Exploring climate change education outside the classroom

The focus of this chapter will be on learning in the outdoor classroom. There are many benefits of learning outdoors, ranging from physical, cognitive and psychological, not least the value of immersing the learner in their own habitat when learning about environmental and climate change. To understand climate change, we need to use a number of scientific skills – observing and recording environmental changes; collecting, analysing, seeking patterns and interpreting our own data as well as data from secondary sources; communicating with others; investigating and experimenting with materials. The chapter will include suggested activities to facilitate the development of the scientific skillset to support learners' exploration of concepts relating to climate change. Opportunities to extend learning outside the classroom to the home and community will be suggested to position children as communicators of climate change to their families and communities. The activities will be designed to accommodate implementation at home or in the community.