While I am teaching in Dublin, I am originally from Galway and the impacts of climate change over the last number of years have been very evident in my local community. Flooding has been a relatively regular occurrence from both rainfall and along coastal areas. Websites such as https://coastal.climatecentral.org/map/ show shocking predictions for how the coastal landscape of Ireland will be impacted by rising sea levels by 2050. While I feel that showing these websites in school would alarm and worry the children, I think that it is an eye-opening resource for us as adults and certainly makes the possible outcomes of climate change at a local level very real.
On a small practical level, some of the activities that I would encourage the children to implement in order to slow down climate change would be:
1. Use the school Chromebooks to research the meaning of climate change and what we can do to help. This would ensure that there is no misinformation and would highlight to the children that small changes make a big impact. They could then design posters or informational pamphlets to pass around the school to educate others on what they can do in the classroom or at home to make a positive changes.
2. Walk or cycle to school instead of drive. The majority of our students live in close proximity to the school. It would be nice to organise weekly initiatives such as “Walking Wednesday” to encourage them to be more aware of travelling to school by foot rather than by car.
3. Recycle. Ensure that the recycling bins in school are clearly labelled so that there is no misunderstanding. Older children could hold workshops with younger classes to explain the importance of recycling and to play games to teach them which materials can be recycled.
