Living & teaching in an urban area we see the effects of climate change locally in the form of more frequent extreme weather events & change in temperatures. I could get my students more involved in exploring this by researching data relating to these issues & exploring what changes have taken place over the years. we could also learn how to record weather & do that over the course of the year and compare to figures we found in research. We could look at how extreme weather events are caused and why they have become more frequent. In general giving the students knowledge and experience of how weather happens, how it has been changed over time, what has caused the changes and what we can do to reverse these changes.
Sone of the ways I can help make small but significant changes:
-reduce waste: both at home & in school recycle carefully. Active participation in the schools Green schools policies around waste. Cut back on food waste at home through proper meal planning and food storage. Photocopying limits on school photocopier do people have to really think about what they are printing.
-reduce energy consumption: using car less-walking to local shops more often, using public transport instead of always bringing car. Walk on Wednesdays/Scoot to school initiatives-encourage this with children in school. Getting my own kids to cycle/walk to school. I liked the suggestion given by someone on the forum for getting the local Garda involved to do safe cycling to school. Plugging out appliances at home at night. Energy Monitors in the class to switch off lights & whiteboard etc.
-creating biodiversity: Planting colourful flowers to encourage bees, less mowing of the lawn or allowing a wild patch in the garden to flourish for bees. Perhaps starting a wild flower garden in school and raising the awareness of this with the children who will then raise it with their own families.
I will definitely be advocating the use of the lesson plans explored in this module in my school for the following year. I think they explain climate change to the children in a very practical way and give them all the knowledge they need to advocate for climate change without scaring them. It allows them to challenge their thoughts on how we affect the world we live in and how the people who are most marginalised are the ones most affected. I would be encouraging the children to spread their awareness afterwards possibly through a local poster campaign and writing to local & national politicians advocating for improvement in Ireland reaching its Climate Change Targets.