CliC-PoLiT in a Nutshell
Incorporating the terms of climate change, urban sustainability and light pollution into the curriculum requires systemic thinking and interdisciplinary approaches, demanding in parallel for pedagogical innovations that provide interactive, experiential, transformative, and real-world learning. In light of these challenges, the CliC-PoLiT project aims to design, implement, and evaluate blended innovative educational approaches and digital tools that provide interactive, experiential, transformative, and real-world learning, towards a specific issue.
CliC-PoLiT Pedagogical Model
A pedagogical model that enables students to investigate, solve and act upon environmental and sustainability-related real-world change processes while it supports collaborative teaching approaches helping make abstract or conceptual content more understandable.
CLiC-PoLiT Toolkits
A collection of guidelines, support and educational materials for participating schools interested in tackling the light pollution and climate change issues accompanied by a Professional Development and Assessment toolkit targeting teachers and their students.
CLiC-PoLiT Roadmap
A roadmap for future generations that will provide details on a successful implementation within the framework of STEAM through the pedagogical tools and the toolkit provided along with the Robotics Competitions and the Students’ Parliament outcomes.
We look into important topics on Education for Sustainable Development
Our approach addresses:
- the urgent need to upskill educators’ competence profile in terms of the use of digital tools to enrich students’ learning experiences.
- the importance of empowering students with the necessary competencies to become change agents in their community.
- the need to promote fruitful collaboration between researchers and schools with mutually beneficial support, where students will learn how to handle data and have their hands in real research experiences.
- involve the community in general but in particular policy makers in discussions and debates related to the well being of the members of the community. Students can have a significant role in promoting and conducting these conversations, with the proper support of their teachers. It is also the aim of this proposal to bring awareness about the growing problem of light pollution and its impact in climate change.
Collaborators & Supporters
Our News
Our Partners
Meet our team
The CliC – PoLiT project brings together 5 partners from four European countries (Ireland, Germany, Portugal and Greece).
Together, these partners cover a wide range of scientific and research topics, interdisciplinary skills and competencies (surrounding natural sciences, climate change and sustainable development, social innovation, open science and innovative pedagogies) required to effectively co-design, pilot and manage green initiatives alongside methodologies, tools and guidance to support sustainability and climate change education.
Frances McCarthy
Researcher
Niall Smith
Researcher
Angelos Lazoudis
Researcher
Loukas Katikas
Researcher
Fraser Lewis
Researcher
Lothar Kurtze
Researcher
Rosa Doran
Researcher
Gustavo Rojas
Researcher
Maria Panagopoulou
Researcher
Ioannis Somalakidis
Researcher
Aris Louvris
ResearcherCliC-PoLiT Educational & Assessment Toolkits
Our toolkits enable the successful piloting in schools by providing support on covering the following aspects:
- 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.
CliC_PoLiT Progress
| Students Involved | Teachers Involved |
20 |
5 |
| CliC_PoLiT Educational toolkit | 1st Robotics Competition | 2nd Robotics Competition | Students Parliament |
Frequently Asked Questions
So how does light have the ability to actually pollute our environment? You can’t touch or feel light, and this is why it has been consistently overlooked. Light pollution is simply excessive artificial light during nighttime hours that shines in areas where it is not needed. A by-product of light pollution is sky-glow. This is how we are most familiar with light pollution as humans. If you live in the city, you can step outside during the darkest time of night and look up to see how yellow or bright the sky is above.
What most people don’t know is that lighting pollution is one of the key biodiversity threats our Earth’s ecology faces. It is among the “top 10 emerging issues in biodiversity conservation and has important implications for policy development and strategic planning. Lighting has the potential to affect entire ecosystems through changes in trophic interactions, which may in turn affect ecosystem services.”
“Managing darkness has to be an integral part of future conservation planning and illumination concepts.” – Dark Sky Association
Like noise pollution, light pollution is a form of waste energy that can cause adverse effects and degrade environmental quality. Moreover, because light (transmitted as electromagnetic waves) is typically generated by electricity, which itself is usually generated by the combustion of fossil fuels, it can be said that there is a connection between light pollution and air pollution (from fossil-fueled power plant emissions). Control of light pollution therefore will help to conserve fuel (and money) and reduce air pollution as well as mitigate the more immediate problems caused by the excessive light.
(Source: Saving Earth, Encyclopedia Britannica)
Estimates vary. A recent survey stated that Europe spends about seven billion Euros annually lighting up the night sky A fact worth retaining: a single 100-watt bulb burning for all hours of the night for one year creates a quarter of a ton of carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas, at the power station (source: lighting industry).
Those campaigning for a better lit nighttime environment do not want to turn off a single necessary light. What is needed to solve the problems of light pollution is simply the right amount of light, directed where it is needed. Shielding, good design and sensitivity about the effects of light on others will lead to a solution.
Where can I find resources for talks and presentations? (Source: International Dark-Sky Association)
We try to make it easier for you to spread the word about night skies in your community. Check out our public outreach materials.