What future for our beaches?

Climate change is a global concern of society and, in particular, of the populations living in coastal areas. Individual awareness and collective actions must be promoted to prevent cliffs, slopes and beaches, unique geological formations, transformed into natural beauties, from disappearing in the short term.

With this in mind, our 11th grade Science and Technology students, as part of the disciplines of Physics and Chemistry A and Biology and Geology, of the portuguese curriculum, attended a lecture and visited an exhibition entitled "Do you know where you lay down your towel?" The exhibition focused on the geodiversity of the Municipality of Alcobaça was developed under the anual theme of the Blue Flag Programme, bringing to the local community, the results of a scientific research guided by Prof. Doctor Paulo Trincão, Director of the Science Museum of the University of Coimbra.

Following this visit, the 26 students, working in groups of 3 to 4 elements, collaboratively created scientific posters, interconnecting key learnings from Physics and Geology.

Physics explains the fall of debris from cliffs by the analysis of real rectilinear movements of free fall or on inclined planes. By rechearching and data collecting on the position of the debris in cliffs (considering a given reference frame and the inclination of the geological formations, as well as the forces to which they are subjected), Students realise the necessary precautions we must take, when choosing the right spot to lay down our towel or when walking along the cliffs.

On the other hand, Geology explains geological deformations based on the mobility of the lithosphere and the behaviour of the materials we learn to identify at local cliffs and landscapes.

The geological context of São Martinho do Porto, located in the municipality of Alcobaça, was the learning scenario, linking the curriculum to reality.

Following the scientific posters task, students will carry out a case study on coastal intervention, considering the vulnerability scenarios for the region and climate change. Using an application,[1] developed by researchers from the Faculty of Sciences in University of Lisbon, Students will discuss, in the form of Role-play, as local decision-makers in 2050, about prevention and mitigation strategies to climate change in the near future (eg. Heavy engineering works, dune protection, tourist pressure on local coastal ecossistems, walkways construction, building permits, etc).

Students will presente their work, at the end of the school year, to the educational community and municipality council.

Please note that students have laptops provided under the government program PADDE[2].

[1]Antunes C., Rocha C. e Catita C. (2017) Cenários de Subida do Nível do mar para Portugal Continental. In: www.snmportugal.pt, IDL/FCUL.

[2]The Action Plan for the Digital Development of Schools (PADDE) is based on the conceptual framework of the guiding documents developed by the European Commission, namely  DigCompEdu and  DigCompOrg. In this way, the areas of intervention of the PADDE will focus on the different domains of school organization in the field of digital technologies: Professional Engagement, Teaching and Learning, Learning Assessment, Continuous Professional Development and Leadership. Plan - Digital School (agrupspc.pt)