Teachers & Climate Change
September 2019
I am joining the climate strike in The Hague on the 27th of September. I completely understand not everyone is able to join a strike, so what else can we as teachers do to contribute to a healthier planet? (Hint: #2 only takes a minute!).
“Why should I be studying for a future that soon may be no more, when no one is doing anything to save that future?” – Greta Thunberg (2018)
Greta has a point, and a good one too. I think we can all agree that education is incredibly important, but so is taking #climatechange seriously. We need to take responsibility, and we need to do it now. Below are a few tips for us teachers to make a difference.
Teach!
It is what we do best, and what we should continue to do. It all starts with raising awareness. Teach your students about climate change (and perhaps link it to the subject you teach?). Let them calculate the numbers for themselves, or dive into the topic from a scientific or political perspective.
Install Ecosia
I tried, but I can’t write an article without promoting a digital tool… Ecosia is a free search engine, similar to Google, that allocates its profits to planting trees. All the ads you see generate money, which will be donated to organisations that plant the trees. You can easily install a plug-in (click here!) for your browser that allows you to search with Ecosia without any effort, and it counts how many trees were planted with your contribution. Oh, and don’t forget to encourage others to use Ecosia, too!
Don’t print, share!
Deforestation is still the number one cause of climate change. 15 percent of the CO2 emissions comes from deforestation, and per minute, forests the size of 27 football fields are lost. We cut down trees for many reasons, of which creating paper is one. By using less paper, you save trees. And it’s easy too! Use Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive to share documents, or simply email them if that’s easier for you. If there’s no other way and you really need to print, at least make sure the paper gets recycled and perhaps consider donating to an organisation that plants trees, to compensate.
Speak up!
We have plenty of staff meetings, so why not use them to address sustainability within your organisation? What do you already do for the environment? How could your school lead by example to inspire students?
Join forces!
Most of the subjects we already teach, are related to climate change. Join forces with colleagues (and students!) and set up a research project, school trip, extracurricular activity, or assignment together to get your students thinking. Climate change science can be connected to biology, geography, calculus, history, social studies, and many more I am probably forgetting. Or instead of a project, organise a sweater day!
What are you going to do for our future?
“Why should I be studying for a future that soon may be no more, when no one is doing anything to save that future?” – Greta Thunberg (2018)
Greta has a point, and a good one too. I think we can all agree that education is incredibly important, but so is taking #climatechange seriously. We need to take responsibility, and we need to do it now. Below are a few tips for us teachers to make a difference.
Teach!
It is what we do best, and what we should continue to do. It all starts with raising awareness. Teach your students about climate change (and perhaps link it to the subject you teach?). Let them calculate the numbers for themselves, or dive into the topic from a scientific or political perspective.
Install Ecosia
I tried, but I can’t write an article without promoting a digital tool… Ecosia is a free search engine, similar to Google, that allocates its profits to planting trees. All the ads you see generate money, which will be donated to organisations that plant the trees. You can easily install a plug-in (click here!) for your browser that allows you to search with Ecosia without any effort, and it counts how many trees were planted with your contribution. Oh, and don’t forget to encourage others to use Ecosia, too!
Don’t print, share!
Deforestation is still the number one cause of climate change. 15 percent of the CO2 emissions comes from deforestation, and per minute, forests the size of 27 football fields are lost. We cut down trees for many reasons, of which creating paper is one. By using less paper, you save trees. And it’s easy too! Use Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive to share documents, or simply email them if that’s easier for you. If there’s no other way and you really need to print, at least make sure the paper gets recycled and perhaps consider donating to an organisation that plants trees, to compensate.
Speak up!
We have plenty of staff meetings, so why not use them to address sustainability within your organisation? What do you already do for the environment? How could your school lead by example to inspire students?
Join forces!
Most of the subjects we already teach, are related to climate change. Join forces with colleagues (and students!) and set up a research project, school trip, extracurricular activity, or assignment together to get your students thinking. Climate change science can be connected to biology, geography, calculus, history, social studies, and many more I am probably forgetting. Or instead of a project, organise a sweater day!
What are you going to do for our future?