The Polish province of Silesia – famous for its coal mining and heavy industry – is launching a programme to integrate climate and environment education into the primary school curriculum. The national government is also working on a similar scheme that would be introduced across Poland.
The project in Silesia is being run by the provincial authorities in cooperation with researchers from the University of Silesia in Katowice and will involve 16 schools in the region in an initial pilot phase.
Climate and environment will not be taught as a new, separate subject, but instead woven into the teaching of all existing subjects. It will focus on the four elements, water, fire, earth and air.
“Each of these elements opens up new areas of conversation about environmental problems,” says the University of Silesia. “For example, we will talk about water in the context of drought, torrential rains, melting glaciers, rising sea and ocean levels, the flooding of coastal areas, and climate refugees.”
Magdalena Ochwat, the project coordinator at the university, said that, for example, “during maths classes, we can calculate how much water we need to make jeans”, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP). “It forces us to think and take some action.”
She added that the topic of biodiversity could be addressed during Polish lessons through the reading of Pan Tadeusz – an epic poem by renowned 19th century writer Adam Mickiewicz – which describes the biodiversity of Lithuanian forests. Students could then compare that to how the forests look today.
