Okyeman Environment Foundation organises ' YALILearns session'

The Okyeman Environment Foundation, under its Community Awareness and Leopard Clubs programmes held a YALILearns session on the topic “Understanding Climate Change” for tertiary and secondary schools in the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area.

The Executive Secretary of the Foundation, Kofi Gyimah Amoako-Gyimah who is also a member of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Network explained that the programme is intended to spur the conversation on Climate Change as the most trending topic in the month of December amongst the Foundation’s most important target group, the youth. “This comes timely as world leaders meet in Paris for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change this week” he added.

The first of the series of session in the various institutions was held at the Abuakwa State College in Kyebi on Monday, 7th December, 2015, and was attended by 1649 both day and boarding Senior High School students, out of the about 1800 student population, voluntarily. There was an impressive demonstration of interests by the students on the topic of discussion, evident with their active contributions and questions during the session. They had some basic knowledge on climate change from their studies in school and other sources which rendered the session a two-way discussion as intended over a lecture.

Students were grouped according to their respective Halls or Houses and each brainstormed, led by their various House Prefects, on the causes and signs of climate change. Each group was to come up with a compilation of their independent opinions on what they thought the causes and signs were before the lessons began. Their contributions were both informative and interesting particular with regards to their local experiences.

Lesson 1 - The Basics: The Science of Climate Change

The first lesson on “Understanding Climate Change” was introduced to the participants in a 5 minute video lecture on “The Science of Climate Change” by Melanie Nakagawa, Policy Advisor for Climate Change, Energy, Environment, and Oceans to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

The lesson explores the basic science of climate change, examining the differences between climate and weather and how scientists determine that the planet is getting hotter. This lesson also takes a detailed look at greenhouse gases - what they are, the role of human behavior in releasing them, and their effect on climate change.

The activities after this lesson focused on comparing the causes and signs brainstormed by the students before the watched the presentation to those explained in the video. It was observed that the students had knowledge on the signs and causes of climate change from what they presented as personal observations from their local environment.

What was unique amongst the causes of climate change that they each group presented was the depletion of forests through illegal mining and tree logging activities and bush burning from traditional agricultural practices.

They also had common amongst their suggested signs of climate change evidence of high temperatures and specifically global warming from both local and global experiences shared on international media. They discussed what historic changes to their habitats that can be linked to climate change and identified activities in their communities which involves the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), which according to the presentation, releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as heat-trapping greenhouse gases. They were amazed to find out that even gases released from deodorant sprays and insecticides they use daily added up to the greenhouse gases.

Awareness Skit

The grouped houses were each asked to nominate representatives to play roles of ‘community member’ and ‘climate change advocate’ in a short skit of their design to convince or inform that ‘community member’ about climate change as an experiment to investigate which community leaders or specific groups or organisations that need the information on climate change.

The groups came up with character including a teacher, farmer and even a pastor and a musician as examples of community leaders who can champion advocacy on climate change. The ‘community member’ in all the scenarios were very convinced after the various skits.

Lesson 2 - The Impact: How Climate Change Affects Africa

This lesson takes a look at the very real effects of climate change on human and animal populations and migration, rainfall-dependent agriculture and the serious problems of drought and changes in typical precipitation patterns, and the intensification of illnesses such as mosquito borne diseases and respiratory and cardiovascular sickness. These were captured in a 5 minute video by Wanjira Mathai, Director of the Partnership for Women’s Entrepreneurship in Renewables at the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace & Environmental Studies at the University of Nairobi.

The students were engaged in identifying what information and in what form would resonate the most in convincing their peers and neighbours from the different communities they live in that climate change is a real threat to human existence. They made good suggestions which included posters, social media, Instant Messaging only to mention a few.

Lesson 3 - The Solutions: Taking Action to Reduce Climate Change

The final lesson also presented by Wanjira Mathai in a 6 minute video throws more light on technologies - big and small - that are being used to reduce the effects of climate change, including solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, as well as the importance of preserving and maintaining forests and what one can do to help stop climate change.

The students brainstormed to come up with some community level solutions to reduce climate change and how they could implement them event after the session. Some of the solutions included volunteering as Leopard Club members to organize tree planting exercises and organizing educational sessions like these in lower level schools in the communities near their school. They also planned to employ alternatively garbage separation methods and also to promote recycle as opposed to burning.

In closing remarks, Mr. Kofi Gyimah Amoako-Gyimah thanked all participants for making time to attend the session and volunteering to join the Leopard Clubs which in the coming year will be operation in schools in the Akyem Abuakwa Kingdom. The second session was held at Kibi Secondary Technical School on Tuesday 8th December and Sunday, 13th December, 2015. It is intended to continue when schools return from the Christmas holiday break.