What is rewilding?
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Audience
Primary school, Secondary school -
Learning stage
Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4 -
Learning area
Climate change, Science -
Type
Learning resources
On this page...
Climate change is the long-term change in the world's weather systems. The climate has changed at times over the Earth's history, but since the 1800s rapid and extreme climate change has been caused by human activities.
Over the last 200 years, humans have burnt large amounts of fossil fuels as energy sources, cut down forests for materials and expanded our cities. This has released gases into the atmosphere, which have trapped heat and caused our oceans, air and land to warm. This global warming has impacted the lives of people, plants and animals in many different ways.
What are your biggest concerns about the future of climate change? In this video for the Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize, Jonathan interviews members of his community about the things that concern them and discusses 'rewilding' as a solution to climate change.
- The 20 hottest years that have been recorded have all happened in the last 22 years! This heating up affects both humans and animals and has created more unpredictable and extreme weather patterns.
- Over the history of the Earth, our climate has changed slowly, over 100s of millions of years. However, the change to the global climate that we are living through now has happened in just over 100 years. That means the current rise of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and temperature is happening at a rate a million times faster than previous changes!
- What are your biggest concerns about the future of climate change? Before watching the video, brainstorm as a class some of the things that climate change may affect in the future.
- After watching the video, split your class into small groups. Ask each group to do some research into something that is being developed or proposed to help combat climate change. It could be natural (such as rewilding), technological (such as renewable energy sources) or community-based (such as shared gardens and local markets). You can start your research on our information page about climate change solutions.
About the video
In Rewilding Earth, Jonathan discusses the implications of climate change and investigates how enhancing biodiversity could help address this pressing issue. Through a series of interviews, he shares community concerns about the future of climate change then draws on research to explain the process of rewilding.
Sponsored by the University of Sydney, the Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize is a national short film competition that encourages school students to communicate a scientific concept in a way that is accessible and entertaining to the public while painlessly increasing their science knowledge. It is intended to support budding young scientists across the nation, who will be our future leaders in research, discovery and communication. You can learn more about the Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize here.
