Photo caption: Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams (second right), and Principal of the University of the West Indies, Mona, Professor Dale Webber (right), look through a copy of the book ‘Let's Make a Difference... A Caribbean Primer on Climate Change’,with principal authors Dr. Sharon Bramwell- Lalor (left) and Dr. Therese Ferguson from UWI’s School of Education. Occasion was the launch of educational products focused on climate change for primary-level students, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, recently.

Students from seven primary schools across the Corporate Area and Clarendon, including children with disabilities, will benefit from a suite of educational products focused on climate change. The products are produced under a pilot project undertaken by the Climate Studies Group, Mona (CSGM) at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, aimed at strengthening the country’s resilience to climate change. Included is a ‘first of its kind’ textbook entitled, ‘Let’s Make a Difference…A Caribbean Primer on Climate Change’ written by lecturers from UWI’s School of Education and an animation series based on the text produced under commission by Miromorai Interactive Learning Solutions Limited. There are also braille versions of two key climate studies documents, including an executive summary on the State of the Caribbean Climate report and a YouTube channel on the report, which is formatted with audiovisual content for the disabled community. The book will eventually be available in print and electronic forms to all primary level schools and Jamaican parish libraries.

Additionally, under the project, the seven primary schools received an eco-friendly gazebo or portable tents with outdoor seating, powered by a fixed or portable solar energy-based solution, and reading gardens with endemic plants and trees, to encourage the students to care for and study their growth and developed a culture of protecting the environment. Two schools received automatic weather stations linked to the Met Office of Jamaica. The schools benefitting are Randolph Lopez School of Hope, Constant Spring Primary and Junior High, Franklin Town Primary, St. Peter Claver Primary, and Harbour View Primary in Kingston and St. Andrew, and Mount Airy Primary and Infant, and Richmond Park Primary in Clarendon. The project sponsors are the Global Environment Facility/Small Grants Programme (GEF/SGP) with co-financing from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and the National Commercial Bank (NCB). The educational suite was launched February 2022.