CPC students studying climate change action

Some members of the CPC Climate Change Action module with their teacher, Ms Groome.

Ireland's young people are strong in raising awareness of the urgent need for climate action, writes Brian Byrne. Recent 'school strikes' and demonstrations have made it clear they have real concerns that those in power today aren't doing their best to ensure the future of generations to come. But sometimes they have been criticised for not having an adequate base of knowledge of their own on the issue.

In Cross and Passion College hey have an actual TY module in Climate Change Action, which weekly works through various aspects of the history, science, and policies which have brought the world to where it is today in terms of climate change. There's also discussion on how to adapt and change to deal with it. Led by teacher Glenda Groome, the group is also taking actions within the school and their own lives which are small, but example what can be replicated anywhere. If everyone changes just one thing, as the saying goes, big changes can follow.

When I sat in on one of the sessions recently, the group were looking at a number of areas. One was a survey of volunteerism, to find out who was involved in volunteering in any area that touched on climate change action. Another was the consideration of a design for a garden area to fill with 1,000 crocuses which are being donated by Newbridge Rotary. There was also a discussion on weather and climate and the interaction in today's situation to both.

Some members of the CPC Climate Change Action module at the location where they will plant 1,000 crocuses as part of helping pollination and biodiversity in Kilcullen.

Mitigation of the actions and products that are causing climate change, and adaptation that is required for survival of many species — including mankind — are also part of the overall module theme. The crocus bed is one of the group's small ways of helping with biodiversity, specifically the pollinators. Which is a strong point in Kilcullen, where in the last year two community beehives have been installed as part of a developing Pollinator Project. A former teacher and Assistant Principal of the College, Noel Clare, was also in with the group recently to talk about how Kilcullen Community Action is incorporating climate action elements in its Tidy Town activities.

The role of waste production and management, how the media deals with reporting on climate change, and how to make the voices of young people heard are also key elements in the new to this year module. It currently involves around 20 of the total of 177 Transition Year students in the college.

The whole concept of consumerism and how it has impacted on the planet, and how that has to change, is also part of the discussion. There's a sense talking to them that these young people very much feel such change is not for some years in the future, but is necessary now.

The class avails of a range of information sources as they investigate the subject, including audio-visual resources, podcasts, Met Eireann expertise, links to NASA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and others. They're also learning the scientific ways of monitoring past and present changes in the complex makeup of this small blue planet.

In a very short few years, these are the young people who will be dealing directly with the increasing downsides of climate change. The CPC TY Climate Change Action module is a very small part in helping them understand the whole matter, and pay attention to it far more than, arguably, have the generations of their parents and grandparents.

Knowledge is power.

This article was first published in The Kildare Nationalist.

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