climate change education

WICD – climate change chronicles (Part 2)

We recently completed another round of workshops with Grade 10 learners, in partnership with Umkhumbane Schools Project in Cato Manor, Durban. Two WESSA youth educators joined us this time, hopefully we’ll work together in future.

Over three Saturday mornings, in August/September 2025, we worked through the next few units of the What I Can Do (WICD) About Climate Change edu-action programme.

Since the last workshop series in March was a while ago, we started with a refresher exercise. Instead of me (the facilitator) doing the talking, we split up the learners into small groups, and gave each group a print-out of one of the videos we watched previously, to refresh their memories.

The learners then presented the slides to the larger group and gave brief summaries of anything they had remembered. I reminded them that this was not school and that there was no evaluation, that they should not feel pressured or stressed, but just quickly walk us all through some of the highlights. This was a fun and highly entertaining, the learners were very enthusiastic.

Learners presenting a summary from the last workshop

Unit 7 “What does climate change look like”?

The video for this unit shows the many faces of climate change – changes in the weather, changes on land and in the oceans, changes in the frozen parts of the world, sea level rise. We all felt a bit depressed at the end. But everyone agreed when I said, “These things are happening anyway, whether we are aware of it or not. Myself, I prefer not to be ignorant of what is going on. I would rather know, because then I maybe do something about it, and also then I can adapt my life and not get caught by surprise.”

We then carried out two simple experiments about sea level rise caused by melting glaciers and warming oceans, and one about ocean acidification and the effect on calcium carbonate solubility.

Do melting sea ice and land ice both cause a rise in sea level? Marking the ‘sea level’.

Demonstrating that hot water takes up more space than cold water.

Do sea shells dissolve in acidic water? Checking the pH.

Unit 8 “Why should I care? How does climate change affect me?”

On the first day the learners went home with a questionnaire, to interview an older person in their household. They asked about any changes or disasters they had experienced during their lifetime.

On the second day, learners interviewed each other, in a mock TV show, talking about their family’s – or their own – experiences and opinions. “Who has family or friends who may not have heard about climate change? What could you say to them? How would you explain climate change to your granny?” I was blown away with the confidence and enthusiasm with which the learners threw themselves into this activity.

The results speak for themselves!

The Unit 8 video covers the many ways that climate change affects us as humans – our food systems, health and wellbeing, the economy – and how it can cause poverty, displacement and conflict. It explains how we depend on nature and how climate change threatens our entire society, often in complex ways.

While watching the video, learners listened out for facts that might answer the question: “Why did the Nobel Prize for Peace get awarded to people who spread knowledge about climate change? How could climate change disturb the peace, between individuals, communities or countries?”

Learners paired up to discuss this question, we collected ideas from the floor and discussed them in the big group. Responses included: communities or countries fight over scarce resources, such as food, wood or water; people fight with their governments over policies or unfair food allocations; activists fight with law enforcement; ‘false activists’ turn environmental causes into terrorism. Another two short videos, by international peace organizations, rounded off this section.

The learners’ responses were very insightful and thought-provoking.

Unit 11 “What can I do about climate change?”

Finally we get to the most important part: action. The interactive video highlights the top priorities, based on where the most greenhouse gases come from, and where action would therefore have the greatest ‘bang for buck’. It also talks about climate justice, an important topic for young people living in underprivileged conditions.

Unit 13 “Electricity”

The third day was devoted to the top action area: energy – more specifically, electricity. We started with a game called ‘Circuit Breaker’, where we passed ‘electrons’ from a ‘battery’ around a ‘circuit’. One person was the ‘switch’, another the ‘radio’, another a ‘resistor’. When things got out of hand, and ‘sparks’ started to fly, the ‘circuit breaker’ tripped, and the game had to be ‘reset’.

How fast can you make the ‘current’ flow?

Then we talked about electricity in the home: the distribution board, the electricity meter, different ways of purchasing electricity.

It’s easy to save electricity in the home, just by doing things slightly differently. Thereby we can reduce our energy carbon footprint as well as our monthly electricity bill. So how much power does it take to boil a cup of water – in a kettle? On a stove? In a microwave? We timed boiling water with different appliances, and converted the answers to kWh, grams of greenhouse gas emissions, and into Rands and cents. Then we cooked a pot of rice by wrapping it in a blanket.

Boiling water in a kettle used the least power.

A pot of rice, once boiled, can cook in a hotbox without further power.

On a personal note: I (Marlies) would like to thank Martha Bishai and her team at the Umkhumbane Schools Project – especially Precious, Nokwanda – from the bottom of my heart for their support and partnership. Years ago Martha invited me to engage their biodiversity group. Since then Martha’s encouragement and participation inspired me to keep going forward, and to dare think bigger and aim higher. I am deeply grateful for believing in this work and investing in EASTER Action!

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Teaching with ulterior motives

Last week I presented to around 70 pre-service and 3rd year student teachers at Edgewood Campus (UKZN School of Education). Even though the topic was ‘climate change’, the lesson was ‘teaching methods’.

Prof Angela James had asked me to present, partly to give them an introduction to climate change, partly to demonstrate to the students some simple interactive teaching methods.

Yes, I may be a qualified educator, but I am not a school teacher or university lecturer, and my primary goal is generally not to transfer information and to help students pass exams. When I teach, I tend to have ulterior motives.

Pass on passion

In past years, when I did all those insect events with children and adults, my primary goal was to share my passion, to get others as excited and in love with insects as I am. I wanted people to appreciate these ‘lesser’ life forms, understand their value and their needs, and the importance of healthy ecosystems, so they would do things to protect and restore nature.

Stoking the in-born love for nature and other life forms (called ‘biophilia’)

Inspire action

Now as I run ‘educational’ events on climate change, my goal is for people to truly and deeply ‘get‘ the most important facts about climate change, understand the nature of the problem, the urgency of the situation, and find out how easy it is to make a difference, and encourage people to go and do their bit.

The ulterior motive behind teaching people where most greenhouse gases come from is obvious: start here!

Empowering with know-how

I have also created and run formal training courses over the years. My goal then was empowering people to do stuff they didn’t know how to do before (rather than just knowing stuff), building useful skills that would make them more effective in their jobs.

We learn best by doing. Not just by listening and watching. Learning is most effective when it is hands-on. That may require detailed, step-by-step instructions, so you don’t get lost, so you can do it again later, on your own, without an instructor’s help. But the important thing is that you do it, yourself. Deep, lasting learning comes when we apply and use head knowledge, in practice. The more relevant to real-life, the better.

Building relationships

Back in the days when I homeschooled my children, my primary goal, again, was not education. People homeschool for all kinds of reasons. My goal was to spend time and bond with our adopted children. They had never experienced being at home with mom, and I wanted to give them that foundation. Later I also homeschooled our biological child, again not for the sake of education, but to nurture him through some difficult years until he was ready for mainstream school.

The teaching part of homeschooling was just an excuse to spend time together and do fun things together. Like reading! Or doing math! Or doing science!

Learning is playing

So from my perspective there is absolutely nothing onerous about learning. My experience from homeschooling and from many educational events, with children and youth, is that kids are born hungry and eager to learn. They are wired to learn, and they find learning new things fun and satisfying.

Even newborns are like little live computers, switched on and buzzing, ready to record and store and process every bit of input, from the moment they take their first breath (and even before birth).

Toddlers don’t care if they fall over while learning to walk – they just get up and try again, until they get it right. They keep asking ‘why? why? why?’ Failing and trying again and asking for information comes so naturally to them. They learn skills as they play. That is why it is so important for young children to get lots of opportunity to play.

Discovering the joy of reading before the art of sitting

Sadly, it is possible for this natural hunger for learning to be ruined, perhaps by the school system (which emphasizes rules, marks and reports), perhaps by careless teachers or demanding parents, by making the learning experience painful, stressful, boring, discriminatory, etc. or by making failure shameful, embarrassing, anxious, etc. What a lost opportunity!

Rediscover the joy

Adults who have lost the joy in learning, may even find it again, together with their learners, by being playful, exploring, not being afraid of getting it wrong the first time. It is OK not to know things. Teachers really shouldn’t feel they must have an answer for everything. In fact, the more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know, and this can make one eagerly open-minded to new ideas and trying new things.

Learning is not a serious business, it is playful. New knowledge – and the trial-and-error that often goes with it – is one of the things that makes life enjoyable and worth living. Over time, and with hard work and repetition, you also learn to do things skillfully, systematically aiming for excellence. This can further add to the pleasure and satisfaction of learning.

As adults we have this amazing and important role to accompany children for a brief time on their life-long road of learning. Teachers – and educators in general – have an opportunity to walk some of this journey with their learners. It is a privilege and a calling and a huge responsibility. Let us make the most of it!

Gamification

After a recent workshop, one participant in his feedback wrote, “the gamification and interactive-ness of the activities will improve the youth and children’s understanding of climate change.”

‘Gamification.’ I like that word. It means using games or game-like approaches in non-game contexts or activities, to engage people, motivate action, promote learning and solve problems, in both formal and informal situations.

Talking about gamification, after my climate change presentation, Justin Yarrow from Code Makers presented some of the amazing playing cards, comics and games his team have produced. ‘Super Scientists‘ super-hero characters – based on real-life scientists and science champions – promote science and STEAM careers for young people. He demonstrated how you could point your phone at a ‘Super Scientist’ poster, and then – I don’t know – it suddenly became interactive and you could find out about the real person behind the super-hero. Totally cool!

Climate change, Events

Progress with partners

Let me report back briefly on three recent events with Kloof High School, which have been extremely rewarding and motivating.

After attending the recent WESSA KZN EcoSchools Prizegiving, where Kloof High got their first Green Flag for environmental activities, Corné van Vollenstee (Life Science subject head, who also heads up the environmental club) reached out to me with a request to help the school introduce environmental education across all subjects.

Wow! This was so proactive of Kloof High, and such perfect timing for EASTER Action!

Having finalized the first four units of the What I Can Do About Climate Change programme, and piloted them from my side, it was time to test the hand-over process. One-by-one we will never reach enough people to make a measurable difference. Knowledge, know-how and determination to act – these have to spread throughout society, and urgently!

Introductory session

To begin with, Corné wanted to engage her fellow teachers, to try and get everyone interested and on board. So, end of May, we had an interactive session on climate change with the entire staff of 65, to raise this critical global issue.

The teachers were very interested and responsive, which was encouraging. Positive feedback included: “Very interesting and informative… interactive and engaging… Activities were an eye opener… A real wake up for me!… The practically and relevance of the topic and how it relates to the educational space… Very user friendly advice… Thank you we enjoyed. Please come again. It was so educational.”

Some asked for “more activities that we can do at home to help with eco systems… a digestible version of the presentation to direct towards learners/youth… should be an ongoing initiative.”

Getting ready for the ‘WOW’ moment that never fails to leave a lasting impression: which sector produces the most greenhouse gases – and by how much…

Co-production workshop

Being very supportive of this new initiative, the headmaster agreed that we should pursue a partnership to take this work forward. The plan is to run drafts of the 80-or-so activities that form part of the WICD programme through a process of co-production and review, and for the teachers to try out some activities with their learners.

End of July, the 16 subject heads participated in a 1 1/2 hour workshop, where they received a more detailed introduction to the WICD programme. Then we spent an hour watching the first four little videos, and going over the first batch of activities. There was something for almost every subject.

The teachers each picked an activity that might be relevant for their subject, reviewed it and filled in a detailed feedback form. They responded to questions such as: What do you like about this activity? Pros? – What do you not like? Cons. – What practical or other challenges do you foresee? – Does the Aim make sense as stated? If not please suggest alternative. – Can it double up as a school project or practical? – If it allows assessment, how would you assess it? Draft a rubric. They rated, if applicable, the suitable age or grade level for the activity, and in some cases indicated a particular part of the curriculum the activity speaks to.

The very helpful comments and suggestions are being incorporated into the programme currently.

Even though it was just a short session, and only a limited number of activities could be processed this time round, it proved that such a co-production workshop can generate much valuable feedback that draws on the practical expertise of in-service educators.

Subject heads logging into their private page on the EASTER Action website.

Multiplier workshop

Apart from expanding environmental education within their own school, Kloof High also expressed a wish to increase their environmental activities in the wider community.

It was time to test the ‘Multiplier’ concept, which takes the ‘train-the-trainer’ idea one step further: yes, empower educators to engage their learners, but then also empower learners to engage their families. By introducing activities that involve real-life activities in the home environment, we hope to spread knowledge and know-how way beyond the immediate participants, building climate literacy, and hopefully stimulating citizen climate action in the wider society.

Each participant received access to the videos and activity guides for the first four units, to use with their learners, via a private workshop page on the EASTER Action website. We have set up various feedback forms, to harvest comments and experiences, and we look forward to finding out if this approach works. Ultimately we hope that showcasing what others are doing will help motivate engagement and participation. It is a work in progress.

The workshop was attended by 11 amazing people: 2 school teachers (Hillcrest High, St Mary’s) and 9 environmental educators (including from WESSA, Wild Trust, Umkhumbane Schools Project, DUCT).

Feedback from participants: The small group format was much appreciated, as it gave everyone a chance to meet properly, network and hear about what others are doing. It also allowed ample time for questions and discussion. The programme content was described as “outstanding, especially with the short videos for each section… clear and easy to understand… useful… well-presented… Having the chance to go through each of the highlighted modules, watch the videos, and try the activities, was very beneficial… The activities were very useful in giving me ideas on how to better facilitate a lesson on climate change.”

Participants suggested keeping future workshops short and small, and also providing teaching tools (activities and videos) that speak better to younger learners at their level. The current content is aimed at high school learners, and is also suitable for grade 6&7.

Thank you everyone who came and made this such a memorable and pleasant day! And thank you Corné for your passion, and Kelly for your help with the organization!

The wonderful participants of Multiplier Workshop ‘Aardwolf’ – hopefully the first of many.

Climate change, Events, Uncategorized

Join us for a climate change edu-action workshop

This workshop offers training and resources on climate change, to empower educators to engage learners (and their families), to build climate change knowledge and know-how and stimulate action.

Participants who would like to engage their learners using the resources provided, receive up to 200 climate change booklets for distribution to learners (while stocks last – so don’t miss this unique opportunity). Participants also receive an activity guide and access to online video material.

WHO IS IT FOR?
Teachers or other educators of high school-age learners and upwards

PRESENTED BY:
Dr Marlies Craig (Click here for BIO)

HOSTED BY:
Kloof High School, in partnership with EASTER Action

PROGRAMME:
3 interactive 1-hour sessions with tea and lunch breaks

COST:
R500 per person (Includes resources, tea, and lunch)

WHERE:
Kloof High School, 34 Emolweni Rd, Kloof, KZN

Click here to register

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Background information:

The booklet ‘What I Can Do About Climate Change’ was produced by the Durban Office of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II Technical Support Unit* (free download). The booklet was prepared to increase the accessibility of IPCC science to help inform personal climate action in Durban.

The What I Can Do (WICD) Action Programme* was developed by the lead author of the booklet (Marlies Craig) to increase active engagement with the booklet. It contains brief lessons (videos), and guidelines for hands-on activities that are suitable for different ages and school subjects. Some are immediately relevant to different parts of the school curriculum. The programme is designed for schools, nature and conservation clubs or educational organizations, adding interest and giving ideas for things to do – in the classroom, on campus, ‘out there’ and at home.

This workshop presents four key units of the WICD Action Programme. In the following months, participants engage their learners (and families, achieving a ‘multiplier effect’) and provide feedback on activities and results. In other words, this is not a workshop that ends when everyone goes home. At a later stage, we hope to host a follow-up Climate Action Expo, where participants can showcase their projects and activities.

*Not an official product of the IPCC. Neither the booklet, nor the programme or training, are reviewed or endorsed by the IPCC.

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Climate change, Events

Walk the talk

On 19 May I presented at a Climate Change Seminar, under the slogan ‘Walk the talk’. It was part of a three-day-long Articulate Africa Art and Book Fair, hosted by eThekwini Municipality’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Unit. The seminar was attended by around 60 learners from 6 schools, along with around 40 teachers and local stakeholders.

The learners proved that they already know a lot about climate change. They got top scores for quiz questions about what the greenhouse effect is about, about the causes and effects of climate change, and whether scientists agreed on what was going on. Impressive!

Each participant got a copy of *What I Can Do About Climate Change*.

BUT, as we reflected before, knowledge does not automatically lead to action. Despite two centuries of climate science, and decades of international negotiations and agreements, government policies are still taking us to 3°C global warming or more. Yet the dangers even of current levels of warming (1.1°C) are clear, just read the news.

The climate crisis is much too serious to wait for governments to act, or to tell us what to do. Instead we, civil society, need to act of our own choice, and put pressure on government and industry to do the right thing. Democratic governments may not listen much to the science, but they do have to listen to the people. So let us ‘walk the talk’.

South Africa is the country with the 15th largest carbon footprint in the world. Climate change is not just someone else’s problem, but also ours. Page 6-7 in the booklet illustrates where all our country’s greenhouse gasses come from: 80% come from fossil fuels, about half of which goes to producing electricity from coal. To make a meaningful dent in our national carbon footprint, we need to reduce electricity consumption.

The residential electricity-related emissions can be very high, especially for appliances that are left running for many hours, such as air conditioners, heaters or geysers, and for those that involve heating.

The bar graph (on page 13 in the booklet) shows that electricity use in the home can generate many tons of carbon dioxide per year. How much is a ton?

In an interactive session, the learners at the seminar found out how to read and interpret a municipal electricity bill, and to calculate the electricity-related carbon footprint for a household.

Until renewable energy becomes a reality for all, we can respond to the climate crisis by reducing our electricity consumption. This also saves lots of money, given how electricity prices have sky-rocketed, and relieves the pressure on our struggling power grid. The checklist in the booklet shows many effective ways of reducing those kiloWatt-hours.

Let’s ‘walk the talk’ and save our planet!

Sustainable living

Rag rugs

The Internet is full of fantastic ideas for upcycling generally (turning waste into something useful), and rag-rugs specifically. Old T-shirts too stained to pass on as second-hand clothing, still find a use. Stretchy fabric works best. Ideally the fabric should not fray.

Rags to strips

Start by cutting off any seams. Then cut the fabric into strips, in a zig-zag pattern to make one long continuous ribbon. You don’t need to cut straight either, curves is fine.

On fabrics that stretch in one direction only, it is better cutting in the direction of the stretch rather than across it.

The strips can be from 1 to 3cm wide. The thinner the fabric, the wider the strips.

The thicker the yarn, the thicker the final carpet will turn out.

Find a route that has the smallest off-cuts, for instance:

To save time, fold the fabric in half. Cut from the fold to within 1cm of the edge. Open up the fabric, and snip through to the edge, on alternating rows, to create a continuous strip, like this:

Strips to yarn

To connect individual strips quickly and easily, loop them through each other. Cut slots into the ends; first push the end of strip A through the slot in B, then pull strip B through the slot in A:

Once I got a huge bag of off-cuts from a T-shirt factory. It took ages to untangle all that cotton Lycra – much longer than it took to crochet the rugs afterwards.

Yarn to rug

If you don’t know how to crochet, check out Sarah‘s blog for example. The simplest crochet pattern starts with a chain, and then works back and forth until the rug is long enough.

The last time I crocheted anything was at age 5.

Here is an alternative pattern for a rectangular rug. Hopefully the instructions make sense. (I am a complete novice and cannot read or write a proper crochet recipe.)

First, mark out on the floor how big you want the rug to be. Mark out two right-angled triangles on each end. Measure how long the starting chain needs to be. Calculate 2cm per stitch.

On this rug the starting chain was 50cm long, about 25 stitches.

Use a 10mm thick crocheting hook.

Create a chain (Step 4 on Sarah’s blog)
‘Work into the chain’ (Step 5)
As you get back to the beginning, put three stitches in the end loop of the chain (figure A below).
Crochet along the chain and do the same on the other end (A).
On the next round, add an extra stitch on each of the four corners (B).
On the following round, and each round thereafter, add two stitches in each corner (C).
With each round, there are two extra stitches on each side of the rectangle (D).
When the rug is big enough, or you run out of yarn, fasten off (Step 9).

Climate change, Events, Resources

Climate Action Programme

On Youth Day (24 June 2022) the South African Youth Climate Change Coalition (SAYCCC) ran a workshop in Durban to strategize how to ramp up climate change action and activism, now that Covid-19 restrictions have been relaxed.

It was a timely opportunity for EASTERaction to hand out copies of What I Can Do About Climate Change booklet, and to present our plans for a brand new Action Programme to go with it, which we hope to roll out over the next year.

Participants included representatives from SAYCCC-affiliated climate action groups such as Durban South Peacebuilders, Durban Youth Climate Council, eThekwini municipality, Green Anglicans, Ray Nkonyeni Municipality, uShaka Marine World Education, Vascowiz, and our lovely local beauty pageant, Miss Petite Globe SA, Zoe Nyandeni, who wants to help spread the word on climate change and sustainable living. Go Zoe!!

The booklet was originally written to inform eThekwini municipal councilors about personal climate action. One day before our workshop, the booklet was distributed at a climate induction workshop run by the Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department.

Thank you SAYCCC for this opportunity and for your enthusiasm! We very much look forward collaborating on ‘the biggest challenge facing humankind ever’.