To bolster climate education among the youth, the Oscar M. Lopez (OML) Center launched a climate change workbook entitled “Klimaalam: Step Up and Step In to Act on Climate.” 

The launch was part of The Conference of Sustainable Schools: A Gathering of School Leaders organized by The Raya Learning Series last September 13 at the SMX Convention Center.

Produced by the OML Center and Adarna House, Klimaalam is an eight-chapter workbook designed to provide young Filipinos, particularly Grades 7-10 students, with basic climate change information and practical ways to take climate action at home and in their communities.

“Klimaalam is a wordplay of three Filipino words – “Klima” or “climate”; “Alam” means “known” or “to know”; and “Maalam” which means “knowledgeable” or “wise”,” said OML Center Communications Manager, Ms. Kato Sarmiento during the launch.

The development of Klimaalam was guided by the Department of Education’s most essential learning competencies (MELCs) and the involvement of chapter partners – Save Philippine Seas (SPS), Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) and Agam Agenda, and The Climate Reality Project (TCRP) Philippines – whose inputs helped strengthen the content of the book.

Klimaalam is composed of the following chapters:

Chapter 1: What is Climate Change?

Chapter 2: Adaptation in the Age of Climate Change

Chapter 3: Life Along the Coasts in partnership with SPS

Chapter 4: Life in Urban Areas in partnership with The Agam Agenda

Chapter 5: Life in Rural Areas in partnership with (SEARCA)

Chapter 6: Climate Change and Me

Chapter 7: Adaptation and Mitigation at Home in partnership with TCRP Philippines

Chapter 8: Climate Change and Your Community

“The book is relevant to all young Filipinos, regardless of where they are located and what type of community they live in. It can be used at home with the support of older siblings, parents, grandparents, and caregivers. In school, it can be integrated into Araling Panlipunan, Science, Math, Health, Art, or English lessons,” Ms. Sarmiento added. 

All of the participants of the Conference, composed of school heads and educators from Metro Manila and nearby provinces, were able to receive a copy of the Klimaalam.Limited print copies are available to public schools upon request, while the public can access and download the book in full and by chapter through the website of the OML Center at https://www.omlopezcenter.org/our-work/klimaalam/.