This is the voice of a female narrator – coming through the speakers of my Macbook Pro – after launching Future Delta 2.0, a video game about climate change.

“One by one, companies folded, and people lost their jobs,” the voice chronicles, “the once thriving industrial area became flood prone and polluted.”

Sensational images of floods, fires and frenzy flash across the screen – depicting the municipality of Delta as a dystopia in the year 2100. The game is foreshadowing a future where little change has been made to stop climate change.

View more on Vancity Buzz.

For some, the traditional method of textbooks, lectures and tests just don’t seem to get the subject matter to stick. But in the Delta school district they’re trying to engage students using something youth naturally gravitate towards, video games.

In partnership with UBC’s Centre for Advanced Landscape Planning, high school students in Delta are helping to develop a video game that will not only allow players to explore Delta in a virtual world, but learn about environmental issues within the municipality. – See more at: http://www.thenownewspaper.com/delta-develops-video-game-partnership-with-ubc-1.1191906#sthash.hhXKWd2f.dpuf

Read more on the Surrey Now website or download the PDF.

“The Future Delta 2.0 video game will, for the first time, enable real-time exploration and querying of local climate change scenarios in the player’s own backyard, addressing issues such as carbon footprint at personal, neighbourhood and regional scales; sea level rise; food shortage; environmental refugees; neighbourhood energy strategies; and community-led climate solutions,” said Dr. Stephen Sheppard.

Read more on the Delta Optimist website or download the PDF.

Temperatures across the province have been above average this winter resulting in a lower than normal snowpack on many mountains across B.C. Of the 53 ski runs on Cypress Mountain, only nine were open on Monday and much of the snow on the slopes was man-made. And experts say it’s a question of when, not if, we will see an end to a regular ski season on our coastal mountains.

Read more on the Global TV news website.

“A new video game developed by scientists at UBC hopes to make climate change planning a fun and engaging activity for local communities and residents”… read more here

The Future Delta team has been involved with local Delta high schools for our co-design phase. Read the article on the Delta School District website here.

Want to see photos of these workshops or know more about when they are happening? Check out our workshop images and our Facebook page!

On March 30th 2014 the UN’s IPCC released the most extensive climate change report to date.

Over a hundred experts have contributed to this report. Mr Jarraud said the report was based on more than 12,000 peer-reviewed scientific studies. He said this document was “the most solid evidence you can get in any scientific discipline”. (BBC)

“It sounds really scary and my main concern about it, isn’t so much that it is unrealistic but rather that it spurns a sense of hopelessness. I think whatever we need to do is really push back on that and find empowering ways to engage with youth that focus on building a really positive future with green jobs, focus on alternatives, and renewables rather than the dirty based track we are currently on.” Kelsey Mech, Chair of the University of Victoria’s Student Society

Read the IPCC report here

News Coverage

BBC News:

“No single country causes climate change, and no one country can stop it. But we need to match the urgency of our response with the scale of the science.”

read the article here

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CBC News:

“Rich and poor, rural and urban, the report suggests few people will remain unaffected.”

read the article here

March 4th begins our visits to Delta secondary school. Teachers and students email Project Coordinator Alicia LaValle [email protected] sign up for one of our 15 minutes recruitment presentations to your class or curricular group!