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We are pleased to present you with a new fortnightly collection of news and opportunities around climate change education. As usual we are looking beyond what’s happening in school to the wider systems where education around the interconnections of climate change will help all communities. 

Before we move into sharing links, we want to let you know about the current inquiry on community-led adaptation and retreat. ACEC plans to make a submission focussing on the role and contributions of learning and education for climate justice. If you are already involved in making a submission and/or would like to have input into ACEC’s submission, please get in touch ASAP!

As background, the Ministry for the Environment has published an issues and options paper looking at the current system and exploring what new powers, roles and responsibilities might be needed to support community-led adaptation and retreat. The paper also considers how a Te Tiriti-based adaptation system could work for iwi, hapū and Māori communities, especially for decisions affecting whenua and whānau, and how lessons learned from past severe weather events and natural disasters might be considered for recoveries in the future. Submissions close Wednesday 1st November.

Good News Story:

Climate science inspires students to drive down emissions

A GNS Science atmospheric greenhouse gas sensor at an Auckland primary school gate has revealed peaks in emissions during morning drop-off, inspiring students to organise a campaign to ‘drive it down’ and reduce their carbon footprint – with spectacular results.

Competition:

Funding for youth-led climate justice projects

At the Festival for the Future earlier this year, creative writing workshops were held with 145 young people where they dreamt into a vision for climate justice in Aotearoa. The stories were analysed to create a collective vision, which you can find visualised on the website link below.  Now, the Impact Challenge has three prizes of $1,000 to giveaway to young people (14 - 30) to run a project, event or campaign aligned with their co-created vision for climate justice. What could climate justice and community resilience look like in your community? Applications close soon - Sunday 8th October.

Blogs and Articles:

Critiquing the language we use around climate and the environment education

Within climate and environmental education circles, we often wrestle with what words and language to use when talking about climate, sustainability, the environment, and human connections to nature. In Aotearoa New Zealand it is even more important to critically reflect on the language and worldviews that are used in this space, and whose voices are shaping the discourse. Within the Aotearoa Climate Education Coalition, this is something we are conscious we need to keep working on. This recent blog on Earthday.org critiques the influence of English language on climate conversations, arguing that “nuanced and accessible language is necessary to nurture a community for activism that can begin to address the multitude of environmental issues”.

Paper: The Behavioural crisis driving ecological overshoot 

This paper, led by New Zealand-based conservationist Joseph Merz is really well summarised in this Heated blog. It argues that in addition to technological climate solutions, there needs to be systemic change to societal norms if we are to avoid ecological overshoot.

The Kākā Project: The economics of sufficiency (substack.com)

Environmental historian and author Catherine Knight on why ‘feel good' actions like recycling and owning an electric car are unlikely to be enough to create a transition to zero emissions, let alone a just one.

The concentric circles of individual climate action

So, when it comes to climate change, does individual action matter? This post from Project Drawdown says emphatically, yes. What you can do in your home and workplace is important, but personal climate action also looks a lot like ripples expanding out from a pebble dropped in a pond. Read about five concentric circles that can help you channel your energy for climate action into ever-widening circles of influence.

And finally, because we can’t avoid the election campaign completely, Nadine Anne Hura in The Spinoff uses The Titanic as a backdrop to compare this election’s climate change policies. 

Podcasts and Videos:

Climate Change and Mātauranga Māori

Climate Connect and Tataki Auckland Unlimited, has launched a new resource called He Kete Mātauranga, a resource for climate and community leaders to learn more about Māori approaches to climate change and regenerative practices.  

In this podcast, Cornell Tukiri talks with Vincent Heeringa about the approach that they are taking in gathering the stories which are presented as half-hour videos. (The podcast This Climate Business, is also worth exploring further).

Another local podcast to subscribe to is NUWAO Podcast Sessions.  NUWAO is a research project whose aim is to develop nature-based urban design solutions, rooted in indigenous knowledge, that support climate change adaptation and individual and community wellbeing in different contexts across Aotearoa and Oceania. The series features interviews with a diverse range of researchers from Aotearoa and the Pacific including James Renwick, Amanda Yates, Albert Refiti, and Māia-te-oho Holman-Wharehoka.

Iwi held symposium on the impacts of climate change

Ngāi Tahu is starting to see insurance retreat affect its marae and papakāinga homes. In this RNZ story, Kaiwhakahaere Lisa Tumahai said the iwi held a climate change symposium to signal the importance of adapting to and mitigating the impacts of global warming. Climate change 'challenge of our lifetime' - Ngāi Tahu | RNZ News.

Opportunities:

Asia-Pacific Youth environmental defenders and activists want to connect

Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn writes “A couple of weeks' ago, I attended two Asia-Pacific (EHRDs)-related conferences in Bangkok. The youth there made compelling interventions about their communities' and peoples' situations, battling all kinds of nefarious forces to protect what they value. They're also keen to connect with Aotearoa'n and Pacific youth environmental defenders and activists. If mobilising some kind of gathering/ event/ project interests you, get in touch with Catherine.

Partnerships for Climate Action Symposium Thursday 2nd November

This free online event is open to anyone with an interest in championing climate empowerment through effective ‘Partnerships for the Goals’. Brought to you by International Universities Climate Alliance (IUCA), Monash University, and UNSW Sydney, in collaboration with regional partners, this online special event will enable you to explore the importance of real-world partnerships with governments, NGO’s, the private sector, and local communities. This collaboration brings together a diverse group of stakeholders to explore best practices in developing successful partnerships that promote climate empowerment throughout the Asia Pacific region. More detail on the two sessions and registration details can be found here.

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