ECC Veracruz
Proactive learning for climate change mitigation and adaptation
Due to its geographic location, Veracruz is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Rising sea levels and coastal erosion threaten natural resources, the energy industry, and the region’s infrastructure. To create much-needed awareness of climate adaptation measures, we worked with the nonprofit organizations Fondo Golfo de México and INNOVEC – both partners of our Red STEM Latinoamérica – and the Veracruz Ministry of Education to develop an approach that strengthens climate change education as a vehicle for holistic change.
«The goal is to create a domino effect so that knowledge is transferred from teachers to students, their families, and the community as a whole.»
Claudia Robles, INNOVEC Mexiko, Partner in the Project ECC Veracruz
The project is based on a series of workshops on climate change education in which 800 teachers of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects participate. Up to 15,000 students from about 300 different schools in Veracruz will benefit from this project. The workshops cover relevant topics related to climate change and active teaching and learning methods to convey this content in a practical and vivid way in the classroom using our STEMplus approach. Freely available Open Educational Resources on climate change education complement the training.
Practical and project-based learning
The goal is to strengthen students‘ ability to acquire and apply climate knowledge actively. Through practical projects, students are encouraged to independently address climate-related challenges in their communities and to take committed action to protect the climate and adapt to the consequences of climate change. The guiding principle is the inquiry-based learning approach: teachers and students conduct experiments and surveys in their communities and discuss their findings and possible solutions.
Raising public awareness on climate change
Examples of project results are school and community projects such as developing biodigestors for energy production, school gardens are used for food production, and students are encouraged to consume regional products and recycle. This creates a new generation of responsible citizens, motivated to make well-informed decisions and consciously shape their lifestyles.
This is realized through three steps:
Open Education Resources
Creating and disseminating scientifically and pedagogically vetted and openly licensed educational materials.
Teacher Training
In workshops, STEM teachers are trained to confidently teach the complexities of climate change through active pedagogies.
Power of Networks
Building a community of practice for climate change education
Part of the project is also building a local community of teachers who are actively engaged in teaching and developing climate change education projects. This community will be integrated into the Office for Climate Education (OCE) project “América Latina para la Educación Climática (ALEC)” to share experiences and learn from best practices.”
Project Manager STEM & Climate
Badin Borde
badin.borde@siemens-stiftung.org