An Introduction to Climate Dice

How to play

In its simplest form, playing with a set of Climate Dice is very similar to playing with any other storytelling dice: Children take turns to roll the dice, look at the images that land face up and use their imagination to create a story using those images. They tell their story to the group.

However, with so many issues of concern related to climate change, it’s important to support children to remain hopeful and see themselves as a critical part of a better future, a future in which many of the problems will have been addressed or at least reduced and the most doom-laden predictions have proved not to be the case. Instead of a generation that is climate anxious and fearful, we want to see them practising ‘active hope’ by focusing on healthier futures for people and planet, and taking steps to move towards that future.

Eco-Anxiety

Eco Anxiety is defined by the American Psychological Association as: ‘Heightened mental, physical and/or emotional distress in response to changes in the climate.’

In 2021, the largest study yet to be carried out into the subject of young people’s response to climate change was published. (See link below).
10,000 young people aged 16 – 25 from 10 countries were surveyed and the findings were concerning:
‘Respondents across all countries were worried about climate change (59% were very or extremely worried and 84% were at least moderately worried). More than 50% reported each of the following emotions: sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty. More than 45% of respondents said their feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily life and functioning, and many reported a high number of negative thoughts about climate change (eg, 75% said that they think the future is frightening and 83% said that they think people have failed to take care of the planet).’

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00278-3/fulltext

A study carried out by Save the Children saw similarly worrying results from children aged 12 – 16 years:

https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/news/media-centre/press-releases/survey-reveals-scale-of-climate-anxiety-among-british-children

There is ever-increasing evidence of children expressing anxiety and feeling overwhelmed by a problem they did not create. To quote Clover Hogan, a young activist and founder of Force for Change:
‘Young people have not created this reality, we have inherited it. Yet we are told that we are the last generation with the chance to save humanity.’

It is easy to understand why there are concerns about children’s mental health in the face of such a huge problem. However, Rachel Musson from ThoughtBox says, in her informative video (see link below) that it is normal to feel anxious about what is a real crisis. It is what we do with the big feelings we have that matters – and helping young people connect to actions they can take to make a difference is vital.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQxyMIksrtc

This view is supported by Caroline Hickman from The University of Bath and The Climate Psychology Alliance who says that responses such as anxiety, grief and frustration are healthy and that adults ‘need to get alongside them rather than pathologise them.’ See link below for a fuller explanation:
https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/rise-of-eco-anxiety-affecting-more-and-more-children-says-bath-climate-psychologist/

Jo McAndrews stresses the importance of ensuring children do not feel responsible for solving the problems of climate change. In her very useful ebook ‘Truth Without Trauma – talking with children about climate change,’ she raises the risk of children believing it is their job to save the world. ‘If they forget to recycle their plastic or switch a light off, they are not contributing to climate change. The message needs to be that adults are taking responsibility and that children’s support and action is welcome.’

She also emphasises the need to recognise that children will have big feelings about climate change. They will hear alarming predictions and these could generate fears about the very nature of their future lives. The adults around them need to ‘listen to their fears and respond wisely to their questions’ she says, in order that they do not feel alone with those feelings. That is the crucial issue.

Rachel Musson points out that teachers are not – nor can they be expected to be – experts in climate change and do not have all of the answers or easy solutions. They may in fact have just as many questions and concerns as the children. Their role is to provide a safe space in which children can discuss, question and share their thoughts and feelings. This allows us to both normalise the range of feelings we all have about the crisis and – most significantly – strengthen our resilience by recognising we’re not alone with how we feel, and there is so much we can do to ‘be the change’ and create healthier futures. That seems very wise to us at Climate Dice and fits in perfectly with our aim to help children feel empowered rather than overwhelmed.

Climate science educator and ex-Geography teacher Kit Marie Rackley has made substantiated arguments towards framing climate change as a school safeguarding issue. Kit Marie suggests a reflective approach where school leaders can evaluate schemes of work and school policies, which would help create a school culture that is ‘climate resilient’
https://geogramblings.com/2021/04/25/school-safeguarding-policy-should-consider-climate-change-and-eco-anxiety/)

Clearly, teachers will use their judgement when discussing the impacts of climate change, taking into account the ages and understanding of the children they are working with. For example, the impact of sea level rise in terms of mass displacement of populations would need to be handled very carefully, if at all, and only with older children who already have a good level of understanding. Care should be taken to ensure that children are guided towards a full understanding of climate change, rather than being presented with the most extreme consequences from the start.

Nevertheless, it is our view that children should be taught the facts about climate change, as they will hear them and indeed experience them soon enough, as children in the Global South already know all too well. But they should be encouraged to look to a future that does not have to be the disaster that has been predicted, a future in which adults will have started to take responsibility and action for change. It will also be a future in which they will have an active role as tomorrow’s scientists, politicians and activists but they will only be prepared for that future if they have the emotional resilience and positive thinking that adults can help them achieve. Part of this support welcomes us to connect young people to the stories of the millions of people right across the globe working in alternative solutions, from transport to housing, food to clothing and everything in between.

Handle with care

It is important to differentiate between children feeling empowered to act to reduce climate change and feeling responsible. That’s why it is important to be careful of allowing discussions to stray too far into areas they have no agency to influence, at least while they are children. It is usually sensible to avoid concentrating on the most extreme predictions for the future we will face, especially with younger children. Many children will find it difficult to instigate changes in aspects of their own lives, as these are necessarily largely controlled by their parents/carers who often have multiple other pressures and responsibilities to juggle with. Instead children should be encouraged to consider what they can do and this will often be as part of a wider community. Knowledge is power, and they can be encouraged to research, to ask questions of the adults around them and to join with others in campaigns, actions and simple behaviour changes which can both empower them and support others to make shifts in their lives and habits.

Happy endings

For all the reasons above, we strongly suggest just one rule for stories created by playing with Climate Dice: there must be a positive outcome or a solution to a problem at the end. That doesn’t mean that issues related to climate change are minimised. The solution could be something as unlikely as a machine that turns plastic into compost or as simple as the main character starting a litter-picking club. Children can think big or they can think small, it doesn’t matter as long as they are thinking and recognising that there is so much work happening right across the world to create healthier futures for people and planet – and so much we can all do to shift our behaviours to support a thriving world.

First person stories

We also suggest that children are encouraged to see themselves as the main protagonist in the stories they create. Our research has shown this to be most effective because:

• The only other potential ‘characters’ included in the images are the endangered animals
• The aim is for children to see themselves as powerful agents of change, as tomorrow’s decision makers. They need to imagine solutions and embrace the fact that they will have a part in making them happen. Being in their own stories will contribute to this.

This is simple to achieve by providing a set story start such as ‘One day I was …’

Roll again?

There are no rules in relation to rolling dice again if a child is struggling to create a story, but we recommend limiting that as far as possible. If children are allowed to re-roll the whole set simply because a story is not immediately obvious to them, they will not learn to think creatively and problem solve. Teachers may ask other children for suggestions or offer as much help as is needed, but of course will exercise their judgement regarding the option of rolling a die again to facilitate a coherent story.

How to interpret the images

Climate Dice have been designed to be as flexible as possible. The tables above provide suggestions that will encourage climate change related stories, but young children in particular should be allowed to use their imaginations without any boundaries when creating their stories. If they choose to take a dove (peace symbol) on a train journey to the top of a mountain where they meet a cheetah who reads to them, that story should be celebrated too. Discussions about the specific meanings associated with the images can take place over a period, directed by teachers, and thus children’s stories will become more focussed on climate change issues as they mature.

Story Hub

Click here for example of stories written after playing with Climate Dice and details of how to submit your pupils’ stories for inclusion: