Climate Education: Greening the Curriculum
Situated in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Talgarth, Wales, is a college at the vanguard of climate education.
Photo credit: Art.Earth
Black Mountains College, a higher education institution that describes itself as an ‘experimental college for climate action and adaptation’, has launched a BA in sustainable futures for September 2023 entry. The college claims to be the first to offer a bachelor’s degree in climate action.
Working in partnership with Cardiff Metropolitan University, the course aims to prepare future generations for tackling the climate emergency through the combination of classroom learning, industry placements, and outdoor training.
Troed yr Harn, the college’s farm campus, provides a unique opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the natural world as they gain skills in critical and ecological thinking, systems change, and the creative arts.
The degree in sustainable futures is part of a broader trend towards implementing sustainability in education. The government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and Net Zero Strategy has a vision for the UK to be the “world-leading education sector in sustainability and climate change by 2030.”
The UK government plans to achieve this by “preparing all young people for a world impacted by climate change through learning and practical experience.”
Black Mountains College CEO Ben Rawlence believes that the holistic nature of the degree in sustainable futures equips students with the knowledge and tools to find solutions to the climate crisis. “[The students] are going to understand how change happens and be schooled in theories of organisational change.”
From a policy paper published by the Department for Education (DfE) last year, it is clear that the education system plays a fundamental role in nurturing future changemakers through climate education.
In April 2022, former education secretary Nadhim Zahawi announced plans to develop a GCSE in natural history by September 2025. The new qualification, introduced by exam board OCR, was backed by the DfE as part of its sustainability and climate change strategy.
The course offers students the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the natural world through the exploration of topics from wildlife and ecosystems to biodiversity and climate change.
According to a position statement released by OCR, the purpose of a more sustainable curriculum is to teach students about the “science and politics of climate change’ […] and ‘how to influence and support green initiatives.”
In 2021, PPL PWR and our partner organisations including UCell and the UK School Sustainability Network (UKSSN) worked together to launch the Pupil Power Roadshow, a youth training programme for over 50 young climate activists from 12 different regions across the UK.
The students had the opportunity to attend the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, and were given an international platform to advocate for sustainable change in areas including finance, conservation, and energy storage.
Some stakeholders are calling for green issues to be integrated into every subject in the curriculum. Youth-led campaign Teach the Future believe that current climate education is inadequate as “students are not prepared to face the effects of climate change, or taught to understand the solutions.”
In a statement on the Black Mountains College website, Mr Rawlence highlights the importance of approaching the climate question from different perspectives:
“Climate breakdown affects all sectors of society and the economy and cannot be addressed through the lens of one subject.”
From 2022, the DfE plans to introduce an annual climate literacy survey to assess the understanding of the earth’s climate and the impact of global warming among school leavers.
The findings of the Young Person’s Omnibus survey conducted last year revealed that 60% of school leavers are concerned about climate change and believe that they’ll be affected by climate change in their lifetime.
To meet the needs of an increasingly eco-conscious generation, it’s vital that climate education is a central focus of future curriculum reforms across all education levels.
To find out more about the courses, taster days, and other events organised by Black Mountains College this year, click here.