The Ministry of Agriculture, Lands Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) launched the Climate Change Toolkit for Primary Schools on Friday, 24 June 2016. The climate change toolkit “How to become a Greenz Climate Champion” introduces the topic of climate change and adaptation in 8 activity-based and interactive units to primary school teachers and students.
The Ministry with assistance from GIZ introduced the toolkit to 49 primary schools in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. It consists of a teacher manual, a worksheet collection, student passports, stickers and posters. Grenadian illustrator Stacey Byer developed child-friendly images for each unit. To date, 400 posters and 900 student passports including sticker sets were delivered to primary schools.
In his remarks, Minister for Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the Hon. Minister Roland Bhola stated that, “I appreciate the simple language and how it approaches difficult topics like the ‘greenhouse effect’ or ‘ocean pollution’ in a playful manner.”
As part of the Grenadian–German Programme “Integrated Climate Change Adaptation Strategies” (ICCAS), 7 teacher workshops were held across the island state including Carriacou and Petite Martinique during the past year. The teachers provided comprehensive feedback on the different units and have already begun to use the toolkit resources in their classrooms.
The toolkit was developed as a response to the lack of material that allows for a simple but effective and direct explanation of the often scientific topic of climate change. Deputy Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Mrs Charles- Viechweg, commended the practicality of the toolkit and noted that, “it has been a challenge for schools to receive scientific resources regarding climate change… the toolkit is a welcome and timely approach to an important issue that affects us all.”
The development of the toolkit is an initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the Ministry of Education and GIZ as part of the ICCAS Programme. The programme is funded by the German Ministry for the Environment, Building, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) as part of its International Climate Initiative (IKI), and implemented jointly by the Environment Division of the MALFFE, GIZ and UNDP.
If you want to become a “Greenz Climate Champions”, all material can be downloaded from the Greenz Climate Champion website.
