay-Watershed Education and Training Program (B-WET)
- $149,000 Co-PI (awarded)
- Sustainable WATERS collaboration with Dr. Skaza-Acosta and Dr. Jones
- Partnership between SDLC, FGCU, and Otsego Bay
- 2020 – EPA Clean Water Act Florida Department of Environmental Protection 319(h) grant
- $122,318.00 – PI (awarded)
- Project FLOW (Future Leaders of Water Quality) Collaboration between Lee County Public
Schools
- and FGCU, Co-PI Dr. Serge Thomas