On 28 November 2024, the Education for Climate Day 2024 offered a full day of online events and networking opportunities. It focused on climate resilience and innovative educational practices allowing for educators, climate advocates and policy experts to share strategies for fostering climate awareness and resilience in education. It was organised by the Education for Climate Coalition, a European Union (EU) initiative that fosters collaborative learning and action among students, educators, and scientists to address climate change challenges. By encouraging young minds to engage with real-world problems, the coalition aims to cultivate awareness, creativity, and action-oriented solutions, empowering future generations to tackle the climate crisis.
Did you know that the Education for Climate Coalition and the European Atlas of the Seas co-organised a challenge in 2022-2023? This week’s map highlights the results of this challenge, ‘Be a Scientist! Mapping Climate Change at Seas & Waterways’. Schools across Europe were invited to act as data providers for a new map layer in the Atlas, bringing the concept of citizen science to life in classrooms. The initiative involved seven phases. Following the introduction to the Atlas, teachers voted on the topic for the new map, selecting water surface temperature as the focus. Schools measured temperatures across diverse locations such as seas, rivers, lakes and ponds, recording their observations alongside critical details like geographical coordinates, measurement dates and times and methods used. Data collection concluded on 31 March 2023, enabling students to get insight on the process of data collection, harmonisation, visualisation and sharing. The European Atlas of the Seas team collected data from schools who employed thermometers for their water temperatures measurements as well as data from the Miniboat Programme developed by Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO) and Educational Passages. Schools who participate in the Miniboat Programme deploy miniboats at sea. Some of these miniboats are equipped with temperature sensors, bringing innovative techniques to the forefront of climate education. The resulting data, now available through the Atlas, serves as a valuable teaching resource for schools and the wider public. This map layer exemplifies how collective efforts can lead to a greater understanding of ocean science. Click on the symbols in the map to learn more about the measurements that were made!
Speaking of education, earlier this week, on 4 December 2024, the Atlas team organised an online workshop which brought together over 30 educators from diverse educational levels and countries. The workshop was designed to help teachers explore the Atlas and its features, fostering familiarity with the tool and practical understanding. Educators learned how to use the new ‘My Locations’ tool, which enables them to integrate student-collected data into personalised maps and to create their own maps related to the projects they are working on. This hands-on training made it possible for teachers to gain experience in using the Atlas as an educational resource, to make lessons even more engaging and interactive. By exploring the potential of this tool, participants discovered new ways to bring climate science and data visualisation to life in their classrooms.
Wish to learn more?
- Discover the resources available on the Education for Climate Portal;
- Dive into the MiniBoat Program by Educational Passages;
- Take part in an initiative developed by a Young Ocean Advocate with your students by submitting Letters to the Sea. The goal is to collect and showcase letters from young ocean enthusiasts aged 5 to 22 around the world, with the objective of reaching one million letters for the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference, where they can be adopted and replied to by ocean leaders to create a dialogue and enhance ocean literacy. Submit your letters now!
- Have a look at the presentation that was made at the Atlas workshop on 4 December 2024;
- Are you a teacher willing to bring the ocean into your classroom? Apply by 15 December 2024 to join the Network of European Blue Schools and become a European Blue School!
The data in the map are provided by the Education for Climate Coalition.