Small Voices, Big Change: Children as Ethical Global Citizens Through Environmental Action

After attending the REAIE Conference in Adelaide in 2025, I was deeply influenced by Elena and Consuelo’s discussions about how education is inherently political. I left reflecting on how I could further implement political action and critical questioning within my classroom: What is happening around us? What problems are we facing? What challenges are children experiencing now, and what might they face in the future? How do I ensure children are supported to become global citizens, ethical leaders, and advocates for change? 

This reflection inspired an almost year-long inquiry project that unfolded organically after the children watched a video about penguins in the school’s library space. This was followed by a book that explained energy consumption and its link to rising global temperatures and melting ice caps. Concern for penguin habitats sparked rich dialogue about what actions we could take to reduce the likelihood of this continuing. While our school operates on solar power, we began intentionally turning off lights each morning for an hour, as well as whenever leaving a room, to build sustainable habits that soon filtered into children’s homes. The children then advocated for a school- and community-wide campaign encouraging others to do the same. To share our message, we created an art piece in collaboration with our Art teacher, that was circulated throughout the school and sent home to families. This project demonstrated the powerful capacity of young children to engage with complex global issues, develop ethical understandings, and inspire collective action within their wider community.