The Climate Literacy and Action Project (CLAP) is an initiative of The Sustainability Hub held across thirteen private and government (13) schools in Abuja. The project involves three components: Climate Literacy classes, teacher trainers’ workshop and a climate action project.
The project was successfully implemented in schools from May to July 2022 by The Sustainability Hub team. 745 students and 19 teacher trainers on Climate Education were directly reached by the project. Each of the schools embarked on an action project as their contribution to the mitigation of climate change within the school premises.
Climate Literacy: The first phase of the project; the climate literacy classes were held in June at each school for about 4 hours. The classes employed a learner-centred approach to climate education with exciting activities to enhance their understanding of the subject. Each class ended with a quiz competition to reinforce the learning experience.
Recognising that teachers need to be equipped to support their students in climate action beyond the organisation’s intervention, two teacher representatives from each participating school were invited for the Teachers’ Climate Education Workshop at Merit House, Abuja On Saturday, 25th June 2022. The teachers were further enlightened about climate change and effective pedagogies (cognitive, affective and psychomotor) for teaching climate change were shared with the teachers while equipping them with techniques of handling eco-anxiety in students.
The third phase of the project focused on direct climate action from the students within their schools. Using the slogan CLAP for Climate, the very enthusiastic learners implemented the action projects under supervision of The Sustainability Hub team members and the assigned teachers in each school.
In his words, the Director of Education at Abuja Municipal Area Council, Dr Sheriff Ibrahim said the project is a welcome one and one that should be scaled up to more schools across the Area Council and beyond. He thereafter expressed gratitude to the Muhammad Sanusi II SDG Challenge (MSII SDG Challenge) and One Million Teachers supporting the Climate Literacy and Action Project.
The lead educator at The Sustainability Hub, Mujidah Ajibola says the project was borne out of the need to involve young people in the fight against climate change. “Climate change is waging a war against human existence and children and young people are the ones who are, and will continue to live with the impacts of the changing climate. Therefore, there is an urgent need to let children know about the changes happening, the causes and what they can do to help. Most importantly, children must be made to see themselves as agents of change and actually start from the school.