I think the county of Kilkenny has been equally as affected as anywhere in the country with climate change. Having the River Nore run through the city, it is of course prone to flooding. A couple of years ago, I recall showing the class ‘Then and Now’ photos of the Kilkenny castle, with and without the canal. This was more to highlight prevention of flooding than Climate change and the worsening of conditions. Like others in this forum, I would be cautious of addressing Climate Change without concerns of children’s anxiety about the topic but I think well formed lessons with a focus on prevention and care of the environment are always beneficial. April this year had a lot of exposure to Climate change headlines with ‘the wettest March on record’, and allowed for schools to draw attention to the way Climate in Ireland is changing.
3 actions that I have seen in schools to slow down Climate change would be;
1. Recycling initiatives, many schools now go down the path of taking your rubbish home but in my experience this leads to everything being thrown in waste at home. Schools that allow children the initiative to distinguish, sort, clean and categorise recyclables is much better.
2. Gardening- Seeing trees, plants and fruit grow can be easily achieved and very exiting for primary students.
3.Transportation Survey- With whole-school competitions to encourage people to walk/cycle/scoot and bus to school, it opens the door for the greener choice to be made when the competition ends.