Teacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal: Through this activity students will recognise that bushfires can be a natural part of the Australian landscape that are caused by a range of factors. Students will understand that some parts of Australia are more susceptible to bushfires than others and that climate change will contribute to the frequency and intensity of bushfires in Australia.

Teacher content information: There has been plenty of talk in the news lately about whether or not climate change will affect bushfires in Australia. There are those that argue that bushfires have been a part of Australia's landscape for a very long time. There are others who argue that while bushfires have long been a part of Australia's landscape, climate change is expected to increase their frequency and intensity.

In response to this debate, the Climate Council released the following points explaining the relationship between bushfires and climate change in Australia:

'Intensifying climate change is driving Australia’s escalating bushfire threat, creating longer and more dangerous fire seasons than ever before'.
'High bushfire danger weather has been increasing in Southeast Australia over the past forty years due to worsening climate change, which unfortunately has increased the odds that dangerous fires...will occur.'
'Australia experienced its hottest winter on record last year, which was made 60 times more likely due to climate change.' (Source)

For more information, visit the Climate Council website.

It is important to be mindful of students if they have experienced natural disasters as it may bring up feeling of anxiety or grief.

The IPCC:

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was created to:

provide policymakers (governments) with regular scientific updates about climate change;
highlight the impact climate change will have on the planet in the future; and,
offer some ideas about how to tackle the challenges of climate change's potential effects on the planet.

In 2021-22, the IPCC released their sixth assessment report. This is the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change.

The report makes a number of important points:

It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.
Global surface temperature will continue to increase until at least mid-century under all emissions scenarios considered. Global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades (B1). The report describes five possible climate futures, where #1 is not great and #5 is extremely bad. If we want to keep global warming at less than two degrees, which the IPCC says is the best-case scenario, we need to reduce our CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions significantly and start right away.

'Net zero' or 'carbon neutral' are terms that refer to achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere. Getting to net zero means we can still produce some emissions, so long as we're doing something else to reduce the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere at the same time, kind of like balancing a set of scales (more info).

Psychological safety. The IPCC Report sets a hard challenge. While this real-world issue is essential for students to understand, there is no doubt it can make them feel sad or anxious about the future is becoming darker and scarier by the day.

So, reassure students that we can have a hopeful and optimistic outlook on this report, rather than one of doom and gloom. Explain that optimism involves looking objectively at a situation and making a conscious decision to focus on the good (more info), and that hope is the belief that you can make an impact (more info). Explain to students that you are going to look ahead, identify what needs to be improved, and then work on the skills and confidence so that they can go out and do it.

If you're interested in learning more about how to approach challenging topics around climate change and sustainability in your classroom through a Hope and Optimism lens, consider our PD course.

Student and classroom organisation:

Step 1.

Ask students if they are aware of any bush fires in their region:

When did they happen?
Where did they happen?
How did they start?
How long did they burn for?

Record student answers on the board.

Step 2.

Explain to students that they will now work to create a bushfire map of fires around Australia. Break the class into five groups and assign each group with one of the areas on the map below.

Map courtesy of Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology

Each group will create a map of the major fires in these regions throughout history. The maps can be created online or by hand but should be interactive, including images, video, quizzes, pop-ups or flaps etc.

Students should consider the following questions when creating their map:

When did the fire happen?
Where did the fire happen? Where did it start and where did it spread to?
How was it started? Did is start naturally or was someone responsible for starting it?
How much damage did the fire cause?
How long did the fire burn for?

In addition, students need to find out how climate change might affect the frequency and intensity of bushfires in their region. Students can use the Cool Australia Climate Change Toolbox to find out potential climate change impacts - including how climate change may affect bushfire frequency and intensity - in the region they are looking at. This information needs to be incorporated into the map.

Step 3.

Students should present their map to the class. Students should use the Peer Assessment Rubric to evaluate students presentations (also available on the student worksheet).

Assessment/Reflection

Ask students to complete the reflection questions on the student worksheet.

Bushfires in the past and in the future

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