From classroom theory to climate action
Environmental awareness & out-Schooling demonstration program (Pilot)
📍 Location: Najjeza Village, Wakiso District (Uganda) · Knowledge exchange with Denmark
🗓 Duration: 8 months
🟢 Status: Pilot project
🎯 Focus Areas: Climate education · Children’s agency · Community learning · Environmental resilience
💰 Funder: Civil Society Fund (CISU)
About the project
This pilot project enables primary school children to learn about climate change through hands-on, outdoor, and play-based education—transforming awareness into practical action within schools and communities.
At a glance
Inspired by the Danish out-schooling tradition, this project pilots an Environment Awareness and Out-Schooling Demonstration Program that combines classroom learning with nature-based, experiential education.
Using an existing 10-acre community demonstration farm, the project engages children aged 6–12—often excluded from climate initiatives—to learn, experiment, and act on climate change adaptation in ways that are age-appropriate, practical, and locally grounded.
The Challenge
Children in Uganda represent over half of the population and are among those most affected by climate variability—yet they are rarely engaged as active learners or agents in climate adaptation.
Key challenges include:
Climate education that is highly theoretical and exam-oriented
Limited opportunities for practical learning and field exposure
Few child-friendly approaches to climate change education
Low community awareness of climate adaptation despite high dependence on agriculture
In Najjeza and surrounding communities, families rely heavily on rain-fed agriculture, yet knowledge about climate variability and coping strategies remains limited.
The partnership role
Civil Connections Community Foundation and Najjeza Valley Foundation work as co-creators and facilitators, not service providers.
Together, we:
Bridge local knowledge, community assets, and global learning
Support a locally rooted organisation to pilot and document a scalable model
Strengthen organisational capacity while centring children’s learning and agency
What we intentionally do not do:
Deliver one-off awareness campaigns
Replace existing school systems
Treat children as passive recipients of information
What we are learning
Children are highly capable of engaging with climate issues when learning is practical
Outdoor, play-based education strengthens retention and motivation
Community assets (farms, women’s groups, local knowledge) are powerful learning spaces
Consistent programming is more effective than isolated school visits
Expected outputs
By the end of the pilot phase:
180 children from 5 primary schools actively engaged in climate learning
5 school environment clubs established or strengthened
12 facilitators (teachers and community workers) trained through a Trainer-of-Trainers model
A fully operational Environment Awareness & Out-Schooling Demonstration Centre established
Increased confidence among children to discuss and act on climate issues
Most importantly, children move from learning about climate change to practising climate adaptation.
What’s Next
This pilot serves as a foundation for scaling and adaptation:
The demonstration centre remains active beyond the project period
Learning materials and curricula will be shared digitally
The model can be adapted by other schools and organisations
Insights feed into broader advocacy for integrating practical out-schooling into formal education
The long-term ambition is to influence how climate education is approached nationally—starting from the community level.
Alignment with Civil Connections’ Theory of Change
This project contributes by:
Strengthening children’s voice, agency, and early civic awareness
Enabling collective learning across schools, families, and community actors
Supporting locally owned, sustainable responses to climate change
It reflects Civil Connections’ belief that lasting change starts early, locally, and through lived experience.