Climate Action and Light Pollution Threat (CliC-PoLiT)

Intended End User: Teacher, School Leader

Age Group: Upper Primary; Lower Secondary; Upper Secondary

School Curriculum: Maths; Science; Social & Environment Science; Arts; Applied Science

Themes and Topics: Energy Use and Production; Behaviour & Lifestyle; Collective Action; Environmental Change; Futures Thinking; School Leadership; Information & Knowledge; Citizenship; Pedagogy Approaches

Duration: Depends on the activities. From 1h to several weeks as a project.

Type of Resource: Assessment, Guidelines & Notes, Lesson Plans, Project, Online Tool

Keywords: Light Pollution, Energy, climate change, responsible citizenship, Inquriy, Design Thinking, STEAM

Languages: English

Description

The Climate Action and Light Pollution Threat (CliC-PoLiT) project addresses critical environmental challenges – climate change, urban sustainability, and light pollution – through systemic, interdisciplinary approaches that integrate Science, Arts, and Humanities. By empowering students to investigate, solve, and act on real-world environmental issues, the project fosters essential skills such as problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. Students share their findings with their communities, promoting broader societal awareness and engagement.

The project provides a suite of resources, including guidelines, educational materials, and professional development tools for educators. These resources support the integration of the topics into school curricula and include assessment frameworks for both teachers and students.

The project, which concluded in 2024, introduced three replicable initiatives: two robotics competitions and a culminating Students’ Parliament Program. In this program, secondary students debated how European society should address scientific findings on light pollution. Discussions centered on four key themes:

Impact on Biodiversity
Impact on Energy Use
Loss of the Night Sky
Satellite Constellations

This innovative approach not only deepens students’ understanding of sustainability challenges but also inspires actionable solutions for a more sustainable future. Resources can be used individually or used in clusters depending on your need and level of experience.

How to use this resource

You can use the CliC-PoLiT Educational & Assessment Toolkits to look for:

Background information on Light Pollution, its effects on the environment, and its connection to climate change;
Ideas and resources to support classroom activities;
Connections between classroom activities and our pedagogical framework, and suggested ways of implementation;
A how-to guide to introduce selected digital resources in schools;
Introduce modern assessment practices to teachers including formative, summative and student self-assessment.initiatives.

You can also use the reports of the three initiatives that were implemented by the project – two robotics competitions and a culminating Students’ Parliament Program – that can be inspiring to be replicated.

The resources

On the CliC-PoLiT website, under the menu TOOLKITS you can find the Educational & Assessment Toolkits. Under the menu COMPETITIONS, you can find the reports of the robotics competitions and the Students’ Parliament Program.

Learning Outcomes (Teachers)

Elicit prior knowledge and further develop knowledge and comprehension of key Sustainability Citizenship key concepts, challenging established worldviews and values.
Apply a range of suitable tools and frameworks to promote student Sustainability Citizenship
Reflect on practice and examine national curricula to identify opportunities to promote Sustainability Citizenship in interdisciplinary ways and engage with external stakeholders.
Collaboratively synthesise the knowledge, tools and frameworks to create educational materials and lessons plans adapted to their own local context
Develop and apply assessment criteria to evaluate Sustainability Citizenship in students.
Through workshop activities and communities of practice, build capacity and agency as Sustainability Citizenship educators and leaders.

Learning Outcomes (Leadership)

Through workshop activities and communities of practice, build capacity as Sustainability Citizenship educators and leaders.

Green Competencies

Embodying Sustainable Values: Valuing Sustainability; Promoting Nature
Embracing Complexity in Sustainability: Systems Thinking; Critical Thinking; Problem Framing
Envisioning Sustainable Futures: Futures Literacy; Adaptability
Acting for Sustainability: Political Agency; Collective Action