2nd annual student climate change boot camp 2016

The 2nd Annual Climate Change Bootcamp 2016

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The Makerere University Center for Climate Change Research and Innovations (MUCCRI) and USAID/Uganda Education and Research to Improve Climate Change Adaptation Activity held
the 2nd Annual Climate Change Boot Camp for University students from January 27th -30th, 2016. The intention of the 2nd Boot camp was different from the first in that the 1st Boot Camp
was to increase general awareness and knowledge around climate change issues and was open to nearly any college student who wanted to participate. While the 2nd Boot Camp aimed at
transitioning that awareness and knowledge of up to 30 University students who had demonstrated their serious desires to be able to share this information with younger students
through development and practicing of climate change related classroom-type activities and lessons.

To accomplish this transition, some of the original Boot Camp students and a few others who had been working for the better part of the year to identify activities and lessons developed by
professional educators around the world proposed to share what they had learned with primary and secondary schools in Uganda. In addition to transitioning knowledge and the need to also be
sure of the information as well as the delivery of and a developed focus of/for each activity. And to focus on developing appropriate activities and delivery approaches, dedicated students had
been meeting Activity staff periodically over the year. But because neither of the Activity staff are professional primary nor secondary teachers it was determined that some professional teacher
oversight would be more than helpful but actually required.

The students worked with the Peace Corps Education volunteers to perfect the lessons and learn how to teach younger students. KCCA, NCDC, and the Peace Corps representatives were
invited to participate with the hope that each group might be able to open classroom doors to take our climate change knowledge and activities to younger students in Uganda.

 

The student work groups discussed the audiences they wanted to focus their efforts to reach and the methods of outreach, for example, developing presentations that could be delivered via flip charts to communities or hands-on developed work plans and meeting schedules that will help them to accomplish their goals. Since the Boot Camp, the students have been meeting together and with the Activity staff to focus-in on “doable” activities, as some of the original dreams were quite large. Everyone left with new knowledge, a drive to pass on that new knowledge and a sense of commitment, hope, and empowerment that we each can contribute to reducing climate changes and its impacts.