Teaching and learning from young children: Climate change, forced migration and the built environment

Recognizing that education on environmental justice must begin early, a group of McGill University Architecture students spent five weeks in two Grade 4 classes in Royal Vale Elementary School this year to run ARCHITECTURE PLAYSHOP, where children were introduced to architecture as part of their language, art, and science classes.

“As children are likely to be disproportionately affected by issues of climate change and forced displacement, the project seeks to learn from children while simultaneously building their awareness and planting the seeds of future actions they might one day implement as adults,” says Ipek Türeli, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Architectures of Spatial Justice at the Peter Guo-Hua Fu School of Architecture in the Faculty of Engineering. “Through these collaborations, we can train not only good architects but also informed citizens who will make educated choices about the built environment and climate change when they become adults.”

On Tuesday, May 9, two Grade 4 classes from Royal Vale Elementary School visited the School of Architecture at McGill University for an exhibition that featured drawings made by McGill students based on the creative work generated during Playshop sessions.