Pre-school science as means of combating climate change: Advocacy that engages children, educating mothers and communities in the climate crisis

• In Event: Harnessing the transformational power of literacy: Using research to build more effective literacy interventions in school feeding programs

Proposal

The McGovern-Dole Food for Education project funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is in its fourth phase in Mali. The project is implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and other partners to improve the health and nutrition of children and communities for improved education outcomes. To that end, improving school governance and establishing school canteens and vegetable gardens aims to guarantee sustainable solutions. Education Development Center (EDC) supports the project by improving the quality of education and guiding the gradual transfer of good practices to government and communities.

In a world where climatic conditions are undergoing upheaval and the natural balance is being disturbed, there are many risks for living beings which are only amplified for young children. “Globally, approximately 1 billion children – nearly half of the world’s children – live in countries that are at an ‘extremely high-risk’ from the impacts of climate change, according to the CCRI.” (UNICEF, 2021)

To find a solution, educating young children through the sciences and school vegetable gardens provides a fertile breeding ground to develop attitudes and behavior from an early age, with a view to acting on the environment, understanding it, preserving it and restoring it and we posit that children are capable of understanding the implications of the climate crisis, and the actions we need to take to combat it.

Mali is implementing a pilot in 10 early childhood development centers (CDPE) to engage children, mother-educators, communities and adults in learning about and understanding their environment, protecting it from various forms of aggression, and instilling values of respect for the environment and awareness of climate change. At the same time, the aim is to initiate advocacy within communities around school vegetable gardens as a center for literacy development and learning hands-on science and climate effects.

In response to McGovern Doles' initiative in support of early learning, and in line with EDC and CRS' strong belief in the importance of early childhood development and education, we are working with the DNEPS (Direction Nationale de l'Éducation Préscolaire et Spéciale) to implement and use school vegetable gardens. The learning focus is multi-faceted; it promotes and supports the development of gardens for school canteens, links learning to Science, Mathematics and Literacy activities, further supports the home-school link that is so important in the early years and grounds early learning in active, hands-on, real-world learning, making effective the connections naturally present for teaching and learning.

This presentation will use quantitative and qualitative data to show how this experiment, carried out as part of a tripartite partnership (EDC, CRS, MEN), is effective and enables children to better comprehend the world around them. By supporting local initiatives, we can create a real collective impact and inspire other communities to follow our example.

Authors

• Carrie Lewis, Edcucation Development Center EDC

• Simeon DEMBELE, Catholic Relief Services

• Almou Maiga, Education Development Center, Inc.