Experiences from education and public outreach in the National Geopark GrenzWelten. How to make climate change and relevant UNESCO SDG topics exciting

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report summarises the knowledge of climate change and defines in the Synthesis Report future climate change scenarios, risks and short- and long-term climatic responses. Of key relevance is the interdependence of climate, ecosystems, biodiversity and human societies.

17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by UNESCO aim at peace and prosperity and concentrate on climate change at the same time. The mission of National Geoparks exhibits substantial overlap with many SDGs, for example education (SDG 4), clean water (SDG 6), climate action (SDG 13) and life below water (SDG 14) and on land (SDG 15). In that regard the contribution of geoscience is twofold and covers research and outreach to the public.

School plays a vital role in climate change education although the lack of geoscience content has been recognized as limiting factor. Our National Geoparks have the potential to bridge this gap by providing a variety of attractive activities and educational services. One initiative of Geopark GrenzWelten is the newly designed Climate and Building Stone Korbach City Tour which conveys regional geology and climate change of Earth during 350 million years. Building stones represent exciting low-hanging fruit which help to explain not only regional geology but also highlight the value of domestic resources and to help explain natural vs anthropogenic climate change. The tour presents a fresh view on Zechstein carbonates, Buntsandstein clastics and Neogene volcanics and is offered as post-conference field trip.