Linking Geoscience Research and Secondary Education: A Research-Based Educational Initiative on the Water Cycle in Cameroon

This contribution presents an educational initiative developed as part of the geoscience research project JEAI DELO (Exploration of Aquifers and Sustainable Water Management in Cameroon), funded by the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD). Implemented in a public high school in Yaoundé, this initiative aims to bring active research into classroom practice while fostering students’ scientific curiosity, methodological rigor, and environmental awareness. Through practical activities, the initiative addresses the study of the water cycle, climate processes, and their interactions with soils and water resources in a region highly sensitive to hydroclimatic variability.

A specific educational component was integrated into the JEAI DELO project. It includes the creation of an open-access website providing meteorological data for school-based investigations. In parallel, an IRD-supported “Youth Club: Weather–Water–Horizon” was established with support from the Educational Mediterranean Observatory (EduMED–IdEx Université Côte d’Azur, Géoazur). This framework is based on close collaboration between researchers, university students, and secondary school teachers. Master’s students and PhD candidates from the University of Yaoundé I adapt research themes into classroom activities in partnership with teachers, creating a sustained link between research, higher education, and secondary education.

Students participate in hands-on, inquiry-based activities inspired by ongoing research. These include building simple meteorological instruments, such as rain gauges, temperature and humidity sensors taking regular field measurements, and performing basic water-quality analyses using accessible methods. Through these exercises, they learn key concepts related to the water cycle—precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and storage—and explore their relationships with climate variability and environmental change. The collected data are then organized, visualized, and interpreted using a simplified but rigorous scientific process that introduces the essential aspects of the scientific method such as hypothesis formulation, data analysis, and critical discussion.

Given that water resources under climate change represent a major educational challenge worldwide, the initiative has expanded beyond Cameroon through school partnerships. The pilot exchange connects the “Lycée Bilingue d’Application” of Yaoundé (Cameroon) with the Lou Garlaban Middle School in Aubagne (France). This collaboration encourages the sharing of practices and complementary perspectives on a same topic, while taking into consideration regional environmental issues and cultural contexts. All activities are structured around the network of weather stations developed by EduMED and its partners.

Overall, this research-based educational approach demonstrates that integrating classroom activities within an active scientific project enhances student engagement and learning. By working with real data, building instruments, and interacting with researchers and university students, pupils develop not only scientific knowledge of climate–water interactions, but also autonomy, critical thinking, and methodological skills. Thus, this initiative highlights how cooperation between research institutions, universities, and schools can strengthen capacity building and contribute to the education of informed and environmentally responsible citizens.