The Future of Education

The rise in extreme weather and climate-related events across Europe underscores the need for concrete mitigation and adaptation solutions on the one hand, and for a climate-aware population willing to take climate action on the other hand. Life Terra, one of Europe’s largest climate action initiatives, was conceived in response to these needs. Indeed, the project aims to plant millions of trees across Europe, while simultaneously fostering community engagement and educating the next generation about the sustainability challenges of our century. For this last purpose, Life Terra has produced an educational program that supports educators in teaching sustainability. The program offers a comprehensive variety of resources: a guide for organizing school tree-planting activities, the “Terra Mission Educational Pack”, a pack of eight key sustainability themes to be integrated in the curriculum, and a Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs), “Teaching Sustainability for Action”, whose high engagement prompted the organization of two editions. This MOOC offer videos, guides, live webinars with environmental experts, and extensive opportunities for networking and idea exchange through Padlets and forums. The two editions have reached 2500 educators and +4000 people in total, with more than 60% actively engaging with the offered materials. Feedback from participants indicates significant improvement in their self-reported competence related to sustainability after completing the course. Life Terra’s experience can highlight the potential of offering teachers a wide variety of resources and training opportunities to enhance their teaching practices and, ultimately, impact students. It also offers valuable learnings for future projects aimed at enriching their educational content and empowering teachers in the fight against climate change.