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Background knowledge

This resource assumes that pupils know about carbon emissions and have a basic understanding of climate change. For more information on this, have a look at the NASA Climate Kids website climatekids.nasa.gov/climate-change-meaning/

Resources needed

• printed out photographs (single side printing for best results)

• country stories

• world map (not provided)

Window on the WorldTeachers’ NotesThis resource aims to introduce pupils to the topic of climate justice in a global context. Using stories from Christian Aid projects which directly respond to the impacts of a changing climate on local people and communities, pupils will investigate how the climate is changing, what the impacts are and how Christian Aid is working with people to improve their lives.

Window on the World Teachers’ Notes

Climate justice is a term which is used to highlight the fact that, often, the people who suffer the impacts of climate change are those who have contributed the least in terms of carbon emissions. Scotland played a large part in the industrial revolution and has an important part to play in both reducing its own emissions and taking a leadership role globally to encourage others to do the same.

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1. Make a word cloud about climate change.

This is a good initial activity to establish what pupils already know about climate change.

Working in groups, ask them to write down words that they connect with climate change. As a class, look at which words appear most often and write these as the largest words on the cloud. Then fill in with the other words. At the end of the session, pupils can add any new words they have learned. You will find lots of online tools to create word clouds.

The word cloud might prompt you to create an issue tree. Ask the pupils to place any words which describe causes of climate change on the roots of the tree. Then, place words which describe the effects of climate change on the branches and any solutions on the leaves. This exercise can be developed as a class as you work through the topic. It will also help identify areas where pupils need more information.

2. Find the following countries on a map: Mali, Haiti, Bolivia, Scotland.

Show the pupils a Mercator Projection map and ask them to find the countries. Once they have done that, show the class a Peters Projection map. What differences can they see?

The Peters Projection map was published in 1947 and is an ‘equal-area’ map, showing countries with a much more accurate representation of their surface area. The Mercator projection emphasises colonial powers, making the northern hemisphere countries appear much larger than they are in reality. Why do the pupils think the two maps are so different? Do the different maps influence how we view the world and our place in it?

Introductory Activities

3. Look at the carbon footprints and try to match them to the countries.

Carbon footprinting is a tool which allows us to visually compare the carbon emissions of different countries or activities, and to think about what might be influencing these differences. To calculate your own carbon footprint, look at footprint.wwf.org.uk/. This website will display your footprint visually against the Earth, and also has suggestions on how to make it smaller.

Mali

0.06 mT per capita

Scotland

14.3 mT per capita

Haiti

0.3 mTper capita

Bolivia

1.9mT per capita

While the aim is for all countries to have low carbon footprints, at the moment the low footprint of countries such as Haiti and Mali is largely due to poverty. So ultimately what we want to see is countries that are thriving but with a low carbon footprint.

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1. Captions:

On the worksheet, the photographs have been printed without any captions. These are also in the country information within the teachers’ resources and can be used in the following ways:

Split the class into pairs and give each pair a photograph. Give them some time to discuss the photo thinking about the following questions:

• Where was this photo taken?

• What is happening in the photograph?

• If there are people in the photograph, who are they?

• What are they doing?

Ask the pupils if they can write a caption for the photograph. Once they have done this, lay the printed captions out on a desk and ask the pupils to find the one which matches their photograph.

This activity can also be done the other way around where the pupils are provided with the printed caption and asked to think about what the photograph might look like. They may want to draw their idea. Afterwards, the photographs can be laid out and claimed by each group. This is a slightly easier version of the above task.

Once each group has a photograph and a caption, explain that there are 4 sets of photos. Can the pupils arrange the photographs into sets? Can they work out a common link between the photos? (If this is too difficult, the teacher can arrange the photos into sets, give them additional information about the country and the theme of the photographs and ask them to write some words that come to mind when looking at the photographs).

Photo Activities

2. Once you have shared the complete country story with the pupils, discuss the following questions:

• How have the people in the photographs been affected by climate change?

• How are they working towards becoming more resilient to climate change?

The questions for the Scottish photographs are slightly different.

• What are the people in the photographs doing?

• Why?

• What is the link to climate change?

Climate change in Scotland

Ask the group looking at the Scottish photographs to share with the class what they have learned. Explain what climate justice means and discuss what Scotland’s role should be in taking action on climate change. Climate change is having an impact in Scotland too, with more flooding and extreme weather events. Complete the following activity to investigate this.

How would you portray your area?

Imagine if you were asked to send five photos of the impact of climate change on your area to someone in a different country.

• What would the photos be of?

• Why would you choose those photos?

• Can a few images give a real picture?

Look for images online or in newspapers that would show someone in another country the impact climate change is having in Scotland.

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Flooding in Bolivia. The forests have been cut down making the flooding worse.

More information:

In this part of Bolivia there are large areas of deforestation. Where the forest has been cut down for large-scale agriculture or mining there is an increased risk of flooding. Recently the weather patterns have been much more unpredictable and therefore it is very difficult for local communities to know when the rains will come. The heavy rainfall causes floods and landslides, making people homeless and destroying valuable agricultural land and crops.

Solar ovens which are being provided to families by Christian Aid are one solution to this problem. They do not need wood for fuel so fewer trees need to be cut down.

Climate change in Bolivia

Local children have been learning about the river and how flooding happens, so they can be prepared in the future.

More information:

Children from Capaina community stand around the model of their community which they made with staff from Soluciones Prácticas (Christian Aid’s partner organisation). Building the model helped the children learn where the safe houses and places are. That’s where they meet if they are evacuated during a flood. Staff and community members have been impressed by how much the children have been involved in developing the emergency plan. The children attended community meetings and presented their ideas about flood prevention. One resident told us: “All the ideas that the kids came up with were much more straightforward than the adults’ solutions. They taught us.’

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Children learn songs about keeping safe during a flood.

More information:

Children from Capaina community play out by the schoolhouse. Games and songs are an important part of the training that our local organisation, Soluciones Prácticas (SP), uses with the children. Staff from SP teach the children songs about flood prevention and what to do in the event of a flood.

These solar ovens are powered by sunlight and use less firewood. This gives families different ways of cooking during floods.

More information:

The solar ovens allow the community another way of cooking. They can use sunlight to heat and cook the food, or the food can be started over a fire and left inside the solar oven to cook (like a slow cooker). As a result, the women have more time to work on the land, take part in community meetings or even set up their own businesses.

Climate change in Bolivia

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A dry reservoir in Mali which no longer provides clean water.

More information:

This is one of the old reservoirs in Ouinegile village on the Dogon Plateau in Mali. It no longer provides clean water. Christian Aid worked with a local organisation called APH to help build a new reservoir and to repair a well so that the village has enough water. When APH started working with the village, the villagers said that their biggest challenge was a lack of water to drink and for their crops. In exchange for help building the new reservoir, APH asked the village to provide some good quality land so that the women’s association could set up a market garden.

Climate change in Mali

In a few months this barren earth will be green and bursting with vegetables. The new reservoir provides water to water the crops.

More information:

This is the market garden set up by the women’s association in Ouinegile village with support from a local organisation called APH. It’s hard to believe but within a few months this dry, barren patch will be green and bursting with vegetables. The market garden season runs from September until January or February. APH negotiated for the women in the village to be given this patch of good quality land for their market garden. The new reservoir provides enough water for the crops.

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Drying fish to sell in the village.

More information:

The women’s association has set up a bank from where women in the village can borrow small amounts of money. The women have used this money to set up small businesses which sell food such as selling dried fish and shallots, allowing them to save money for the first time.

Previously many families could only afford to eat two meals a day but they now have three. From the profit they make from selling shallots and dried fish, the women can buy school books, school bags, pencils, shoes and clothes for their children.

Women bringing shallots that they have grown to sell at a weekly local market.

More information:

These women have grown shallots in the market garden. Although they mostly grow vegetables for their own families, they can also sell any extra crops that they don’t need. This means that they can save money for the first time. Thanks to the market garden, the young men in the village no longer have to leave home

Climate change in Mali

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Devastation in Haiti caused by Hurricane Matthew.

More information:

In 2016, these houses in Haiti were destroyed by Hurricane Matthew, a Category 5 storm. It was the strongest storm to hit Haiti in over 50 years. Parts of the island were completely destroyed and hundreds of people died.

A girl in the doorway of her destroyed house.

More information:

A girl stands in the debris of her destroyed house in a small village near Cayes. After the storm, clean drinking water was scarce. Wells and toilets were destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. The water was polluted and people were worried that diseases such as cholera would break out. Some regions were completely cut off from the rest of the country. In some cities, 80 per cent of the houses were destroyed or damaged.

Climate change in Haiti

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A helicopter delivering aid.

More information:

In emergency situations, such as in the aftermath of a hurricane, Christian Aid delivers essential supplies very quickly. After Hurricane Matthew, some of the items delivered to Haiti included food, hygiene kits, water tablets, blankets and tarpaulin for houses.

A new disaster-resistant house, built by one of Christian Aid’s partner organisations in Haiti.

More information:

The new houses being built following the devastation of Hurricane Matthew are very safe and strong enough to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes. When communities live in houses which won’t fall down, they feel more confident about planning for the future.

Climate change in Haiti

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Climate change campaigning in Scotland is an important part of Christian Aid’s work. In comparison to many countries, Scotland has high carbon emissions and they have been high for a long time. We need to take responsibility for this and we must also show other countries how to tackle climate change in ways that are fair for everyone. Unless developed countries act on their own emissions, we will not be able to help developing countries become more resilient to changes in the climate.

Delivering postcards to the Scottish Parliament.

More information:

Pupils from Sciennes Primary School in Edinburgh deliver postcards to Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, outside the Scottish Parliament. Almost 19,000 people supported the campaign for a strong Climate Change Bill.

Christian Aid supporters outside the Royal Bank of Scotland.

More information:

These supporters are lobbying the bank to stop funding fossil fuels, which is a major cause of climate change. They have collected signatures from many Christian Aid supporters and will deliver the petition to the bank staff and to the Head Office.

Campaigning on Climate change in Scotland

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Campaigners marching in Edinburgh.

More information:

The People’s March for the Climate, held in Edinburgh, one of over 2,200 climate events around the world. These events were timed to coincide with the beginning of the UN Climate Summit in Paris in November 2015.

The Summit concluded with the signing of the Paris Agreement, by which 195 countries committed to tackling their carbon emissions. At the time of writing, the United States is the only country not included in the agreement.

Lobbying Members of the Scottish Parliament.

More information:

In this photo, supporters of climate action are meeting with their MSP to ask what the Scottish Parliament is doing about climate change. Direct lobbying of members of parliament by voters is often an effective way of encouraging governments to take action.

Campaigning on Climate change in Scotland

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Take action!Christian Aid is part of a coalition called Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS). We are working towards a new Climate Change Bill which will be passed by the Scottish Parliament later this year.

If your class has been inspired by learning about climate justice, why not write to your MSP to ask what they are doing to support the SCCS campaign? Or invite them into school to see some of the work you have been doing around climate change?

For more information on the SCCS campaign, visit theclimatecoalition.org/scotland-act. Follow Christian Aid Scotland on Twitter @ChristianAidSco and the SCCS campaign using the hashtag #oorfuture.

Find out more

Would you like to learn more about Christian Aid’s work around the world? You’ll find lots of great resources at christianaid.org.uk/schools.

Photo Credits: Christian Aid/Elaine Duigenan (Page 4); Christian Aid/Amy Smith (Page 4);

Christian Aid/Elaine Duigenan (Page 5); Christian Aid/Amy Smith (Page 5); Christian Aid/

APH Bandiagara (Page 6 and 7); Christian Aid/Thomas Lohnes (Pages 8 and 9); Christian

Aid/Nicola Morgan (Page 9); Christian Aid/Esme Allen (Pages 10 and 11).

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© Christian Aid January 2018.

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