Friday, February 6, 2015

We are building a network of Climate Change Clubs!

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) welcomed a group of 25 students from the Belmopan Comprehensive High School today for an interactive climate change exchange.

The visit forms part of a broader engagement with young people in an effort to create a network of school-based environmental clubs with a strong climate change focus across the region. The initiative is being piloted by the Centre in five (5) schools in Belmopan, Belize with support from the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and Sustainable Development (MFFSD) under the "Enhancing Belize’s Resilience to Adapt to the Effects of Climate Change" project which is funded by the European Union.

The participating schools are:

Belmopan Comprehensive High School

Belize Christian Academy

Belmopan Baptist High School

Our Lady of Guadalupe High School

Belmopan Methodist High School

Through this means of youth engagement, we are using a mixture of specially designed games, discussions, music and other tools to:

  1. Increase sensitisation and awareness of climate change impacts and community vulnerability;
  2. Heighten ability to link personal actions to the broader climate change discussion;
  3. Increase capacity to conduct vulnerability assessments of communities; and
  4. Identify practical adaptation measures to reduce vulnerability.

This initiative will include 60 to 90 minute weekly meetings, experiential learning including presentations, highly interactive group exercises, discussions and outreach efforts. These clubs are intended to be student-led entities with the support of a designated staff member. More