Bridging pages

Use simulations and drama actions to help build and increase empathy towards the problem and to increase the perception of related risk as well as of the urgency to make a behaviour change.

Debate impact of unsustainable use of marine resources. Examples:

  1. From a selection of resources, students discuss the following question: “What are the risks associated with the unsustainable use of marine resources?” (Debate opinions considering different stakeholders and perspectives)
  2. From a selection of resources based on a particular issue, students discuss the following question: What measures are needed to ensure the sustainable use of marine resources? (Consensus debate to find a way forward)
  3. From a selection of resources presenting an issue and a solution, students discuss the following question: How could the solution be implemented? (Action-oriented debate to agree steps).

For a class of approximately 30: Split class into 9 groups of 3 (or 2-4 per group to fit numbers).

The first three groups are given the task of investigating What’s so good about…?
Each of the groups receives a different topic: e.g. A. Social Justice; B. Biodiversity; C. Maintaining a Stable Climate.
They are asked to find out: What is this about? Why is it important? Is this desirable? If so, why?

The second three groups are given the task of investigating What’s the problem with…?
Each of the groups receives a different topic: e.g. A. Using cheap labour to make our clothes; B. Eating large quantities of cheap meat; C. Using fossil fuels for our energy needs.
They are asked to find out: Why is this considered to be a bad thing? What impacts is it having on people’s lives/the environment? Why is it happening?

The third three groups are given the task of investigating How can we deal with…?
Each of the groups receives a different topic: e.g. A. Exploitative employment practices; B. The negative impacts of the meat industry; C. Greenhouse gas emissions.
They are asked to find out: How can we deal with this issue? How might we reduce its impact? What alternatives are there for this (in terms of materials and our actions or habits)?

Share: After 30-40 minutes’ group work ask the groups to come together in three teams comprising the Group As, Group Bs and Group Cs. The teams should now listen to each other in order to discover any links that they can between their different pieces of evidence. They should work together to develop a presentation that they can share with the other two teams.

Present: Each team gives a five minute presentation to the rest of the class and takes questions on their given issue.

  1. The students receive a set of pictures representing the beauty of life under water. In groups they discuss what they like about it.
  2. Each group then receives a picture representing one problem related to life under water (e.g. overfishing, plastic pollution, modification of water temperatures and thus marine ecosystems, oil spill, nitrate pollution, etc.). The students discuss what the problem is and a) how it impacts on them and their feelings, b) who/what it might impact (including non-human beings).
  3. The groups receive a set of measures that are undertaken to solve some problems related to life below water (all groups have the same set, e.g. water treatment plants, organic agriculture, environmental protection laws and officers, tax incentives, beach clean-ups). Amongst the set of suggested solutions, students in groups choose the ones that could help improve the situation represented on their picture and think of other solutions if possible.
  4. In plenary, the solutions are then classified (e.g. technical/governance/social/economic and/or individual/collective). The interaction between different kinds of solutions is discussed.

Select a situation known to the group and decide on the core problem. What are the effects of this problem? What are the other problems which contribute to the core problem? (NB Avoid writing down a lack of solutions as problems, rather state the problem itself that needs to be solved, e.g. rather than writing “Lack of awareness on effects of dumping”, say, “Townspeople dump waste in street.”) Build up the ‘tree’ from the core problem in the middle with causes below and effects above:

Add more cards to extend the tree as the discussion develops. Draw a line around a certain part of the tree in order to define a manageable project.

Rules of engagement:

This technique enables all stakeholders to participate in a sophisticated discussion of causes and effects.

NB To turn this into a hierarchy of project objectives, simply turn each card around and write a positive version of the ‘problem’ that was written there.

Scenario method

Students are asked to think in groups about different scenarios to limit overfishing.

  1. First, they conduct research to identify the main issues related to overfishing (factors) and to find solutions. 
  2. In a second step, students place the identified factors on a 2-axes graph (important – important – uninfluenced / predictable – unpredictable), the idea being to identify key factors (three or four at most) on which to make contrasting assumptions (Gaudin, 2013, p. 99). 
  3. Third, students write three or four scenarios that they think are relevant, such as: 
    • Competitiveness, confidence in science
    • Social and environmental wellbeing
    • Trend scenario.

Future visioning

In pairs: consider two scenarios, 30 years in the future: one in which the negative effects of climate change have increased and one where mitigation of those effects has started. List the main causes for the improvement of climate change.
In small groups, composed by 3-4 pairs, put together the main elements identified, and delineate a new common positive scenario. Then, reflect together which steps need to be taken in the next 5 years to get to that vision.
Reflect together on the difficulty to have a clear long term vision when so many unpredictable factors are involved.

Mapping Method

  1. From different documentary resources, create a mind map highlighting the issues related to aquatic life e.g. where seas have been overfished, coral destroyed, or where seas/rivers have been polluted.
  2. Identify links between areas where there is concern, fishing practices and other possible causes (industry pollution, sewage etc.)
  3. Identify links between these issues, social and economic behaviours, climate change and sea-level rise
  4. Identify possible courses of action to address issues found and sustainably exploit marine resources and address sea-level rise
  5. Prioritize these courses of action.

Use the webbing game to illustrate how natural and human phenomena which cause climate change are interconnected and reliant on each other:
Various pictures showing a variety of consequences of climate change are distributed among the group e.g. sea level increase, desertification, melting glaciers, flooding….
Members discuss together what they know about each and the underlying causes (both human and natural), which are listed and “assigned” within the group.
Group leader then moves randomly amongst the group asking what connections each thing has with other items. A ball of string is then passed between each to show the connections and to gradually build up a web between them.
Group leader then creates a scenario whereby one of them is removed, and then another and the web starts to collapse.
This should lead to input on the interconnectivity, complexity and systemic nature of root causes, deriving from the current development model causing climate change.

Students create a future me: Define your role and how it could look like in 30 years from now and ask yourself the following questions: