Why do we need Climate Education?
a collection of quotes from our volunteers
As 2021 draws to a close and the second reading of our climate education bill draws closer, we thought it would be a good idea to take it back to square one and remind ourselves of why we are working on this campaign in the first place. We reached out to our current volunteers from all across the UK and asked them the question that started it all: Why do we need Climate Education? Here are some of their responses…
“...so future generations don't have the same fear for the planet and our lives as we do.”
- Libi Dougan, they/she, 17, Cheshire
"We, as a society, cannot get through the Climate Crisis and deliver a better, sustainable planet to the children of today and the adults of tomorrow if we don't know what we're up against. Without holistic Climate Education, we won't learn what we can do to protect our children and protect the planet against our past mistakes."
- Izzy King, they/them, 20, East Yorkshire
“I think it's very important that people my age are aware of what's happening to the environment and what we can do to help the planet.”
“I grew up terrified - watching apocalyptic headlines come through and because I’m not a scientist, not a geographer, not having the knowledge to fully understand them. My education failed me because after 14 years in a classroom I was still paralysed with fear thinking about climate change. It was only when I understood that I could be a part of the solution that I overcame that, and it’s that agency we rob our students and our world of when we siphon the climate only into STEM and geography. How can we say we want a ‘green industrial revolution’ when only a tiny percentage of students are given the training to help solve this crisis?”
- Phoebe L. Hanson, she/her, 20, Staffordshire
“We need Climate Education as it provides a basis for swathes of necessary learning currently ignored in our curriculum; it opens doors for meaningful conversations on everything from global politics to local agriculture. Only once we all truly understand this emergency will we be able to fully tackle it and ensure it never occurs again - comprehensive education is the only route to rooting out that ignorance.”
- Jude Daniel Smith, he/him, 17, Sheffield
“We need climate education to protect and empower the next generation, removing the wool from their eyes and teaching them how to swim. I’m terrified for my future in the face of the climate crisis and this is partly because I haven’t been equipped with the knowledge and the tools to truly understand it, combat it and inevitably face it. “
- Natasha Pavey, she/her, 19, Exeter/ London
"Young people will be the ones who will have to live with the worst impacts of the climate crisis, so it's only right they should be taught about its impacts and solutions. At the very least we're owed the right to learn about the mess that's been handed down to us."
- Adam Waters, he/him, 18, Birmingham
“Education is a fundamental building block in shaping the future. As it stands, that future is one drastically impacted by climate change, and therefore we need our learning to be focussed around the crisis at hand. Every subject needs to integrate climate education, because every job has the potential to be a green job, and every student has the potential to be a changemaker.”
“...to stop us sleepwalking into an alien disaster we didn't know was coming.”
- Rosa Winterbottom, she/her, 15, Exeter
“We need climate education so that we can deal with the inevitability of the climate crisis in the UK and so we have a better understanding of what is happening across the world and how we can help those people in the most affected places.”
- Charlotte Lastoweckyi, she/they, 20, Manchester
“Despite studying science at high school and university, it has taken me to reach Masters level education before I've ever formally learnt about climate justice. I wish I'd learnt about this way earlier - it's such an important concept!”
- Martha Stokes, she/her, 28, Scotland
“We need climate education to foster a new generation of forward thinkers, who are considerate and aware global citizens. Learning about current social issues and those suffering due to climate change would empower and concern all pupils. Therefore building their empathy and compassion towards victims of the climate crisis & oppression that comes alongside it.”
- Stella Orrin, she/her, 16, Neath Port Talbot
“Climate education is as essential as any other type of education, knowledge or skill, like how to communicate or count. If we are to combat this crisis then we need these climate micro-credentials to be as natural to us as the alphabet!”
- Bea Harrison, she/her, 16, London
“Education is supposed to prepare us for the future, equip us with the skills needed for the workplace and the future, but the education system at present lacks. In light of the climate crisis we face, students currently are not being informed well enough about what we can do to help limit the effects. Most of our knowledge comes from wider reading, social media and the internet. To minimise the scale of impact climate change has, a climate education is vital and much needed as soon as possible.”
- Grace Leung, she/her, 15, London
“We need climate education to teach young people about the climate crisis, because it's going to be a major part of everyone's lives in the years to come. We need to prepare and educate people about what the climate crisis is and how to effectively address it.”
- Josie Morgan, she/her, 15, Colwyn Bay
"We need to learn about the climate crisis so that we can be part of the solution in tackling the greatest threat to face our generation."
- Josh Tregale, he/him, 19, Dorset
“We need climate education because we cannot achieve climate justice if we do not first know about the injustice the climate crisis will cause.”
- Tess Corcoran, 17, Perthshire
“We need climate education to move the climate crisis conversation from just our country and the science of it, to a broad perspective that takes into consideration the impact on the global south and the legacy of imperialism.”
- Thiziri Boussaid, she/her, 18, Worcestershire
“We need climate education to give students the chance to be educated about one of the most important issues facing humanity today. Education is a human right and the only way to tackle this paramount problem is to first learn about it.”
- Karan Baishkiyar, he/him, 17, Bracknell Forest
“Students need to learn about the climate crisis so that we can comprehensively understand the challenges of our changing world and adapt accordingly. This means that we can build a resilient society where we have all of the knowledge, skills and resources necessary to deal with the climate crisis and contribute to a green workforce.”
- Scarlett Westbrook, she/her, 17, West Midlands
“School is meant to prepare us for our future; the way to do this is through climate education.”
- Karis Mcintyre, she/her, 16, Salisbury
“I think we need to keep pressing for climate education because just knowing that it's happening is not enough. If we’re the ones that will have to face it then we should be properly equipped with the knowledge and skills to fight it.”
- Rachel Tam, she/her, 19, Shropshire
“The climate crisis is one which is already changing our world, and peoples lives, for the worse and will continue to do so. Our education, however, is still not treating it like the crisis it is. We are not learning about the severity of our situation, or the solutions, in a way that gives us hope or makes it seem possible to solve. This has to change because it is a crisis which will affect our futures and will no doubt be the biggest problem our generations will be forced to face. We need to be able to understand it before we can begin to understand how to pressure governments to bring about the systematic change we need and mitigate its effects.”
- Orla Ambrose, she/her, 16, Kinross
"We need climate education for society to properly function. Everything we do depends on a stable climate. The knowledge and appreciation necessary to maintain this comes from education."
- Maisie Frost, she/her, 16, North Devon
Cover image taken from our April 2021 Week of Action projections which were projected onto the side of Parliament and the front of the Department of Education in London.
