New Perspectives in Science Education

This paper presents a research-action project co-developed by INDIRE (the Italian National Institute for Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research) and EuCliPa.IT, the Italian coordination and community of European Climate Pact Ambassadors, within the framework of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (SECAP/PAESC). The PAESC (CEPAC) School project aims to strengthen youth engagement in local climate decision-making through school-based collective action and the co-design of Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) within a STE(A)M-oriented perspective. The project combines teacher professional development, delivered through a national Summer School, with classroom-based learning pathways and participatory processes connecting students, schools and municipal administrations. Its core assumption is that climate adaptation becomes educationally meaningful when students translate local observations—such as heat stress, impermeable surfaces, and limited availability of shade or green spaces—into concrete proposals and feasible territorial interventions that can be integrated into SECAP processes. This assumption is supported by evidence from two schools in the province of Monza and Brianza: in one case, the municipality implemented a student-developed proposal to redevelop a central public square; in the other, the school-based process contributed to initiating a local discussion oriented towards SECAP adoption. The study examines: (i) the development of environmental identity and sustainability competences through participatory NbS design; (ii) the quality of school–municipality dialogue in relation to SECAP priorities; and (iii) the alignment between youth-generated proposals and actual planning or implementation decisions. Preliminary findings suggest that NbS co-design can function as a political learning device, simultaneously strengthening climate literacy and democratic participation. From this perspective, NbS generate not only environmental, social, and economic benefits, but also educational and cultural value, fostering students’ reconnection with nature ( Mansion, Martin, de Maurissens, 2024) and through the pedagogy of Reconciliism (Mansion, 2023) reinforcing environmental identity (Clayton et al., 2003), thus offering new perspectives for science education at the intersection of sustainability, citizenship, and local governance.