Here, Education is the Action

When I was in first standard, I was introduced to the world of EVS or Environmental Education. I remember how the term ‘pollution’ made such an impact on a 6-year-old me, especially noise pollution, it perplexed me.?

The idea that something so normal in excess terms can cause havoc, was a feeling I could not familiarise myself with.

When I was 12, I stopped bursting any crackers on Diwali, mainly because of its impact on the environment - and also because of the impact that environmental education had on me.?

I am not saying there is an ideal precedent to follow, but conversations impact us so much. As we are generally taught that learning is a life-long process, but education is more layered.

Even my MBA was essentially our classroom discussion which stuck with us, and how.

We remember facts from school, teachers who were kind and amazing, subjects and their peculiarities with which we have no working relationship left anymore, and just values and principles that subconsciously get inculcated into our system.

The point being, from school to a doctorate, education is integral to our system. What our initial schooling does to us, goes a very long way - right from basic alphabet to trigonometry that we might never use in life again.

It is surprising how as we grow older, so many things that are not normal feel normal - just because we are used to seeing them that way. In a world with a plethora of uncertainty and climate-induced anxiety and massive natural calamities, the least we can do is sensitise our children about this, while ensuring that they don’t think this is ‘normal’, but rather change it for the better.

Just to see if I am the only one in this pool of climate-anxious people, I spoke to some of you, my readers, to get your perspective on if we are in the same boat and how we can work towards climate change education.?

As I conclude my three-part series on ‘Climate Change and Children’, I circulated an anonymous survey link, which was filled by people from various domains of work. From Surgeons, Teachers, Chartered Accountants, Members of the Indian Army, Flight Operations Engineer, Reservoir Engineer, to Researchers, Sustainability Professionals and Students - people from the age group of 15 to 40, parents as well as children.

The survey was a lot about the conversation around climate change, how we can normalise it and what should the children of today really be taught about.

This edition of ‘The Break Down’ today is rather a compilation of all your responses, while working towards a solution accessible to all.?

When it came to asking about what they would like to see in the curriculum from an Indian context, they said how they wanted Subjects which help develop critical thinking that can help incorporate solutions in every area.?

It's really important for people to know that for them to help, they don't necessarily have to work in the field but can incorporate it in all the fields. A reality check is also important when it comes to education as to why only conventions and conferences do not mean success and that there is so much more to it, but the knowledge of bodies like the United Nations and allied associations is also fundamental.

It is also essential that every student needs to be sensitised about climate change and its effects. They should be made aware that their choices matter a lot and it is their choices that can make a change, and relate all impacts of climate change on their own lives. This is not just the responsibility of the schools but also the parents.

It was also important to assess the factor that time plays. A lot can change through decades, the bigger question is - has it?

If the conversation has not changed, then we need to create a new one. On the same,

When asked what suggestions my respondents have for Climate Change Education, the following points came up. How we can keep a separate compulsory subject for students to enlighten them on climate change, and start teaching children from a young age. How spending time in nature can be like a practical visit and an overview of problems.

Specific courses on sustainability should be made a must and we need Climate Workshops, along with the internal regularisation of practices like Waste Management and Garbage Collection.

All of these points should be duly noted, and they can be integrated with one another for any process or pedagogy utilised, or with a different target audience, a different mode of interaction could be begun with. With a subject as visible, relevant and diverse such as climate change, there is much more than one process to work with.

Another parameter to measure was if people working beyond domains had seen the topic of climate change crop up, but the answers were varying, just as the reality.?

From there being too many reasons to mention, to the mention of rising pollution levels but not enough surrounding conversation. Some of my readers were perplexed about multiple sustainability jargons, about how only problems are highlighted but no solutions are given, and a few perspectives about how ESG targets rather low-hanging fruits and words at times do not translate into action. A few comments also surrounded around how conscious organisations are trying to be more sustainable but are essentially passing on the costs of sustainability to the consumers padding their bottom lines.

There were some positive contributions as well, like how ‘Schools are doing their bit by undertaking projects such as water audit, green school projects, children planting trees around school premises and apex bodies like cbse has introduced environmental education.’?

How, ‘in the field of finance, specifically in the Indian markets there have been conversations happening around the globe with regards to sustainability and ESG, the Indian market players might seem to be less involved in these. However, with the regulatory authorities introducing various projects and initiatives, there is a rising curiosity and people are growing keen about topics like climate change and global warming.’

Being a Sustainability professional myself, some of these answers seem brutal, but true indeed. When it comes to creating actionable change in sustainability, only embracing different perceptions and incorporating strict measures can help. It is key to acknowledge practices like?

Greenwashing, and all that we can do to increase transparency and combat it. When we talk about facilitating individual action, it starts with identifying gaps in everyday life

When one understands the gravity of the issue and its ability to impact one’s own life, it is easy to become more observant.

I further asked my audience how they think individual accountability and action is fundamental to climate action and what all can we do at a personal level.

Here is what I got. ‘All of us can practise green habits’, ‘A community on YouTube can exist which is only to spread knowledge by pitching the ideas of people from different regions globally’, and how ‘There should be direct tax benefits, reduced medical insurance fees, tuition reimbursements, free or subsidised upgrade of house infrastructure, radical changes in automobile industry, reduction or elimination of carbon fuels consumption from some sectors to make significant impact’.

People also highlighted how Igniting self awareness is the first step to begin with and workshops and focus groups can impart and make students aware. We also need to teach ourselves and start our own procedures, while being connected to the basics of recycling and cognizant of our environmental footprint.?

I also got inputs on how by? stimulating conversations and debriefings and interactive sessions on this topic right from primary school to workplaces we can bring change at the grassroots level. And, as someone said, ‘ we can connect with ourselves, deeper layered reasons for consuming (as a consumer) and producing and daily decision making ( as a producer) may help unearth some beliefs that we are not even aware we have’.

The final question in my survey was around recommendations for school curriculums at the regulatory level. There were many innovative insights here. Right from Green Projects to be made mandatory for school students, to teaching students cloud seeding and how weather can be altered artificially. Students also should be made part of the solution. ‘Incentivise their participation. Disincentive parents/guardians who are not promoting it. Social stigma and shame should be followed for non-participating entities’ - this was also a strict perspective I received.

The first step towards climate action is education. To understand the need, relevance and potential impact it can have is the awareness we need.

Facilitating accountability, better behaviour in terms of all aspects of sustainability, a basic sense of respect towards the planet, we live on and how to treat our surroundings can only come when it is deeply inculcated in our system.

When something needs to be changed through and through, we usually say that it needs a systematic shift - but in this case, we are the system, and we are the ones who need to create a shift.?

It’s starts today, right now. And literally from our homes.