Year-9 students from Gulgong travelled to NSW Parliament House to learn more about climate change form Dr Erik Van Sebille.

Students learn about climate change

22 November 2011

Year-9 students have no problem understanding the principles of climate change if a recent meeting with 48 high school students from 6 central west towns is anything to go by.

Dr Erik Van Sebille was recently invited to speak to the group of students about carbon dioxide and its role in climate change in the upper chamber at NSW Parliament house as part of the Sustainability in Action program organised by the Red Hill Environmental Education Centre in Gulgong.

“After my talk about the role of carbon dioxide and climate was over, three girls approached and asked me, is it really that simple?” Dr Van Sebille said.

“A mother also wanted to know if the sun was behind the global fluctuations in temperature and when I explained how the current temperature rise was different from those that occurred in the past, she thanked me for clearing up the confusion.”

Dr Van Sebille’s presentation at the forum was the latest outreach project by the CCRC.

The students engaged in a lively discussion about the settled and some of the unsettled questions around carbon dioxide.

There was also some laughter when Dr Van Sebille asked them if Gulgong was close to Bathurst. Gulgong is 340 km from Sydney - around another 140km north of Bathurst.

The day was a great success and the students went home with a much better understanding of climate change.

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