New project will educate pupils about the climate crisis

A new collaborative project in Glasgow will help to educate high-school pupils about the climate crisis and environmental justice. 

As part of the International Green Academy initiative, the University of Glasgow has recruited four high schools: St Mungo’s Academy, Lourdes Secondary, Drumchapel High and Boclair Academy.

The project will help pupils to transform underdeveloped school land into gardens. A team of student volunteers are helping to deliver the project in each of the schools.

The aim is to connect students to their local environments, help them to understand environmental justice, sustainability and food autonomy,

The project is supported by funding from financial support from the British Academy and the University of Glasgow.

Dr McGeachan from the University of Glasgow said: ‘Young people are increasingly anxious over the effects that climate change will have on the world they will inherit as adults, and how existing social inequalities could be amplified as access to resources narrows.

‘We’re setting out to help young people understand that they can play an active role in developing a more sustainable community and that garden-building can be part of addressing climate injustice.

‘The vegetable garden currently under construction at Drumchapel High aims to become a regular source of fresh produce for local food banks, making a real difference to a community which has been hit hard by Covid-19. In creating a garden from scratch, pupils have seen for themselves that they can make valuable contributions to their school community and beyond with their work on the school garden.

‘While we’ve not been able to have the Green Technicians work face-to-face with pupils as we’d hoped because of lockdowns and social distancing, the progress that pupils have made in creating green spaces has been remarkable. The Green Technician’s training enables them to become an important resource for schools, developing valuable connections between school and universities. We’re looking forward to expanding the programme across the city and other parts of the UK in the future.’

Photo by NeONBRAND