Eco Detectives - teaching about climate change

A new whole-school resource for teaching about climate change in primary schools was launched by Minister Ciarán Cuffe in the Science Gallery, Trinity College, on Monday, November 1. The resource, Eco Detectives, was the result of a partnership between the Centre for Human Rights and Citizenship Education (CHRCE), St Patrick’s College, and the CHANGE campaign under the auspices of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Eco Detectives (which is available in hard copy, on CD Rom and online) provides interactive, enquiry-based activities through which children can investigate and learn about climate change. The resource is broken down into four levels: Junior and Senior Infants, 1st and 2nd Class, 3rd and 4th Class and 5th and 6th Class and is available in Irish and English. Eco Detectives was created by Dr Susan Pike, (CHRCE) with contributions from colleagues Dr Cliona Murphy and Dr Janet  Varley.  The process was supported by Dr Fionnuala Waldron, Chair of CHRCE and Head of Education and by Brian Ruane, Project Leader at CHRCE.

Dr Susan Pike with Minister Ciarán Cuffe at the launch of Eco Dectectives.

In launching the Eco Detective pack Minister Ciarán Cuffe said that:   

"The activities in the primary school workbooks will make the children feel as if they are real eco-detectives with lots of outdoor investigations and experiments for them to take part in. Learning about climate change and the environment should be appealing and fun and I believe these resources are the way forward in addressing attitudes and behaviour in Ireland today and for its future generations".

When describing the pack, Dr Susan Pike said that:

"The Eco-Detective pack is a welcome resource for primary schools across Ireland.  Teachers are always on the look out for good quality resources, especially for geography and science.  St. Patrick’s College supports new and established teachers through the development of teaching resources, as well as a range of face-to-face and online courses.  Within this resource, from searching for mini-beasts in the school grounds in Junior Infants to investigating the impact of climate change in 6th class, the activities are challenging but engaging.  I am sure many of the teachers and children in primary schools will have great fun being Eco-Detectives!"

The Centre for Human Rights and Citizenship Education thanks the schools, teachers and pupils who piloted the pack and gave valuable feedback. It also thanks the INTO, and particularly Alison Gilliland, for facilitating the piloting process.

For more information about Eco Detectives and about 2020 Vision: A Closer Look at Ireland’s Environment, a resource for second level schools produced by the Environmental Protection Agency go to this link.

You can listen here to an interview with Dr Susan Pike on Waterford Local Radio (WLR) in which she talks about Eco Detectives [Click here for audio file]

Minister Ciarán Cuffe with Pauline Flanagan, Peter Melrose, Orla McCormack, Vinny Traynor and David Ormond

A presentation by environmentalist Gavin Harte powered by energy makers Peter Melrose, David Ormond and Vinny Traynor

 

Last Updated: Thursday November 18 2010