HFT Stuttgart

Climate change requires collective action and will affect younger generations in particular. However, climate protection is often an abstract concept, especially for children and young people. This is why the Center for Sustainable Urban Development, together with the local associations KlimaTaskforce e.V. and the-NT.space e.V., is initiating a citizen science project in Nürtingen to make climate protection tangible for children and teenagers.

As a participatory process, a climate measuring station, sensor boxes, workshops and a visualization concept are being developed and implemented to record the local microclimate. Through this self-experience as part of a do-it-yourself or do-it-together process, EnviMon promotes awareness of climate protection, addresses the “climate anxiety” of children and teenagers and motivates them to deal with climate change. 

• Why is local climate protection important in the context of climate change?
• How can awareness of climate protection be raised through self-awareness?
• How do children and young people experience physical measurements of the microclimate? Are there differences between personal perception and objectively measured parameters?

The research project is implemented in five steps.

1. Internal development: Design and preparation of the climate measuring station, the workshop formats and the sensors
2. Participatory preparation: Construction of the climate measuring station with children and teenagers
3. Participatory implementation: Construction of the DIY sensor boxes with children and teenagers in a DIT setting; children and teenagers carry out DIY measurements in their living environment; the climate measuring station is set up in public
4. Participatory evaluation: research results are evaluated and visualized with children and teenagers
5. Transfer and consolidation: The climate measuring station is placed in various locations and the project results are presented to the public. A toolbox (construction instructions for the climate measuring station and DIY sensor boxes) enables replicability.

To measure success, both qualitative goals (perception of microclimate via psychometric questionnaires) and quantitative goals (project reach via KPIs) are pursued. The indicators for measuring success are 1) the increased motivation of children and young people for their own climate protection projects and 2) the growth of the practice partners at the end of the project term. EnviMon strives for action-oriented implementation in the sense of a hands-on mentality. The focus is on joint local climate protection in a do-it-yourself and do-it-together-setting.

As part of EnviMon, a climate measuring station and associated sensors for recording the microclimate were developed, built and tested together with children and teenagers to demonstrate approaches to the perception of the urban climate. By building and testing microclimate sensors, children and teenagers develop a deeper understanding of local climate and environmental problems, which increases their sense of responsibility for climate change and climate protection.