Learning how to sustainably address climate change

Encouraging the responsibility and decision-making of young people to adapt to the regional consequences of climate change in Baden-Württemberg

Dipl.-Geogr. Kai Guckes, Dr. Simone Fischer,Prof. Dr. Alexander Siegmund

Several signs indicate the regional impacts of global climate change in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Due to cultural and natural diversity of the landscape, the change of climate-parameters, such as temperature or rainfall, is distributed very heterogeneous across Baden-Wuerttemberg. Therefore, a multifaceted adaptation strategy is needed to tackle the current and future challenges of climate change on a regional level at early stages. Based on these considerations, the project “Learning how to sustainably address climate change” uses a multi- and interdisciplinary approach that aims at improving attitudes, knowledge, capabilities and practical skills of young people to cope with challenges of climate change on a regional level. The project focuses on three major subject areas – agriculture, forestry and close-to-nature ecosystems – all of them linked to the participants’ living environment and directly perceptible. The project is based on an action-oriented triad which was developed using field surveys, in-depth laboratory analyses, and the simplification of interrelationships by experiments and models in the project “ReKli:B – Learning to evaluate regional climate change” by “Geco-Lab, Centre of Competence for Geo-ecological Space Exploration” at the Department of Geography at the Heidelberg University of Education. Building on these experiences, other regions in Baden-Wuerttemberg are analysed with regard to their specific characteristics of climate changes. The findings will be adapted, developed and optimized.

The project partnership with several schools is a starting point for a continued anchoring of “KliN!"’s educational concept in school and out-of-school environmental education. The modules will be available after the end of the project through methodology toolboxes and a multiplier training program.