Dr Melis Cin has been part of the team awarded a prestigious British Council grant for an exciting and impactful project titled Eco-Creative Pedagogies: Training the Next Generation of Teachers on Green Skills and Resilience. This research project brings together a dynamic group of researchers and practitioners committed to addressing planetary resilience through innovative educational approaches.

The team includes Professor Richard Hazenberg (Principal Investigator) and Dr. Ecem Karlıdağ-Dennis from the Institute for Social Innovation and Impact at the University of Northampton, and Burcu Meltem Arık, Özgenur Korlu and Kayıhan Kesbiç from Eğitim Reformu Girişimi (ERG), one of Turkey’s most influential education think tanks. The project will start in January 2025 and will last for 18 months.

The project addresses the critical theme of planetary resilience by fostering a collaborative network among schools, teachers, eco-artists, environmental activists, NGOs, and think tanks in both the UK and Turkey. This dynamic partnership aims to promote mutual learning and the exchange of effective practices, focusing on integrating green skills and eco-creative approaches into educational settings.

Key objectives of the project include:

• Empowering teachers through innovative training programs that enhance their ability to teach environmental awareness creatively and effectively.
• Developing eco-creative pedagogies that draw upon the ERG’s expertise in ecological education and the UK team’s research on decolonial and eco-creative approaches to teaching climate change.
• Building ecological consciousness and fostering sustainable practices in curricula to prepare learners as environmental stewards.
• Addressing cultural responsiveness by integrating alternative, eco-artistic strategies to equip students with the skills, knowledge, and values needed for a resilient future.

The programme will prepare the next generation of teachers to address the climate crisis and build resilience, fostering long-term collaboration between the UK and Turkey. The ultimate vision of the project is to integrate critical environmental competencies into civil society broadly, contributing to a sustainable and resilient planet in order to shape future educational practices while inspiring educators and learners to act as global citizens committed to environmental sustainability.