SDG 7: Powering the Future with Affordable and Clean Energy 🌍⚡

Goal-Problem-Solution Scenario 🎯

The Goal Problem Solution (GPS) method is a three-part structured summary:
Goal: The goal you are trying to achieve
Problem: The problem that is preventing you from reaching your goal
Solution: What I/we/you are going to do to solve the problem

Here is a simplified GPS framework designed to make these concepts accessible and actionable for students in Stages 2 and 3 investigating SDG 7 Climate Action

Goal:

To ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services by promoting renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency.

Problem:

Many communities around the world still rely on non-renewable and polluting energy sources like coal, oil, and natural gas, leading to environmental degradation, climate change, and health issues. High costs and lack of infrastructure also prevent access to clean energy in many regions.

Solution:

1. Education and Awareness: Teach students about the importance of renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro) and energy conservation techniques. Projects could include creating informational brochures or digital presentations to share with the school and community.
2. School-Based Renewable Energy Projects: Implement small-scale renewable energy projects at school, such as installing solar panels on school buildings or setting up a classroom experiment to understand how wind turbines generate electricity.
3. Energy Conservation Campaigns: Students can lead campaigns to promote energy-saving practices within the school and their homes, such as turning off lights when not in use, using energy-efficient appliances, and encouraging carpooling or the use of public transport.
4. Community Engagement: Partner with local organisations to participate in or organise clean energy fairs, workshops, or clean-up activities, aiming to raise awareness and advocate for renewable energy adoption in the community.
5. Advocacy for Policy Change: Encourage students to engage in letter-writing campaigns to local representatives, advocating for policies that support renewable energy development, energy efficiency, and reduced reliance on fossil fuels.
6. Global Perspectives: Connect with students from other countries via video calls or collaborative online projects to share experiences and learn about different approaches to achieving SDG 7 worldwide.

This GPS approach encourages students to critically engage with the issues surrounding access to clean and affordable energy, understand their role in promoting sustainable energy solutions, and take action both locally and globally to support SDG 7.

Gamification Options 👾

For students in Stages 2 and 3 exploring SDG 7, "Affordable and Clean Energy," incorporating gamification can make learning about clean energy more engaging and impactful. Here are some gamification options:

1. Renewable Energy Quest: Create a scavenger hunt where students find clues related to different renewable energy sources around the school or through a digital platform, learning facts and solving puzzles related to each type of energy.
2. Energy Conservation Challenge: Organise a classroom or school-wide competition to see who can reduce their energy consumption the most over a set period. Use a chart or app to track progress and reward the winners with eco-friendly prizes.
3. Build Your Own Renewable Energy City: Use simulation games or apps that allow students to design and manage a city powered by renewable energy. They must balance energy production, consumption, and environmental impact to keep their city running efficiently.
4. Eco-Heroes RPG: Develop a role-playing game (RPG) where students create characters that embark on missions to solve energy crises, implement renewable energy solutions, and combat climate change villains, earning points or badges for each successful mission.
5. Clean Energy Match-Up: Create a matching game or card game where students match renewable energy sources with their benefits, applications, and interesting facts, promoting memory retention, and understanding of clean energy concepts.
6. Virtual Field Trips to Renewable Energy Sites: Use virtual reality (VR) or online platforms to take students on virtual field trips to wind farms, solar power plants, and hydroelectric facilities, including interactive quizzes and challenges to test their knowledge.
7. Energy Efficiency Inventors Lab: Encourage students to design their own energy-efficient device or system in a "Shark Tank"-style competition, where they pitch their inventions to the class, explaining how it works and its benefits for sustainable energy use.
8. Renewable Energy Bingo: Play bingo with a twist, where each square represents a fact about renewable energy or an action that can help save energy. As students complete activities or learn facts, they mark off squares until they get a bingo.

These gamification strategies can enhance students' understanding of affordable and clean energy, fostering a deeper commitment to protecting our waterways and the environment.

Cross-Curricular collaboration 🖇️

For students exploring the theme of clean energy under SDG 7 within the Australian and NSW curriculum frameworks, here are joint project ideas that encourage collaboration across key learning areas:

• Science and Geography Integration:
  Renewable Energy Mapping: Students could work together to research and map renewable energy sources in their local area or across Australia, comparing the geographic distribution, potential, and actual usage. This project ties into geography's focus on human-environment interaction and science's exploration of energy sources.
• Science and English Collaboration:
  Clean Energy Advocacy Campaign: Students could create persuasive writing pieces or multimedia presentations advocating for the adoption of renewable energy solutions. This involves researching clean energy technologies in science and utilising English skills to effectively communicate their benefits and necessity.
• Mathematics and Science Collaboration:
  Energy Consumption and Savings Analysis: Students could collect data on school energy consumption, then calculate potential savings from switching to renewable energy sources or implementing energy conservation measures. This project applies mathematical analysis to real-world scientific data on energy use and sustainability.
• Art and Science Collaboration:
  Sustainable Design Project: Students could design and create models of eco-friendly homes or schools that utilise renewable energy sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines. This project combines art's creative design process with scientific principles of energy efficiency and sustainability.
• PDHPE and Science Collaboration:
  Healthy Living and Sustainability Fair: Organise a fair where students present on how sustainable living practices, including clean energy usage, contribute to personal and community health. This integrates PDHPE's focus on well-being with science's emphasis on environmental health.
• Technology and Geography Collaboration:
  Clean Energy Solution Prototypes: Students could use technology tools (e.g., coding, 3D printing) to create prototypes of devices or systems that harness renewable energy. They could then analyse the geographic viability of these solutions, considering factors like climate and land use.
• English and Humanities Collaboration
  Clean Energy in Society Research Project: Students could investigate how different societies around the world are adopting clean energy solutions, focusing on cultural, economic, and environmental impacts. This project would involve research and presentation skills, blending humanities' global perspective with English's emphasis on communication.

These project ideas foster interdisciplinary learning, encouraging students to apply knowledge and skills from multiple subjects to understand and address the complex issue of clean energy and sustainability.

For students in Stages 2 and 3, a project that incorporates the concepts of farmers being paid for ecosystem services and clean energy could involve several interdisciplinary activities. Here's a project idea that not only educates students about sustainable farming and renewable energy but also highlights the importance of supporting farmers in maintaining ecosystem services, especially in the context of Australia's unique environmental challenges:

Project Title: "Sustainable Farms for a Sustainable Future"

Objectives:

• Understand the role of farmers in providing ecosystem services and producing clean energy.
• Explore how sustainable practices can support farmers through environmental challenges.
• Propose solutions to enhance ecosystem services and clean energy production on farms.

Project Activities:

1. Research and Presentation:
   • Students research the concept of ecosystem services (like carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and water filtration) and how farmers can contribute to these through sustainable farming practices.
   • Explore various clean energy solutions (solar, wind, biomass) that can be implemented on farms.
   • Investigate the impacts of droughts and floods on Australian agriculture and how sustainable practices and clean energy can provide resilience.
   • Present findings to the class, focusing on the importance of supporting farmers in these initiatives.
2. Interview with a Farmer:
   • Virtually connect with a local farmer or watch an interview online to learn about their experiences with sustainable farming, ecosystem services, and clean energy.
   • Prepare questions that inquire about the challenges they face and the benefits they’ve observed from implementing sustainable practices.
3. Design a Sustainable Farm Model:
   • Using recycled materials, digital tools, or drawing, students design their version of a sustainable farm that incorporates elements like solar panels, wind turbines, water conservation systems, and areas dedicated to preserving natural habitats.
   • Include explanations of how each element contributes to ecosystem services and resilience against environmental challenges.
4. Ecosystem Services Diary:
   • Keep a diary over a week documenting daily activities that rely on ecosystem services (e.g., eating food, drinking clean water) and reflect on how these services are interconnected with agriculture.
5. Clean Energy Calculator:
   • Engage in a simple math activity to calculate the potential energy that could be generated from installing solar panels or wind turbines on a farm. Compare this to the energy used in their homes or school.
6. Sustainable Farming Awareness Campaign:
   • Create posters, brochures, or a digital campaign to raise awareness about the importance of supporting farmers in sustainable practices and clean energy production. Highlight how these efforts contribute to ecosystem health and resilience against droughts and floods.

Expected Outcomes:

• Increased awareness among students of the critical role farmers play in maintaining ecosystem services and producing clean energy.
• Understanding the challenges Australian farmers face due to environmental conditions and how sustainable practices can offer solutions.
• Encouragement of creativity and critical thinking in proposing sustainable farming models and clean energy solutions.
• This project not only aligns with the Australian Curriculum's emphasis on sustainability but also fosters a deeper appreciation among students for the interconnectedness of agriculture, clean energy, and ecosystem services, promoting a more sustainable future for Australia.

Background

Farmers have unique opportunities to diversify their income streams and contribute to the global shift towards renewable energy. By leveraging their land and resources, they can generate clean energy, benefiting not only the environment but also their financial stability. Here's an overview of how farmers can engage in clean energy production for passive income:

1. Solar Farming
   • Land Leasing for Solar Panels: Farmers can lease their land to companies that install solar panels, generating a steady rental income. This is especially viable on less fertile lands.
   • On-farm Solar Power Generation: Installing solar panels to power farm operations can reduce energy costs. Excess electricity can be sold back to the grid, generating additional income.
2. Wind Energy
   • Wind Turbines on Farmland: Similar to solar panels, farmers can lease land for wind turbines. Wind farms can coexist with agricultural activities, as turbines occupy minimal ground space.
   • Own Wind Turbines: Investing in wind turbines can be more capital-intensive but offers long-term benefits through reduced energy costs and potential income from selling surplus power.
3. Biomass and Bioenergy
   • Biomass Production: Farm waste and dedicated energy crops can be converted into biomass for bioenergy, providing an alternative revenue source while managing agricultural waste.
   • Biogas Production: Anaerobic digesters can convert livestock waste and other organic materials into biogas, which can be used for heating, electricity, or even as vehicle fuel. The by-product, digestate, can serve as a nutrient-rich fertiliser.
4. Hydro and Geothermal
   • Small-scale Hydroelectric Power: Farms with access to flowing water might explore small hydroelectric systems. While site-specific, these can supply clean energy to the farm and community.
   • Geothermal Energy: Though less common, farms located in areas with geothermal activity can use this source for heating and power generation.
5. Agri-voltaics
   • Dual-use Solar Farming: Combining agriculture with photovoltaics, agri-voltaics involve installing solar panels above crops or pasture, reducing water usage and providing shade, while generating electricity.

Benefits and Challenges

• Benefits:
  • Diversifies income, reducing reliance on traditional farming.
  • Helps hedge against volatile commodity prices.
  • Contributes to environmental sustainability and rural development.
• Challenges:
  • Initial capital investment can be high.
  • Requires navigating regulatory and grid connection processes.
  • Potential land use conflicts and community resistance.

Policy Support and Incentives

• Government incentives, subsidies, and support programs can significantly impact the viability of these projects. Policies favouring renewable energy can make investments in clean energy more attractive for farmers.

Farmers playing a role in clean energy production not only opens up new avenues for passive income but also aligns agricultural practices with global sustainability goals, creating a win-win situation for the economy, society, and the environment.

Resources

The resource is provided by UNESCO and it explains the meaning of affordable and clean energy, who will climate change affect, how we are suffering to fuel our power stations, analyses whether we have reached Peak Oil, and how energy relates to the environment.

The resource also provides educational materials for different levels of education. For example, at the primary education level, learners get acquainted with different forms of energy production (e.g. fossil fuels, wind energy, solar energy) and their associated technologies, and the reasons why different forms of energy production are best used in different geographies and contexts. They learn to monitor their own energy consumption, including in the classroom setting, thereby equipping themselves with the right tools to adapt their daily living habits and behaviours towards models of sustainable living.

In addition, this resource provides insights into the challenges faced by Australian farmers due to environmental conditions, and how sustainable practices can provide solutions. The resource is provided by the Australian Government, and it highlights the importance of sustainable farming practices, such as soil health, biodiversity, and water management. It also provides information on how farmers can access funding and support to implement sustainable practices².

Let's encourage students to think creatively and critically about sustainable farming models and clean energy solutions. They can explore the potential of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydro power, and how they can be integrated into farming practices. They can also investigate the benefits of sustainable farming practices such as crop rotation, conservation tillage, and integrated pest management. Encouraging students to think critically about these issues can help them develop a deeper understanding of the importance of sustainable farming practices and clean energy solutions.

Sustainable Development Goal Resources 📚

For educational materials focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the following websites are highly recommended: