GENGREEN EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS Programme Title: ZERO Climate Card Game Target Group: All ages for the card game, 9-16 for the digital learning platform
Organisation: Protect Our Winters Europe
Duration: 1-3 hours
Summary This exciting and engaging card game sneaks in education on climate action. Through the game, you can learn more about actions that positively or negatively impact our planet and lives. Each card has a different action and its effect on the climate. In the ZERO game, the aim is to get rid of all your cards. The last player to have cards is labelled the “climate jerry” of that round. The game is loosely inspired by S**thead. The game also has a digital learning platform on the World Snowboard Federation website, based on material from HPCA, ZERO workshops, and federation expertise working with children.
Description The ZERO game challenges players to discard all their cards, with the last holding cards labelled the “climate jerry.” There are two ways to play: in Option 1, players take turns playing cards equal to or higher than the previous card, drawing from a central pile to keep three cards in hand, and special cards can change the flow. Option 2 adds facedown and face-up cards, which must be played in sequence once the hand cards are gone. Special cards have unique powers, such as restarting the game, skipping players, adding strategy to the game.
Objectives 1.To teach about climate change, its consequences and how it relates to mountain sports. 2.To prepare them to be climate champions. 3.To show people how actions have different impacts on the planet.
Challenges It usually takes a round or two to teach children how to play the game. Once familiar with the rules, they quickly become engaged and enjoy the experience, making it an effective and fun learning tool.
Impact Over 75 children played the card game at ZERO workshops organised by national federations. Two or three outdoor education schools have expressed interest and downloaded the game to use in their workshops. The card game is free to download for everyone. A Tip: To create a game on climate change, it is important to develop one that encourages collective action and recognises the varying scales of action, from individual to systemic, while remaining enjoyable to play.