PRESS RELEASE – Belmopan, Belize; August 1, 2019 – Today August 1, 2019 the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) kicked off a national training exercise that aims to prepare teachers at the primary and secondary level in Belize to better understand and deliver the complex concepts and uncommon terminologies of Climate Science and Climate Change to their young students.
The 1.5° Curriculum training which is being delivered in six two-day workshops, introduces the Centre’s four-unit 1.5° to Stay Alive Curriculum and helps teachers to use the concepts and resources to support STEM subjects. Areas covered by the Curriculum and accompanying materials are Unit 1- The Warming Climate, Unit 2 – Sea Level Rise, Unit 3 – Pine Forests, Unit 4 – Social Impacts of Global Warming and include worksheets, photographs, posters, suggestions for PowerPoint presentations, and videos.
The Curriculum and the Training sessions on its use, form part of the Centre’s 1.5° to Stay Alive Educational Initiative which seeks to embed Climate Change in the regions’ education sector.
According to: Dr. Cain “When youths are made aware of the connection between personal actions and Global Warming and Climate Change and how those actions relate to the associated impacts of these global phenomenon, they can grasp its ramifications. It is hoped that these workshops will result in heightened awareness amongst educators and youths, as well as changes in their personal habits, practices and values. Our youths must become more actively involved in actions, including leading the charge, towards a climate-resilient future.”
Dr Donneil Cain, Project Development Specialist, CCCCC
It is hoped that after training, educators will be better prepared to convey firm response actions and commitments to reduce vulnerabilities through the implementation of adaptation and mitigation measures. Participants in these training sessions also learn how to incorporate Climate Change into their existing syllabi. The lessons utilise a cross-curricular approach of accepted philosophies and pedagogical techniques designed to foster interactive engagement in group discussions and practical experiments.
The sessions are being held as follows:
- August 1 – 2 Belize City
- August 5 – 6 Punta Gorda
- August 7 – 8 Dangriga
- August 12 – 13 Belmopan
- August 14 – 15 San Ignacio
- August 19 – 20 Orange Walk
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The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre coordinates the region’s response to climate change. Officially opened in August 2005, the Centre is the key node for information on climate change issues and the region’s response to managing and adapting to climate change. We maintain the Caribbean’s most extensive repository of information and data on climate change specific to the region, which in part enables us to provide climate change-related policy advice and guidelines to CARICOM member states through the CARICOM Secretariat. In this role, the Centre is recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, and other international agencies as the focal point for climate change issues in the Caribbean. The Centre is also a United Nations Institute for Training and Research recognised Centre of Excellence, one of an elite few. Learn more about how we’re working to make the Caribbean more climate resilient by perusing The Implementation Plan.
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