What can one small person do? – transforming education into action

Somewhere deep, the earth cries out,
A whisper wrapped in fear and doubt.
We feel it near, we know it’s true,
But what can one small person do?

The climate’s change, a daunting foe,
With headlines fast and hope so slow.
A rising wave, a mounting weight,
That leaves us still—to hesitate.

We feel the earth beneath our feet,
Its call both gentle and bittersweet.
We read the facts, we sense the strain,
The rising seas, the drying rain.

Disappointment hangs in the air,
As leaders talk but seldom care.
But promises fade, and actions stall,
As governments falter, and corporations fall.

Yet faced with all the world demands,
How do we help with empty hands?
The knowing’s there, the care runs deep,
But knowledge alone won’t plant or reap.

UNESCO warns of education’s role,
A framework for change, a vital goal.
They claim it's all in what they teach.
But still, the tools remain out of reach,

To move beyond this weight we bear,
We need the skills to act, to care.
In knowing and in learning how,
Perhaps we ease the burdens now.

But knowledge lives beyond the page,
In hands that plant, in minds that gauge.
In spaces where all voices blend,
Our learning deepens, fears can mend.

Imagine spaces shared and free,
Where we gain tools for what could be.
Not just to worry, fret, and fear,
But learn the steps that bring change near.

Let skills take root, let actions rise,
From careful hands, our hope applies.
Together taught, together we stand—
Equipped with the strength to heal the land.

 

Readings used:

Becht, A., Spitzer, J., Grapsas, S., van de Wetering, J., Poorthuis, A., Smeekes, A. and Thomaes, S. 2024. Feeling anxious and being engaged in a warming world: climate anxiety and adolescents’ pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 65(10), pp.1270–1282.

Innocenti, M., Santarelli, G., Lombardi, G.S., Ciabini, L., Zjalic, D., Di Russo, M. and Cadeddu, C. 2023. How Can Climate Change Anxiety Induce Both Pro-Environmental Behaviours and Eco-Paralysis? The Mediating Role of General Self-Efficacy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20(4), p.3085.

UNESCO 2020. Education for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap. Paris: UNESCO.

UNESCO 2017. Education for Sustainable Development Goals: learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO.