Climate Change Learning Programme

‘Huringa Āhuarangi: whakareri mai kia haumaru āpōpō Climate Change: prepare today, live well tomorrow’

‘Whakareri mai kia haumaru āpōpō’ was developed by Aotearoa New Zealand educator Sian Carvell, in collaboration with both national and local organisations. The programme was piloted in 2018 and extensively audited and updated in 2021. Feedback was gratefully received from teachers and children and young people participating in the programme as well as science based organisations, climate change education specialists, local and central government, and stakeholders.

“Nothing can happen or progress without people knowing and understanding what is going on. You can come up with more ideas if there are more people who understand. It will only be of benefit, there is no downside to it”. - Haeata Community Campus

The programme is a science-based, integrated learning programme consisting of user and wellbeing guides and eight modules.

Click on the title links below to download the PDF files.

• User Guide
• Module One: Climate change and the living world: systems, climate, and weather
• Module Two: A changing climate: understanding how we got here
• Module Three: How do we know? The role of science and indigenous knowledge systems
• Module Four: Responding to change, planning for action
• Module Five: Adapting to change
• Module Six: Mitigating climate change impacts
• Module Seven: Meaningful connections: critical thinking and communication
• Module Eight: Unifying for change: a global community takes action

We also recommend using the Climate Change Wellbeing Guide, Te Tai Unuora, which was developed to accompany this learning programme.

The programme encourages learners to interpret, analyse and engage with science, and to understand that science knowledge changes over time. There are opportunities to consider a mātauranga Māori perspective, particularly around the interconnectedness of life on earth as expressed through the relationship between Papatūānuku and Ranginui.

It builds understanding of climate change through an exploration of critical global, national, and local responses aimed at mitigating and adapting to predicted impacts.

In exploring the challenges of climate change, ākonga are encouraged to develop and apply key competencies. They are prompted to think beyond themselves, to tautoko | support others, and to connect with the intergenerational community responding to the problem.

“I feel I know lots more about it and I'm able to understand what people are talking about when they say climate change and I'm able to join in” - Te Kura o Ōhinetahi Governors Bay School

Most importantly, the resource supports and empowers all learners to have a voice, to take action, and to play their part in a larger, systematic response.

From Learning to Action: ‘We Asked to be Heard’

Next Generation Conversation, a coalition of climate change activists aged between 10 and 14 years old submitted on the Christchurch City Council’s Coastal Adaptation Framework at the end of 2021. But before they did, they all took part in the climate change learning programme.

Created by the Christchurch City Council, the short film, We Asked To Be Heard, takes people through the process and the eventual outcome. It highlights how the programme can lead to student engagement and empowerment.

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