Building Climate Awareness with Climate Fresk

2 min read

Dec 03 2024

Building climate awareness at belmont: a look into a climate fresk workshop

What emotion should the words ‘climate’ and ‘crisis’ evoke when you hear them? These words may evoke a sense of panic, fear, or curiosity—especially when you hear CRISIS! And yet, combined, they have perhaps lost some impact and become diluted through confusion and mixed messages flooding the media.

What is happening? What has caused this crisis? How dire is the situation? Most importantly, what can we do about it? These were some of the questions and issues raised in the recent Climate Fresk workshops held at Belmont for the entire team.

Why HOST a climate fresk workshop?

At Belmont, our mission focuses on delivering environmental restoration, nature connection, and community engagement to inspire behavioural change. To stay true to this mission, we continually seek innovative ways to educate and engage our team and the wider community.

The Climate Fresk workshop aligns perfectly with this mission. It is an interactive, science-based initiative built on the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate report, which is widely regarded as the global authority on climate science. By translating the Nobel Prize-winning IPCC reports into an accessible and actionable format, the workshop equips participants with a robust understanding of climate change causes, impacts, and solutions.

Moreover, the workshop focuses on building awareness and fostering collaboration between team members. Participants collectively explore the interconnected aspects of the climate crisis, gaining a clearer perspective of the complexities involved and the pathways to potential solutions.

How does it work?

The workshop uses 42 thoughtfully designed cards to take participants on a journey through the science of climate change. Each card represents a key concept from the IPCC reports. It allows participants to visually map the relationships between human activities, greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, and its cascading effects on ecosystems and societies.

Throughout three workshops, Martin, our Head of Nature Connection, guided teams through this step-by-step process. Participants worked together to create ‘frescos,’ visual representations that illustrate the interconnectedness of the climate system, sparking meaningful discussions about actionable change. As the fresco takes shape, the workshop shifts to reflection and action planning, inspiring participants to identify practical solutions individually and as a team.

There is no ‘i’ in teamwork

As the saying goes, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” At Belmont, we firmly believe that collaboration is the key to innovation. The Climate Fresk workshops were an exciting addition to regular working roles, deepening our understanding of climate science and strengthening our connections as a team. The workshops provided opportunities for the estate and office departments with different experiences and perspectives to work closely to identify actionable solutions.

While delving into the details of climate science can be challenging and, indeed, very sobering at times, the workshops concluded with a renewed sense of purpose. Team members left with a shared understanding of our challenges, coupled with the tools needed to take action, both as individuals and as an organisation.

At Belmont, our commitment to addressing the climate crisis is woven into our three core business pillars. Learning climate science is about more than just knowledge sharing; it’s equipping us with the tools to deliver change. By staying updated on climate science and policy, we can remain at the forefront of efforts to combat the climate crisis and inspire others to learn and deliver change, too.