ClimateScience App

The necessary information to understand climate change properly is stuck in academic papers, which is too complicated to understand. Meanwhile, news and media information are too unreliable to spark actual solutions.

From the “Youth demands for quality climate change education” report published in 2022 by UNESCO, 70 percent of young people surveyed said that they have heard about climate change but cannot explain what it is (27 percent) or can only explain the broad principles (41 percent), or do not know anything about it (2 percent). One in five respondents report that they do not feel prepared for climate change based on what they have learnt at school.

The education delivered in schools is not enough to prepare a person to fight climate change. If someone tries to self-learn online, the resources available on the internet are too vague, unreliable or inaccessible. ClimateScience is taking the scientific climate education that’s needed as a background to understand climate change, and making them accessible and easy to understand in order to spark impactful, innovative climate solutions. 

Our solution is a mobile application, which is designed to provide an engaging learning experience by simplifying the process of learning complicated scientific materials through gamification and quizzes. 

In the ClimateScience App, we are presenting science backed climate courses in a gamified template to retain users in the learning process. Within the courses, the design makes the learning process easier and engaging through visual presentations and in-course quizzes. There are additional sets of quizzes available about the learned topics for users to test their knowledge. 

In tech terms, the application is a mobile software. While our team is working on an advanced iteration of the app based on user research and feedback, the current version is available to download in App store or iOS and Play store for Android.

The updated ClimateScience mobile app is specifically designed for people who want to learn about climate change and its solutions in an actionable way but don’t know where to start. The design is made to ensure high engagement from young users in mind, but it is applicable from everyone.

If someone tries to find climate learning resources online, the search results are too complex and scattered. It’s hard for a beginner climate learner to pick where to start from. For neurodivergent learners and learners with different learning abilities than normal , it’s even harder to find resources and stick to them. There is also the matter of evaluating self-learning, where learners often struggle to determine their knowledge level.

In the ClimateScience app, the learning is structured in a step-by-step way which makes the comprehension easier for the user. There are sets of quizzes prepared for learners to practice their learning, so that they feel confident about their contextual knowledge development. The application format is designed to increase learner engagement, make the learning easier to comprehend for neurodivergent learners through increased visual explanation of the processes.

In short, our app is trying to make climate learning less intimidating and confusing for people who are just getting started. We want to make climate learning as easy as possible for every learner who is trying to understand and solve climate change. 

ClimateScience developed the design of the app by learning from the user experience of participants of ClimateScience Olympiad, an annual problem-solving competition for learners aged 12-25, who are organized on a Discord server with over 8000 members. 

Being in close contact with this demographic gives our team, consisting of members aged from 20-28, a set of unique insights regarding the learning process of climate change and its solutions. We can see how the participants struggle to find learning resources online, how most of the resources are too complicated for their understanding and the way a large number of participants are confused as to where to start. 

Even with the climate courses that are available on our own website, new learners often struggle and drop out of the competition because they find the initial learning barrier too difficult. We frequently conduct user studies, feedback sessions and interviews with our community to understand their pain-points better, and combined with our own experience online, we try to create a seamless learning system. We realized that making new learners go through the first few steps is a bigger problem than we thought, and for neurodivergent learners it's even harder. 

This is why we are developing a new structure for the ClimateScience app, which gamifies the learning and puts more emphasis on the visual representation of the processes explained. The new process is easier to navigate through for beginners and makes the learning easier and more enjoyable, as noticed in our primary user testing with CSO participants, something we will continue to perform for later stages of the app development too. 

A version of the ClimateScience app is already available for users to download and use. It has been advertised to and used by the CSO participants of the years 2021, 2022 and 2023 (a pool of 55,000+ people). Our team is currently working on an updated version of the app that’s been optimized to newer devices and maximize the learning impact based on user feedback.

The first version of ClimateScience app has climate courses, practice quizzes, user levels and leaderboards. With the first version of the app being available for download, our team was reviewing the user behavior inside the app and testing its effectiveness. After gathering two years of user performance data and user feedback, we iterated a new design of the app and created a gamified flow of how a beginner would go through learning the courses.

We have planned about a dozen courses on different climate related topics and already launched the Climate Crash course on the new App which is being tested among the users with a positive response so far.

We're applying to Solve to leverage its remarkable network and gain access to valuable resources. Our primary focus is on non-monetary support. We seek guidance on designing effective user tests for our target audience (aged 12-25) to ensure the app addresses their needs, and solves real user problems they might encounter while navigating the app or grasping scientific concepts. Expert feedback would be invaluable in this process.

Mentorship in refining our app's features and user experience is crucial as we strive for a user-centered design that optimizes engagement and learning outcomes. Additionally, expertise in interpreting user data would allow us to understand how users interact with the app and tailor content accordingly. Gaining insights on effective growth and marketing strategies would also be instrumental in expanding the app's reach and connect with a wider audience of young people interested in climate change.

By collaborating with Solve's network and gaining support in these areas, we can ensure our app is not only informative but also engaging and impactful for its users. This directly aligns with Solve's mission of fostering innovative solutions, as our app empowers young minds to take action on climate change.

There is currently no mainstream educational tool that effectively addresses the lack of accessible climate education for youth. Despite the wealth of scientific papers and UN reports available, the underlying complexities of climate change remain a mystery for many young people who are worried about climate change and want to do something about it. Current resources, such as long descriptive courses and unreliable social media content, often fall short and don't provide a systematic learning experience.

Through our app, we intend to close this information gap by offering daily, bite-sized lessons packed with scientific accuracy. Gamification elements transform learning from a chore into a fun experience, engaging a wider range of audience and fostering long-term user retention, a crucial factor for sustained knowledge retention and behavior change. Our app doesn't just inform; it inspires. We go beyond mere information delivery by prioritizing action orientated solutions in our courses, to spark a passion for climate action and potentially influence career choices. This can create a future workforce dedicated to solving climate change.

Solving climate change is a complex action that requires engagement from multiple stakeholders over time. A part of bringing in these solutions is to educate the population about the basic elements of climate change and how to solve it, so that it inspires more people to take meaningful action. In ClimateScience, we are helping people to solve climate change by making the problem understandable. 

We have learned that it is difficult for new learners to find resources they can comprehend, and even harder to stick to the learning due to long, complex content designs. The ClimateScience app is designed to:

1. Be an easy, simple starting point for beginner climate learners

2. Provide step-by-step learning about complex climate issues without overwhelming the learners

3. Make the learning engaging and more comprehensive with visual explanations

This means we are making the problem of climate change understandable to new learners. The learners learn about clean energy, agriculture, adaptation and mitigation as well as political and economical factors that affect the solutions of climate change. Once the problems are clear in the learner’s mind, thinking about solutions becomes simple and streamlined. And this is when the learner is prepared to move to the action phase and implement their solution ideas. 

In short, we are filling in the education-gap in climate change and preparing our users to move to real action. We are clearing up the problem for our learners, which helps inspire action, startups and initiatives that solve climate change.

• Increase Knowledge and Understanding:

1. Pre-Test & Post-Test Scores: We are currently conducting a survey about testing users’ climate knowledge before and after they complete the crash course. This measures our content’s effectiveness in knowledge transfer.

2. Quiz Performance: Track average scores and completion rates for quizzes within the app modules. This gauges user understanding of key concepts.

3. Content Completion Rates: Monitor how much of the educational content users are actively engaging with courses and chapters

• Empower Action and Advocacy:

1. Action and opportunity hub: In the later phases of the app, we will introduce the action and opportunity hub for users to participate in climate action, we will track 

2. Volunteer Sign-Ups: Track the number of users who connect with volunteer opportunities or climate action organizations through the app.

• Spark Long-Term Engagement:

1. Daily/Weekly Active Users (DAU/WAU): Track the number of users actively engaging with the app on a daily or weekly basis.

2. Average Session Duration: Monitor how long users spend on average within the app per session.

3. Content Completion Rates Across Time: Track user progress through the app's content modules over time to see sustained interest.

4. User Feedback: Analyze user surveys and app reviews to gauge user satisfaction and identify areas for improvement.

• Expand User Base:

1. App Downloads/Installs: Track the total number of times the app is downloaded from various app stores.

2. User Acquisition Cost (UAC): Monitor the average cost associated with acquiring each new user through marketing campaigns.

3. Sign-Ups per Marketing Channel:  Track how many new users sign up through specific marketing channels (e.g., social media, educational partnerships) to identify the most effective strategies.

4. Geographic User Distribution: Analyze the location of your user base to understand your app's global reach and identify potential target regions for growth.

Our solution harnesses the versatile Flutter framework to develop a comprehensive mobile application dedicated to climate science education, addressing the global need for accessible and reliable information on climate change. This application is designed to empower users worldwide by providing essential education on environmental issues and sustainability practices through a user-friendly digital platform.

Technology Framework: Dart, Flutter

Flutter is an open-source UI software development kit created by Google. It is used for developing natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase. This choice of technology ensures that our app can run seamlessly on both Android and iOS devices, making it accessible to a wide audience. Application Features and Functionalities

Interactive Climate Science Courses: The core of our app is its range of courses tailored to various aspects of climate science. These include interactive modules on global warming, carbon footprints, renewable energies, and more. Each course is designed using multimedia elements such as videos, infographics, and quizzes to enhance learning engagement. Real-time Notifications: Leveraging Flutter’s robust framework, the app sends real-time notifications to users about new courses, forums, and updates on climate science, keeping them informed and engaged.

Currently the ClimateScience app is under development by the Product Team. This team consists of 6 full-time staff (developers, content authors and designers) and 3 regular volunteer contributors.

ClimateScience has been working on the application for 4 years.

The ClimateScience courses were launched in 2019. Based on the courses, the first version of the app was launched in 2020 for users. After a year, we realized we are lacking important user insights about the app, so we developed a strategy to collect user feedback and implemented it over 2022-23. Based on the feedback, we are currently developing the latest version.

ClimateScience is an authentically diverse space in terms of gender, race, language and any other measures. Since most of our work is remote and technology-based, we are generally more open to accepting candidates from any part of the world, which has led to a truly global team with core team members from almost all continents and volunteers from all over the world. 

In terms of our internal communication channel, every volunteer is presented with an equal opportunity to contribute to any part of the organization and can take part in decision-making. In the past we've recruited many paid staff from our volunteer base itself. We're open to talent coming from anywhere, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation - and our people know it! :)

ClimateScience has committed to make quality climate education accessible to everyone on the planet, and we will never charge our users for anything. All our products, including the ClimateScience Olympiad, courses, books and the app will be free forever.  As our organization is a registered charity in the UK, we are authorized to use forms of donations to carry out our projects and administrative activities.

Our main source of funding are donations from private funders and grants. We have been able to create a sustainable and scalable financial system through this source so far which has allowed us to expand our activities. Our yearly income and expenditure report can be found in: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5164242/charity-overview. 

We have previously secured grants from platforms like Deloitte Global and Goldman Sachs.