Vision

Our vision is that the academic and non-academic communities will gain a general understanding of coral reef biology. They will also be able to identify principal factors related to the coral reef decline. Raising awareness in the community will help efforts for coral reef conservation. If this project is successful, we hope to inspire people to form non-profit associations in support of coral reefs. 

Metrics for success  

• Facebook: Number of likes on the page, number of likes, comments, and shares for each publication. 
• Instagram: Number of followers in the account, number of likes and comments per photo or video. 
• Twitter: Number of followers on the account, number of likes, retweets, and comments per post. 
• YouTube: Number of subscribers to the channel, number of likes, comments, and views. 

Final report 

Our project aims to raise awareness of climate change’s impact on coral reefs using social networks. During six months, we: 

• Consolidated the UAQ-Reef initiative by including multidisciplinary elements in our team. 
• Created social networks of the UAQ-Reef initiative on December 1st. (Instagram: UAQReef, Twitter: @uaqreef, Youtube: UAQ Reef, Facebook: UAQ Reef). The first post on social networks was published on December 9th. 
• Recorded We recorded a promotional video on December 3rd.  
• Started a topic list of main issues regarding climate change. 
• Developed a branding of the UAQ-Reef initiative. This resulted in the UAQ-Reef logo, slogan, jingle, and brand colors. 
• Wrote three scripts for 15 videos. The first video was recorded on December 10th. 

We have had several meetings to devise strategies for infographic and audiovisual design, and we are currently working on videos and infographic materials. 

As an important part of the representativeness of our initiative, we designed a character named “Cory,” which is a coral cartoon. This character will help us reach young people and raise awareness of the impact of climate change on coral reefs. 

With this initiative, we have begun to raise awareness in the community, which will help collaborative efforts for coral reefs conservation. We hope that this project can inspire people to form non-profit associations in support of coral reefs. 

Vision

This grassroots growing project creates community around permaculture. We aim to improve well-being, offer practical education, and cultivate connections in student, staff and local communities. 

Metrics for success  

We measure our success on the visual aspect of the garden such as the place being sowed and cleared as well as some infrastructures being built (compost, herb spirals, cleared pond, etc.). We will also see our success in the number of people involved in the team to ensure the longevity of the garden in the coming years. We would like to set up a dynamic and open structure which allows people to get involved easily (such as the use of different platforms including Trello and Slack). 

Final report 

Creating space for discussions around the topic of nature and environment is particularly important in times of global change. The King’s Buildings Permaculture Garden is a student-led grassroot project, aiming to build a community centered around the concept of permaculture gardening. Rather than artificially creating arrangements, permaculture practices aim to integrate the features of the pre-existing ecosystem and naturally beneficial associations of plants within the garden design. Permaculture also promotes a holistic approach to gardening, emphasizing the importance of the social component of growing plants. By providing people with a freely accessible space to enjoy nature and experience hands-on gardening, we hope to stimulate the creativity of Edinburgh’s inhabitants and raise awareness of global inequality and the accelerating loss of nature all over the world. After a prolonged fundraising and bureaucratic phase, practical work in the garden started this year. Although the process has been slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the associated restrictions, we managed to sow the first seeds in the spring of 2021. To expand our outreach, we are currently advertising funding opportunities for community-led projects within the space of the garden, which will hopefully become a bigger part of the project in the future. Throughout the summer we plan to further develop the infrastructure of the garden and implement workshops to grow our community. We hope that this project can play a small part in tackling the current climate and biodiversity crisis and inspire others to be brave and create their own community garden projects. 

Vision

Our goal is to become a link between regular people and real science dedicated to tackling climate change through the application of biology. Our format is video documentaries, through which we show the procedures for experimenting with seeds of native species from the Chihuahuan Desert in order to promote conservation and sustainable management of such natural resources.  

Metrics for success  

The main goal of our project is to produce as many plants per species as we can, in order to be cultivated at public greenhouse facilities within the region. Our videos are available on YouTube, so we are encouraging the ‘biology’ guild in social networks to advertise our channel. The statistics of these videos are also  measurable evidence of our work. 

Final report 

During the time of our project, the pandemic lockdown had a huge impact on our access to campus, where we had planned the original germination experiments. Instead, the germination phase was done at home, and due to further complications (home renovations), not all the plants survived the first months. However, in the greenhouse facilities, there was always room for those plants that we had successfully germinated. Guidance from our mentor was important for setting the future objectives and expanding our collaboration to other regions. 

Vision

If our project is a success, biodiversity might regenerate which will have major direct and indirect impacts due to sustainable hunting. First, agricultural damage will decrease thanks to a better handling of game populations. Second, the risk of collateral damages may decrease. We expect fewer accidents as well as improved relations between hunters, farmers, and local inhabitants. It should also have a positive impact on economic growth thanks to the re-affectation of taxes on hunting licenses. 

Metrics for success  

Short-term metrics: We will use polls to see if people support hunting or not. We will also ask hunters, journalists, and politicians whether they are willing to debate about hunting methods. 

Mid-term and long-term metrics: We will measure the media impact by analyzing how many articles are published on the subject and how many individuals are involved on social media. The number of answers we receive could serve as an indicator of efficiency. 

Final report 

Our work on creating harmonized sustainable hunting practices in France evolved during the time-period based on the information we received. We wanted to know more about hunting, so we contacted hunters, scientists, biologists, and deputies. Thanks to these knowledge exchanges and ideas, our goal was to write a good practice report to be approved by each hunter association, and to present it in the Parliament to change the hunting legislation. By doing so, biodiversity could regenerate, agricultural damages could be diminished and breeding of wild animals would cease. The final aim was to better adapt wild animals to climate change and to go back to a more natural way of managing the environment.  

However, it is very difficult to find a balance between respecting hunting practices as a hobby and protecting biodiversity. Indeed, while exchanging emails with some deputies working on hunting practices as well as hunters themselves, we realized that they were not interested in changing the hunting system.   

Consequently, we decided to change the nature of our project by creating an Instagram page used as a newsletter about hunting practices and their impact on biodiversity and society; their link with climate change; and their link with the legislation. Our aim is also to sensitize people to good hunting practices and to cover the events related to this topic. We believe the mediatic aspect is important for France, so both hunters and the rest of society can try to have the most neutral and scientific information all in one place. 

Vision

We aspire to preserve natural heritage by providing innovative solutions for tourism management. To deliver on this Vision, we will work towards a GTM business strategy.  While achieving economic goals, this project will contribute to the awareness of how conscientious eco-tourism can help local communities to flourish while safeguarding natural habitats for current and future generations. 

Metrics for success  

Facebook page: We will encourage participation, measuring clicks and views. 

Signatories: We will ask the local community to sign a community petition and give support to the project. 

Feedback from stakeholders: We have direct contact with the harbor community, which is responsible for the management of the harbor and related tourist areas. We will provide feedback and support during the 6 months.  

Survey/interviews 

Final report 

This project aims to preserve natural heritage by focusing on the management of rural over-tourism. Tourism research has mainly focused on urban hotspots, overlooking the importance of these challenges in the rural context. This research focuses on the case study of Torsö, a small coastal village in southern Sweden, where in recent years tourism has become a main attraction. While not having had large numbers of visitors in the past, Torsö has now started to experience increases in the numbers of tourists seeking a quiet place to relax. Taking Torsö as a starting point, this research adopts a mixed-method approach to identify critical elements that might hinder collaboration in Tourism Destination Plans (TDPs). Through 11 in-depth interviews, the first study identified possible gaps in the current academic research and dynamics among Torsö’s stakeholders’ groups. As a result, four mini-theories or hypotheses were developed. The second study tested these four hypotheses through survey methodology. The sample size counted 186 participants. Linear regression models demonstrated a significant (p < 0.01) relationship between the variables of three out of four hypotheses. The first hypothesis confirmed a negative linear correlation between age and the population group of the participants. Both intentions to participate in TDPs and ecological, behavioral intentions showed a positive linear correlation with the independent variable of the stakeholders’ group. The findings of this research provide significant insights for further research and baseline information for implementors of TDPs and local communities in the development of more effective and holistic approaches for improving sustainable tourism management. 

Vision

The project for the restoration of fragile ecosystems, waste management, and the promotion of WASH in the main campus of the University of Dschang was carried by an alliance made up of four students. Our Vision is to promote the protection of the biodiversity and the sustainable use of natural resources as tools to fight against poverty and boost socio-economic development in Africa. We are working in the promotion of the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals. 

Metrics for success  

Most of our team members are volunteer students with many years of experience volunteering with local development associations. We are passionate about community development projects and always strive to bringing assistance to vulnerable populations. Our key values are self-respect and respecting others regardless of differences as well as treating others with dignity. Our team members possess high humility, authenticity, integrity, courage, and a high level of teamwork spirit. 

Final report 

What we set out to accomplish from mid-November 2020 to present day was to sensitize the entire University community on the protection of fragile ecosystems, waste management, and the promotion of WASH campaigns. We planted more than 2000 trees and trained about 100 agricultural students in the technics of sustainable agriculture. We also sponsored tree planting events in schools and communities in Dschang. We collected waste from households and composted to produce organic fertilizers. Oil was also transformed to biogas.  

In the beginning, we had a lot of difficulties because only a few members understood the Vision. Moreover, operation tree planting faced a lot of challenges due to the limited financial means: all activities were financed from our personal contribution with no assistance from stakeholders. Climate change is a global threat, but solutions involve a superhuman level of sacrifice and awareness which is not easily attained in the field without obstacles.  

Our connection with the University administration since the launching of our activities have been very positive. We benefited from training in leadership and civic engagement. We also benefited from a hackathon organized by the Dschang local council on waste management. We strongly believe that a replica of this project in any community with a little financial assistance will greatly create an impact. Our next step is to launch a project on “Birthday Tree Planting” which will celebrate birthdays by planting a tree.  

Vision

1. Mitigate the catastrophic problems associated with climate change. 
2. Empower students with creative and innovative ideas on climate change. 
3. Connect to the teeming population 

Metrics for success  

This project is designed to be sustainable as such the measurements for success will also continue. The success can be measured through impression from students. Also, the number of participants, which is students admitted into the university. 

Final report 

We observed that many students are not aware of the climate crisis and also do not put consideration on climate action as SDG 13 highlight and Agenda 2030. This project is intended to change the scenario and impact the mindset of students through creativity and design thinking. The project focuses on three priority areas: Awareness and Sensitization, Tree Planting Campaign, and Workshop. The mission of the project is to mitigate the catastrophic problem associated with climate change, to empower students with creativity and innovative ideas on climate change and connect to the teeming population. 

The project started with engaging students through social media platforms (WhatsApp, Twitter, Telegram, and Facebook) for easy access in achieving our number one priority, Awareness and Sensitization. We were able to connect with more than 2,000 people. Moreover, the project engaged students by sharing ideas and discussion through an online workshop, within which various topics related to climate issues were discussed including deforestation and ecosystem restoration. The workshop included more than 60 participating students  and is still ongoing. 

We distributed a survey to the university community to see the commitment of the students toward climate action. These made an impact through suggestions for policy changes that will sustain the environmental structure of university. We have over 250 responses, more than 90% of which revealed their readiness to take action against climate change. 

Furthermore, we were able to secure over 200 seedlings for the tree planting campaign through partnership with different organizations. The seedlings are to be distributed across the university campuses and faculties. 

The barriers and challenges we encountered did not stop the project from being successful. Challenges included: The COVID-19 Pandemic restricted the school from opening for a period of time and then restricted large gatherings; industrial action taken by non-academic university staff, which hindered the continuation of normal school activities for a period of time; limited resources and funds to run the workshop for the students; and tree planting in our location is normally done during the rainy season which lead us to shift the tree planting campaign.  

Our next step is to propose how the project is going to be sustained for future years in the university. The project gave us a lot of experience and international exposure on climate issues, and this inspired us to think globally and act locally. 

Vision

There would be more information about the environmental conditions of the public spaces of Chorrillos through a participatory process that includes the population in data gathering and sharing. 

Metrics for success  

• Survey results 
• Number of clicks, likes, or impressions 

Final report 

With the project, we achieved the objective of knowing the environmental conditions of the public spaces of Chorrillos. Thanks to the cooperation of the population through the surveys, we were able to create a web page showcasing the data provided.  

One of the obstacles our research exposed was how to connect with the population for the development of the surveys. We overcame this with communication through social networks. 

An unexpected obstacle was being able to connect with the Chorrillos residents but being unable to get them to enter the survey page. To solve that, we had to take other measures. With the research project, the continuity of a good dialogue between the participants and a teamwork collaboration was achieved. At the community level, they were given the opportunity to express and comment on the situation of their parks. 

Working virtually on the investigation, in addition to contacting and connecting with the population was a great challenge, but with perseverance we managed to reach the goals we had set from the beginning. This project is focused on knowing the quality of the public spaces and knowing if they contribute in a beneficial way to the population that is in their environment. This research can now be replicated in other districts of the city. 

The next steps are to continue with the development of the research on the index of green areas in Chorrillos and update the page monthly. 

Vision

Make people aware of the importance of the Urban Ravines of the Municipality of Cuernavaca, Morelos, through environmental education activities, inclusive videos, and artistic and cultural workshops in order to involve them in their recovery. We developed collective activities through the construction of green walls made with waste. We worked with local artistic groups to paint spaces for conservation, such as where workshops were given, and the elaborated documentary was shown. 

Metrics for success  

The documentary was screened in five neighborhoods adjacent to the ravines. More than 100 people attended in total, who carried out gully cleaning and government requests for the care of the gullies. Seventy people attended the waste wall activities, and we organized a collective to continue with the environmental education activities to reach more people. The project will continue to be carried out later since the idea of combining science with theater, film, and music was well-recieved. 

Final report 

Carrying out the project in a pandemic was a challenge because we ran out of support resources. However, unexpected opportunities arose, such as contact with different social groups interested in caring for our planet, so the next step is to form new networks and expand our message further. Throughout the project there were some financial and communication problems between the team, but they were resolved thanks to our shared understanding of the need to work together. 

Vision

We aim to publish a report on the link between climate change and the sweeping 2020 wildfires, accompanied by detailed policy recommendations on wildfire resiliency efforts to better our university and city. In the first semester of this project, we will be doing intensive research and community engagement with the city of Berkeley. In the second semester, we will be finalizing our report and working to implement our policy recommendations.  

Metrics for success  

The project baseline lies in the history of California wildfires and the wildfire policies adopted by UC Berkeley and the City of Berkeley. We will consult Berkeley fire science professors and local city officials to confront the policy reality of our research. We additionally plan to communicate our findings through local publications. Our goal culminates in the publishing of our report in an academic journal and collaborating with local governments on developing wildfire resiliency tactics. 

Final report 

Our project studying wildfires in the San Francisco Bay Area drew many challenges for our team, however, we consider our effort to be a success. Initially, we had a broad research focus, attempting to attack the local climate issue from multiple disciplines. However, we realized that our broad focus would be publishable as a research paper, so we stopped three projects to focus on two research topics. After months of hard work and data analysis, we completed our research as two research papers on wildfires in California.  

The first paper tackles how urban development in the past 20 years made our region more vulnerable to wildfire. As an expert in this field, our assigned mentor helped us stabilize and progress in the project. Our second paper highlighted that although air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area has improved in the last 20 years, the extreme wildfires have induced worsening extremes in air quality. 

We are seeking to publish our papers in faculty-reviewed journals and have submitted our work for a chapter in a book on sustainable development. We held a research symposium for the UC Berkeley community discussing the results of our research. Additionally, in the Fall we will be speaking on these issues at UC Berkeley’s Climate Resilience workshops to improve our community’s vulnerability to wildfires. While our project took a more academic turn, our team learned throughout this whole process and will be continuing to fight for wildfire resilience in our community for years to come.  

Vision

We know that many students in staff schools come from University quarters and are not concerned about the climate catastrophe in their community; therefore, they have a role to play in mitigating environmental challenges. This project aims to impact the staff of Secondary and primary schools to have an idea of how to solve those issues confronting our society.

Many students from the staff schools (primary and secondary) University community will have an insight into how to leverage Climate catastrophe and secure job opportunities (Green jobs) while solving environmental challenges.

Aims:

• To create awareness among students of secondary and primary schools within the University compound
• To induce climate literacy in students
• To Promote knowledge ideas and sharing on Climate change
• To leverage green job opportunities while solving climate change problems

Metrics for success  

Initially, the project cited a few metrics for success, which are simple but identify the potential and how it aims to reduce carbon emissions. These included:

• Engagement & Number of students that participate in the program.
• Data collection survey field by the students and teachers in the University staff schools.
• Videos and pictures during the activities. 

Almost a 100% of students from new and old site primary schools and new site secondary school pledged to take action. On that note, 50 students from new site secondary school and 30 from both new and old site secondary schools attended the excercises in the first round and signed this pledge. This excercise is to be replicated for the second iteration. 

 Final report 

Our progress leverage to have the necessary arrangement by establishing a network of volunteers and reaching out to the university through the Student Affairs division and Vice-Chancellor to get notified of our activities. In addition, we started consulting with available NGOs that can support us with technical or financial support, where we tend to develop a work plan to guide us to achieve our goals (see Appendix 1).

Our team continues working day and night to make a difference within the community, working closely to set up an excellent strategy to complete the project and have a measurable outcome.

The project followed a formal process of sending a letter to the respective schools to allocate time and day for the event. On the other hand, we visited the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria Kano state, Known as the shelter-belt station, and we secured several seedlings in addition to 30 from AJAP Nigeria Kano State. A timetable was created to make the activity easy, and a lesson plan was formed to facilitate the teaching process (see appendix 1).

The team started by visiting the first school from the timetable, which is a secondary school, to deliver an orientation exercise and tree planting. During the exercise,  we had a 30-minute discussion about “Introduction to climate action.” The second activity session targeted children from primary school aged 8-11 years. The lesson was planned based on children’s interactions and engagement, so we played before the climate lesson and the planting activity. The project ensured all students were carried along in all activities; they were shown how to plant and remove the tree they planted. The activity was replicated in other primary schools, and it was successful. The students were motivated to create a club that would provide all the necessary inputs, including water and other nutrients (Manure) needed to grow the tree.

The major challenges encountered during the activity were a lack of financial support and External Mentor engagement which is entirely online, and we faced some connectivity issues. Also, after our first engagement, our mentor left her university, which made connecting again difficult. Nevertheless, there are lessons learned from the engagement that made us happy. 

Vision

To reduce the environmental impact of our actions and ensure the transition towards a sustainable development model, it is necessary to create an environmental culture, and its foundations must be laid in the educational sector. In this project, we propose implementing environmentally friendly practices that the university population can adopt by developing posters to be disseminated in different institutional and social media. The initiative will be implemented in the university, but with the aim that actions are adopted at home and thus make a university-society connection.

Metrics for success  

We proposed to measure impact through the number of practices and didactic material developed.

1. Dissemination in social networks with:
   -Creation of pages
   -Number of followers, reproductions, reach and reactions
   -Student network with the number of members and their participation

 We ended up measuring impact through the amount of didactic material on sustainable practices and environmental issues.

1. Dissemination in social networks:
   -Creation of pages
   -Number of infographics and videos
   -Number of followers, reproductions, reach and reactions

2. Workshops through the number of:
   Workshops
   Institutions
   Participants
   Quizz before and after the workshop.

3. Broadcasting:
   -Number of interviews and capsules.

Final report 

Our work on this project was satisfactory and full of great experiences. We created three accounts on social networks (Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook), showing that the most active is Facebook, with 427 followers. We developed 14 infographics and four videos. We noticed the reach of our publications was wider than Mexico since we have followers from other countries such as the United States and Peru. We also developed materials to give workshops to adults, youth, and children, as well as dynamics and didactic activities.

In the beginning, access to the institutions was a concern because the summer vacation period in Mexico started during the early stages of the project. However, we managed to reach the public through other media channels, such as the University Radio, where we had the opportunity to make three informative capsules, two in audio and video and the last one in audio. We also conducted an interview in the program “Paréntesis de investigación,” where, thanks to this, CECATI contacted us to give a 3-hour workshop with an audience of 30 people and 18 via MS Teams. We also participated in the IIT engineering week with four workshops lasting 3 hours each; a total of 80 students attended during this week. In turn, we managed to contact the museum La Rodadora, where we participated in two interactive workshops for children with a constant flow of people. We estimate to have impacted more than 100 people during the two days of the workshop exhibition.

Finally, we have three other events scheduled for November: a conference and workshop in La Rodadora and another workshop in an elementary school. But it does not end here, as we will continue developing material for social networks and participating in various institutions with conferences and workshops. In addition, three more members joined the team.