UNED Torrevieja has announced a new scientific outreach and environmental education programme for Year Six primary pupils. Called “Guardians of the Ocean: Photosynthesis, Climate Change and Pollution”, the workshops will cover the importance of the sea, water as a scarce resource, climate change, the greenhouse effect, marine pollution and photosynthesis.

The first workshop will take place at CEIP El Acequión on 21 October, followed by a session at CEIP Ciudad del Mar on 28 October. Gema Lillo, manager of the René Quinton Foundation, will lead the activities, which are designed to help pupils understand how everyday habits can support the protection of marine ecosystems.

UNED Torrevieja and the René Quinton Foundation will sign a cooperation agreement on 22 September at 10:00 at UNED’s new university centre on Calle Concepción, number 4. The agreement will support further scientific outreach sessions for school pupils during the next year.

The programme will explain that water covers about 73% of the Earth’s surface and plays a central role in life, oxygen production and human health. UNED coordinator Jesucristo Riquelme said environmental awareness should begin in the early years of education, particularly in a municipality shaped by its coastal and lagoon environment.