How can you embed Climate Change education in your trips?

World Challenge (Tourism Declares signatory since February 2020) is a leading provider of experiential student travel for schools in the UK and Australia. Their programme, including both the lead up to departure and the trip itself, is centred around a set of educational outcomes which span three key areas; global citizenship, wellbeing and personal growth. 

Students get access to a range of online modules which they complete alongside the rest of their travel group prior to departure. The global citizenship modules cover a range of learning material linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Two of the modules specifically focus on the climate crisis. The first, Climate Change, explores some of the causes and impacts of the crisis, whilst the second, Climate Action, introduces the science, climate justice, and how individuals can create change.

Beyond the online learning provision, trip leaders are trained to facilitate discussions around how to travel more sustainably throughout different segments of the trip. Most itineraries include interactions with innovative change-makers within the destination, allowing students to learn from local experts and broaden their global perspective. 

These sustainable values are also built into other aspects of the programme, for example packing lists which recommend plastic-free alternatives to everyday items, and encourage students to carry reusable tote bags, water bottles and utensils to reduce waste whilst travelling. World Challenge also provides water purification drops to all travellers, which has, they estimate, avoided the use of more than 100,000 single-use plastic water bottles every year since the initiative began.

The aim of the programme is to build a global mindset amongst travellers who are empowered to consider the decisions they make beyond the scope of the trip from a position of knowledge and awareness with regards to sustainability. From here, the organisation hope, the result will be a greater, longer-term impact which has positive implications for both the global community and the planet. The team at World Challenge are in the process of developing methods to monitor the impact of these initiatives and will begin to share reports on this in the coming year.