Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance Launches Online Games to Educate Students on Climate Change

The Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance, based in Moncton, New Brunswick, has partnered with Nanomonx, a learning platform development company in Quebec, to launch two online educational games. These games target students in Moncton and nearby communities. The initiative focuses on teaching methods to address climate change and reduce pollution.

A project leader for the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance stated that the games demonstrate ways individuals can contribute to environmental efforts. The content draws from research by the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance.

Descriptions The first game allows students to build two contrasting neighborhoods independently.

In one, players add eco-friendly elements such as solar panels, green roofs, vegetable gardens, buses, and parks. In the other, players include elements like litter, oil spills, construction zones, and large parking lots. A guide provided by the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance accompanies the game and explains environmentally beneficial versus harmful features.

The second game focuses on constructing rain gardens. Players start with an empty garden and select plants based on moisture preferences, such as swamp milkweed, ferns, marsh marigold, creeping juniper, and purple aster. The guide specifies plant placements, with moisture-loving plants in the center and drier-preferring plants at the front.

The games lack a built-in scoring system but include a teacher guide. They educate on how rain gardens facilitate water infiltration into soil, preventing stormwater from carrying salt and oil into waterways, which can affect water quality and fish habitats.

The alliance plans to expand access to a broader audience over time. A representative of Nanomonx described the collaboration, stating that the alliance supplied expertise while Nanomonx provided the platform and pixel art designs for game elements. The games are free and available in both French and English.