The climate and environmental crisis can be difficult to deal with, especially for children and young people. On one hand, we are bombarded with information about the increasingly catastrophic state of the world, and on the other hand, everyday life continues more or less as usual, making it challenging to figure out what to actually do about these major crises. Research indicates that many still struggle to relate to climate change because it often appears as an abstract and incomprehensible process, distant in time or geography. At the same time, other studies show that a one-sided focus on catastrophe and dystopia can lead to anxiety, apathy, and a sense of powerlessness. The project Playing with Disaster (PWD) addresses these issues with the aim of exploring and facilitating ecoliteracy – that is, both understanding and a foundation for action – among young people through playful and co-creative processes.

PWD explores the use of playful, creative, and exploratory micro-interventions about, in, and with the rest of nature, tied together by a speculative narrative framework. The idea is that these interventions will offer new ways for upper primary students to explore their relationships with the rest of nature across subjects. The interventions also invite play with alternative futures and a deeper engagement with themes such as hope, responsibility, coexistence, and action.

Originally, the PWD sought to work with these themes through a cli-fi role-playing game. However, initial fieldwork had made it clear that instead of a large and complex structure, there is a need for a more flexible didactic design that can better engage and include students with diverse interests and motivations.