Climate Action Programme Introduction
The Climate Action Programme has two main aims.
Firstly, it aims to increase knowledge and understanding of the causes and effects of climate change and sustainability amongst the whole school community.
Secondly, it aims to stimulate action to reduce the school's carbon dioxide emissions. This can be done by launching energy saving initiatives or enhancing existing ones. It is also an opportunity to check energy bills and make sure that you are paying the right amount and not just relying on utility company estimates.
The Climate Action Programme consists of six classroom sessions, each about 2 hours in duration. The sessions have been used with Key Stage 2 classes in twenty-five primary schools in the Harrogate District.
We have a set of interactive resources which schools in the Harrogate District can borrow free of charge.
Find out what is available.
The sessions are as follows:
This session looks at the journey of electricity from the fossil fuel used in the power station, to the appliances we use at home and school. Carbon dioxide is introduced.
This session looks at how carbon dioxide is increasing the greenhouse effect, which is leading to climate change. The effects of climate change throughout the world are discussed.
This session explains that we often waste energy, which is increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However there are many ways to cut this waste, by using the right technology, using insulation and changing our behaviour.
Using five specific cases, this session allows students to investigate the school, looking for places where energy is being wasted and reporting their findings to the class. Their findings can also be used as the basis for a Climate Action Plan for the whole school to follow.
This session explains renewable technologies that don't produce carbon dioxide. Working examples of wind, solar PV panels and solar hot water panels are available to schools in the Harrogate District, to demonstrate this.
This session takes a wider look at sustainability and our use of resources. Students calculate their own "Global Footprint" to measure their personal impact on the world. the Three Rs "reduce, reuse and recycle", are discussed, as a way to reduce the size of everyone's Global Footprint.