Over the last four months, our Biosphere Explorers project has found a new home with the Dumfries and Galloway Climate Hub, funded by Net Zero Scotland and lead by Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere. This has allowed the project – which offers a free workshop to a class and the resources on loan for a month – to visit primary schools across the county.
The Biosphere Explorers workshops – which are available online – cover topics from climate change to biodiversity to near and far Biospheres. They each consist of a presentation and an activity. Our favourite is the climate change workshop, where pupils learn about how greenhouse gases in our atmosphere warm the planet, and how human activity increases these gases. Pupils then play our Greenhouse Gas Board Game, which is a cooperative game covering three rounds: how we used to live (polluting the world), how we will be living soon when reaching Net Zero (polluting and clearing the pollution in equal measure), and how we will be living in the future to reverse climate change (clearing the pollution).
During this project we have visited twelve schools, from Castle Kennedy in the West to Gretna in the South. In some of these schools we’ve had the opportunity to engage with the pupil environment council, or citizenship group. Many D&G schools have these groups for pupils to join as part of their commitment to upholding the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to obtain their bronze, silver, or gold award as a Rights Respecting School.
When we speak with the environment groups, it’s clear that young people are passionate and compassionate about nature. They are full of ideas on how to create food and habitats for wildlife, and in many cases have already done so within their school grounds.
“I’ve loved being able to visit new schools across Dumfries and Galloway thanks to D&G Climate Hub,” CCC’s Education Officer Carys Mainprize says. “Pupils are so engaged and deeply understand the need for living more sustainably. It’s been a joy to talk with pupil environment groups too – it gives me so much hope to see their appreciation for nature and its protection!”
The funding from D&G Climate Hub has also allowed us to develop a new session to offer with our Biosphere Explorers project: an eco-emotions lesson.
“Emotional responses are necessary to drive action. If we didn’t worry about climate change, or hope for the future, we wouldn’t be driven to live more sustainably or demand more from our governments,” Carys goes on to say. “But unfortunately, many of us – including adults – are not prepared for the strength of emotions we feel. A lot of us become overwhelmed and shut down or think it’s all hopeless. We need to encourage people to become more resilient, to make space for these emotions, and act on them rather than shy away from them. I think this lesson can be a great starting point for that, and I’m so grateful for D&G Climate Hub and the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere for seeing the value in it too.”
The Crichton Carbon Centre wishes to again thank D&G Climate Hub for funding the Biosphere Explorers project, and to lead Climate Hub partners Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere for their support. The Climate Hub is funded by the Scottish Government Net Zero programme.
Climate Hub | GSAB | Learn more about Net Zero Scotland.
