STAGE 3: EXPLAIN HOW SCHOOLS CAN REDUCE EMISSIONS

The ‘Explain’ phase enables students to develop explanations for the phenomenon they have experienced. The significant aspect of this phase is that explanation follows experience.

Step 3.1 
Research task 2 - Pathways to action

Suggested Subject Area: Environmental Education/Geography/ Literacy

Purpose
To provide students with opportunities to:

• Use a variety of comprehension, questioning and writing techniques to examine a variety of actions to improve sustainability adapt to climate change and reduce their carbon footprint.
  
• Understand the meaning of actions to improve sustainability, adapt to climate change and reduce their carbon footprint
  
• Develop skills of comprehension, interpretation and presentation of written and photographic material
  
• Access new information which may answer some of their earlier questions
  
• Raise other questions for students to explore in later activities
  
• Generate both a personal and a group list of ideas.
  

Preparation
You will need:

• Access to the Internet or a print out of a number of case studies about sustainable schools in Australia, Indonesia and/or European countries.
  

Procedure
Other schools and the community have used a variety of actions to improve sustainability, adapt to a changing climate and reduce their carbon footprint.

In groups, invite students to decide upon how they could improve sustainability, consider ways to adapt to cope with changes to the climate and reduce the school’s carbon footprint by reflecting on the variety of actions that are undertaken in other schools. 

Ask questions like:

• What types of action could we undertake?
• Are some solutions more sustainable than others? Why?
• How will we know if the changes we make have been successful in using energy more sustainably?
  

Read some case studies about the increasing numbers of schools which are factoring sustainable actions, the need to change and their carbon footprint forecasts into their management decisions. Ask students to use the case studies to collect reference material about how other schools have approached some climate and sustainability issues in their schools and the solutions they developed as a school community.

Students work in groups.  Each group is to locate relevant information on what schools are doing within the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) or the Green School in Bali, Indonesia, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at school and in the community.

See:

• Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) http://www.environment.gov.au/education/aussi/case-studies/index.html
  
• Green School http://www.greenschool.org/
  
• Eco Schools http://www.eco-schools.org/
  
• Carbo Schools http://www.carboeurope.org/education/
  

Encourage students to research, list and describe the various projects and initiatives in use within one or more of these schools that encourage schools to improve sustainability and reduce the school’s carbon footprint.

Discussion
Talk with the students about approaches that can help the school and its community adapt to climate change as well as mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Invite students to consider some of the ways other children are adapting to their circumstances.

See: http://www.savethechildren.org.au/what-we-do/climate-change-and-disasters/climate-change-adaptation where children and communities are:

Coping with drought

• Building contours around the school and community to conserve water
  
• Harvesting rainwater in underground tanks
  
• Growing crops in alternative ways
  
• Using drip irrigation to water plants
  
• Drying food and storing it for the monsoon and wet seasons
  
• Planting bamboo along rivers to stop erosion, and
  
• Increasing awareness and skills in the local community to understand the risks and impacts of climate change on people, livestock and crops.
  

Next - STEP 3.2: Explain continued