TakingITGlobal

Governments must offer financial aid to support and implement green school infrastructure and ensure the neighborhoods around schools support climate education and climate-friendly practices. It is the responsibility of governments to provide the necessary funds to implement green infrastructure within schools, and to ensure that the physical structure of schools support student learning. The government can provide two kinds of support: experts who work collaboratively with students to develop revised infrastructure plans, and funding to implement these plans. Governments must also mandate school cafeterias and stores to provide climate-friendly food. In addition, cities must make sure that there are safe walking routes, bus lanes, and cycling lanes for students to use near the school; this will ensure that climate-friendly practices are incorporated into students' daily life. In these ways, schools and their surrounding neighborhoods may be used as models for other buildings and communities throughout the city. In implementing these recommendations, cities must provide for all neighborhoods and schools equitably. Complexities We recognize that making changes to school and city infrastructure is very challenging. Adapting a city to the suggestions that we have made may come with a lot of pressure from the general public who may resist changes. For instance, while a city may desire to increase the size of their bike lanes, finding space to do so may result in reducing the size of the car lanes, which may not be received positively by the public. Furthermore, factors such as racial issues, city size, caste system, gender roles, and cultural norms may make changing the infrastructure of a city challenging. Altering infrastructure is not simply a matter of altering buildings, as neighborhoods are also shaped by histories, cultures, and social issues that make it difficult to adopt these changes. Yet we believe that cities must work to address, not run from, these issues. IV. Project Based Learning We have called for our curriculum to be updated so that it includes climate change, but it is not enough to simply learn about these topics and problems. We must learn how to act on climate change and develop practical solutions that will aid our cities and communities, develop our knowledge, understanding, and skills by working on projects that will enable us to investigate, tackle, and respond over a prolonged period of time. One way we can do this is through project based learning, which gives students a chance to roll up their sleeves and do something to address climate change with the ultimate goal that student projects become a reality. Action points ● Our education systems and curriculum must expand beyond simply imparting climate change knowledge, to developing practical skills of negotiation, creativity, critical thinking and reasoning, to empower youth to take action through project based learning. ● Cities must support opportunities for learning to expand beyond the classroom through projects that involve collaboration with other stakeholders. 7

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