Refilling a reusable water bottle has become routine for many, and education can inspire similar large-scale behaviour shifts. A water bottle filling station in Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana.
(NPS Climate Change Response/Flickr)
Sparking global momentum and energy in young people through climate education can go a long way to addressing climate change now and in the near future.
In a new study, teachers spoke about the difficulties of teaching young people about climate change without adding to their fears.
Wildfire warning signage seen in the Blairmore area, about two hours south of Calgary, Alta., in this handout image provided by the Government of Alberta Fire Service.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
School systems need to wake up from ‘business as usual’ learning. Teachers can draw on terror management theory in their work on the front lines with students navigating the climate crisis.
Systemic policy changes are needed to help teachers lead climate education and action.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Pawel Dwulit
‘Eco-champion’ teachers face barriers in implementing climate change education. Communities and school boards can find inspiration to support them from boards with bolder climate commitments.
More of the curriculum is devoted to climate change, but it’s still not presented holistically. Teachers also need more training and resources to help them prepare students for a changing climate.
One project with the Art Gallery of Western Australia, researchers and children saw children respond to a painting by Wangkatjunga/Walmajarri artist Ngarralja Tommy May.
(Mindy Blaise and Jo Pollitt)
Some children and youth find the effects of climate change are traumatic. Taking a trauma-informed approach to education can nurture resilience.
Northern European folklore had different ways of referring to distant lights known to spontaneously appear on peatlands, including will-o’-the-wisp, and the more familiar jack-o’-lantern.
(Shutterstock)
Peatlands have been central to how northern European folklore has explored fear and a sense of the supernatural for hundreds of years. Their persistence is also key to slowing down climate change.
University experts are well placed to equip students with holistic climate knowledge and help teachers cover a subject that’s neglected by the Australian Curriculum.
Cedar Street Elementary School in Beloeil, Que, developed a butterfly and bird perennial garden. Here, a monarch butterfly.
(Shutterstock)
Picture this change: Through collaborative garden networks, teachers, schools, children, community partners and universities inspire real learning and transformation for a more sustainable world.
Students involved with the Resilient Schools Consortium in New York City quickly grasped the need for climate resiliency in their school buildings. Students from Mark Twain Intermediate School are seen here in October 2017.
(Heather Sioux)
After Hurricane Sandy, educators in New York City partnered with environmental and governmental organizations to put youth at the centre of preparing for risks and hazards in their school buildings.
Children in a forest nature program learn about the ‘mitigomin’ (red oak acorns) not buried by the ‘miadidamoo’ (eastern grey squirrels).
(Shutterstock)
Earth-centred children’s programs that seek to build ethical partnerships with Indigenous communities have an important role in learning about weathering climate change.
Betty Osceola, a Miccosukee educator and water activist who runs her own airboat business, is one narrative guide into the Everglades in SwampScapes.
(Grant Bemis)
A filmmaker, her students and community partners create a multi-platform documentary and study guide to teach swamp literacy and care through a trip into the Everglades.
In these divided times, young people are uniting to claim a political platform and fight climate change.
A electric screen showing Shanghai Pudong financial area in a clear day, is seen amid heavy smog in Shanghai. What can art do to make climate change more real?
Aly Song
Climate change is such a big problem it’s almost impossible for us to really understand. We need artists to mobilise on a huge scale to render the problem comprehensible.
Across the globe, we are experiencing rapid changes to our environment and social structures. Climate change, population growth, and social unrest are causing ever increasing problems. The rate of change…
Lecturer and Research Fellow, School of Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences. Coordinator, Education for Sustainability Tasmania, University of Tasmania
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science and African Climate and Development Initiative Research Chair, University of Cape Town
Executive Director of the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay, hosted by Brooklyn College, and Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College