Why climate education is important to me as a trainee teacher

19-year-old student Emily Blackmore in the Scottish Highlands. (Courtesy of Emily Blackmore)

19-year-old Scottish student Emily Blackmore explains what students should be learning about climate change in school.

Growing up in the Scottish Highlands, I am extremely lucky to be surrounded by nature. Otters swim and play in the canal right outside my house. A variety of landscapes — including stunning sandy beaches, towering mountains, vast lochs (along with a well-known monster!) and luscious green forests — are just an hour’s drive away. I was fortunate enough to once see a white-tailed sea eagle on the Highlands’ west coast; it was so close I could see each of its individual feathers and huge sharp talons.

But over the years I have become acutely aware that the nature I love is under threat. Greenhouse gasses released mainly by the world’s richest countries — including Scotland — are contributing to the rapid warming of our world, damaging the natural environment around me and in every country around the world. Despite the very real effects of climate change — particularly in my community — I was shocked that the Scottish education system failed to prioritise climate education in our curriculum.

When I was in primary school we were taught about climate change, how to recycle and why littering was bad. But our teachers rarely mentioned the effect of our pollutants on the rest of the planet. In secondary school, the lack of climate education grew even more stark. Climate change was only included in the curriculum if you happened to take geography, which I didn’t. But I believe that educators should incorporate climate education into every subject. Climate change affects us all whether we become a geographer or a plumber and every student needs to know about it.

Emily at the Scottish seaside. (Courtesy of Emily Blackmore)

Because Scottish schools did not teach me what I needed to know about climate change, I want to make sure no other student has the same experience. I am about to begin my second year of a combined degree in biology and secondary education with plans to become a biology teacher one day. I believe that if we want to change the inequalities and problems society faces we need to start in schools. If the purpose of education is to prepare young people with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the future, every national curriculum should incorporate climate education. 

Students need to learn how to combat the climate crisis — and I’m not just talking about the traditional reduce, reuse, recycle kind of way. We need to design a more creative approach to climate change education. Young people need to learn values that prioritise a sustainable way of living and inspire them to make changes in their own lives for the sake of the planet. I would like schools to encourage students to speak out, such as writing letters to parliament about their concerns or creating art that highlights and raises awareness for the climate crisis.

“We need to design a more creative approach to climate change education. Young people need to learn values that prioritise a sustainable way of living and inspire them to make changes in their own lives for the sake of the planet.”

— Emily Blackmore

It is also important to me that children in Scotland learn about climate justice and how our actions can impact people thousands of miles away. The top three greenhouse gas emitters emit more than 16 times the bottom 100. However, it is often the countries that emit the fewest emissions that suffer the greatest consequences of climate change. Anyone can see that this is painfully unfair, and the only way I believe we can change this is to educate and inform students on how they might be contributing to this inequality. It is so important that young people learn and think about how our actions can impact others. I’m sure some students may feel as though climate change isn’t a real threat to us right now, but if leaders incorporated climate education into our curriculums they would understand that’s not the case.

Additionally, eco anxiety is on the rise. We need to talk about how climate change is impacting our mental health. A recent study has found that 77% of young people say that just thinking about climate change makes them feel anxious. Studies show that anxiety can increase the risk of a person developing long-term problems such as issues sleeping and even medical conditions such as heart disease. Therefore it is essential that we talk about climate change and eco anxiety in the classroom. Just talking about simple techniques such as reducing waste can help young people with eco anxiety as it can help them gain some sense of control.

In three years I will be a qualified biology teacher — and I’m planning to prioritise climate education in my classroom as much as I possibly can. Within the biology curriculum, I plan to explain how the climate crisis is impacting certain organisms and habitats, and how the effects of climate change can impact biological systems in humans. Outside of the classroom, I will encourage my students to engage with political and social activism. I hope to lead a performing arts extracurricular group where I can reach other students outside of those in my class and help them educate others about climate change. The arts can be a powerful way to get a message across and help students express their feelings about the crisis.

Above all, the message I want to pass on to future generations is that we can all make a difference collectively and as individuals. In order to ensure every student hears that message, every school needs to be teaching climate education.