Advancing Students' Climate Literacy: A Case from the International Summer School of Remote Sensing in Ukraine

The demand for implementing the observation and monitoring of the surface of our planet has never been higher than today. In recent years, we have faced many challenges in adapting and mitigating the tremendous consequences of climate change in different parts of the world. Nowadays, people in Ukraine are dealing with a full-scale war that has affected not only the environment but also the social sphere, including education. It is of the utmost importance that the current schoolchildren are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to deal with the consequences of today's challenges in the future.

The International Summer School on Remote Sensing is organised by the GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory at the National Centre "Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine". It is an annual, free online educational event for secondary school students on the basics of Remote Sensing, where students from Ukraine and other countries get acquainted with and work with the platforms of the European Space Agency and NASA. For the first time, the International Summer School was held in 2019 in Ukraine and since 2021 it has been organised annually online. Participants from 23 countries attended the School, such as Poland, USA, Kenya, India, Slovakia, Lebanon, Philippines, Indonesia, Guatemala, Romania, Yemen, Pakistan, Germany, Venezuela, Nigeria, India, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Peru, Ghana, South Africa, Lithuania, Ethiopia.

The program of the School consists of 5 classes (including lectures and hands-on practice) and a final meeting, where students present their group projects on using satellite data in environmental research. During the School, students are formed into small groups of 2-3 people to prepare their projects while improving their communication and collaboration skills. During teamwork, students apply the knowledge they have gained throughout the school. The students' most common topics are wildfires, deforestation, glacial melting, eutrophication of water bodies, urban expansion, air quality, volcanic eruptions, etc.

The outcomes of the International Summer School on Remote Sensing for schoolchildren have developed skills in analysing satellite images and the ability to identify the research problem, formulate a hypothesis and apply satellite monitoring data to investigate the issues. These skills help students develop climate literacy and critical thinking, as well as the ability to create research projects and further develop in the academic field. Before and after the summer school, we conduct surveys among students to understand the dynamics of improving their skills and changing their attitudes toward the use of remote sensing technologies in the study and understanding of climate change. In the final survey, 71,4% of students indicated that the knowledge and skills they acquired during the Summer School will help them to make science projects in their schools and 42.9% of students stated that Remote Sensing education will help them to achieve their goals.