Howneed

‘We creating wildlife

to become thecrossings
solution’: can
olderhelp
Newreindeer, bears
Zealanders join –climate
and even crabs
change fight
Level: Intermediate

1
  Warmer

a. With a partner or in small groups, briefly discuss your answers to these questions:

• What extreme or unusual weather events have you heard about in the past couple of months?
• Where were they? What happened? How did they affect the people who live there?
• What do you do to reduce your environmental impact? Are other people in your family involved in
environmental protection?

2
  Key words

a. Find words in the article that match the definitions below. The paragraph numbers are given to
help you.

1. someone who takes part in activities that are intended to achieve political or social
change, especially someone who is a member of an organization (paragraph 2)

2. knowledge or understanding of a subject, issue, or situation

(paragraph 4)

3. certain that something is true (paragraph 5)

4. prevent a number, amount, or effect from increasing past a particular point

(paragraph 7)

5. people’s opinions or feelings about something, especially as shown by their behaviour

(paragraph 11)

6. someone who was born in the years immediately after the Second World War
(2 words, paragraph 12)

7. periods of time when people refuse to do work in protest about something

(paragraph 13)

8. an important difference between two groups (paragraph 14)

9. a moral duty to behave in a particular way (paragraph 15)

10. say something is not true or real (paragraph 17)

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 ‘We need to become the solution’: older New Zealanders join climate change fight
Level: Intermediate
b. Use some of the key words above to complete these sentences.

1. The residents want the disco to noise after 11 p. m.

2. There are no trains today because of the .

3. We are trying to increase students’ about the dangers of alcohol.

4. He stealing the car.

5. The detectives are that she was not where she said she was at
the time of the crime.

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 Howneed
‘We creating wildlife
to become thecrossings
solution’: can
olderhelp
Newreindeer, bears
Zealanders join –climate
and even crabs
Level: Intermediate
Younger people have been more
aware of the risks compared
with older groups, but over the
past decade that has changed
Eva Corlett in Waikanae
Tue 6 Jul 2021
1 On his early morning bike rides to school,
David Yockney would ride through icy puddles.
It was a winter joy he loved, and one he took
for granted. Now, 60 years later, there is hardly
even ice on the bird bath at his home on the
Kāpiti coast, north of Wellington.
2 The 74-year-old climate activist has become
worried by the changes to his environment
caused by global heating, and he is not the
only one. New research from the University
of Waikato shows that both younger and
older New Zealanders are worried about the
climate emergency.
3 The 10-year study asked 56,000 New Zealand
citizens across different age groups two main
questions: Is climate change real? Is it caused
by humans?
4 The data shows that at the start, younger
people had more awareness of the risks of
climate change compared with older groups.
But in the past 10 years, that awareness is
increasing in both young and old, and now
more than ever, New Zealanders believe
climate change is real and caused by humans.
5 Understanding the risks of the climate
emergency came slowly to Yockney. The
former teacher and video producer remembers
discussions about the climate in the 1990s. But
it would be another 25 years before Yockney
would become convinced climate change is
real and caused by human activity.
6 In his retirement, he began reading about the
topic and started to think about the changes he
needed to make personally, and the changes
he wanted to see in society.
7 “You have to make changes. I’m not perfect –
I would like to fly around the world and do
things that retired people do – but we do limit
ourselves.”
8 That includes riding his bicycle for short
journeys, cutting back on meat and limiting his
gas heater use, even in winter.
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change fight
9 But for Yockney, making personal changes was
not enough. He joined Low Carbon Kāpiti, a
group that helped convince the Kāpiti District
Coast Council into becoming carbon neutral by
2050. Yockney wants to leave behind a healthy
world for his grandchildren.
10 Nearly 30% of the population on the Kāpiti
coast is over 65, compared with roughly 15%
for the whole of New Zealand. Former Kāpiti
coast mayor and now chair of the Kāpiti Coast
Climate Action Group, Jenny Rowan, said a
growing number of older people in the region
are starting to get involved.
11 Rowan has noticed a big change in attitudes
from the local community towards people
speaking out publicly about climate change.
12 “People don’t think we’re crazy anymore. I am
a baby boomer. We are part of the problem.
Now we need to become part of the solution
and I’m seeing that happen here.”
13 Dr Taciano Milfont, the lead author of the
University of Waikato study, decided to look at
intergenerational attitudes to climate change
after witnessing the 2019 school strikes.
14 Although all age groups have more awareness
about climate change, there is still a divide
between the number of people who believe it
is real, and those who believe it is caused by
human activity. Fewer people overall believe
the second point.
15 This is “..the theory of responsibility. If we
believe we are not causing it, then we will keep
doing what we are doing,” Milfont said.
16 He thinks that the growing understanding of
climate change is because of better science
and climate communication.
17 There has also been a positive cultural
change, he said. These days “… no political
in New Zealand party denies the reality of
climate change.”
581 words
© Guardian News and Media 2021
First published in The Guardian, 06/07/2021
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 ‘We need to become the solution’: older New Zealanders join climate change fight
Level: Intermediate

3
  Comprehension check

a. Are these statements true or false according to the information in the article? Rewrite any that
are false to make them correct.
1. On average, winters in New Zealand are now colder than they were when David Yockney
was a boy.

2. A 10-year NZ study aimed to find out whether people of all age groups believe that climate change
is a direct result of human actions.

3. Young people are still generally more aware of climate changes than older people.

4. David Yockney works as a teacher and video producer.

5. He first learnt about climate change from his grandson.

6. While on a round-the-world trip, he realized that he should make changes to his way of living.

7. One of these changes was to give up meat and become a vegetarian.

8. David Yockney decided to start a climate change action group for the over 60s in his area.

4
  Key language

a. Read the definitions, then combine words on the left in the box with those on the right to make
multi-word verbal phrases that match the definitions and write them onto the lines. Find them
in the article to check your answers

1. used for contrasting two things

2. state your opinion firmly and publicly about something, especially to protest

3. take part in something because you are interested in it

4. expect something to always happen in the same way, without thinking about difficulties

5. surprisingly almost none or nothing

6. make sure that something is there for other people after you have gone

take something for with

hardly behind
compared involved
leave granted
get out
speak even
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 ‘We need to become the solution’: older New Zealanders join climate change fight
Level: Intermediate

b. Now use them to complete the sentences below.

1. In general, younger people are more aware of the risks of climate change
older people.

2. Older people who about climate change are no longer seen as crazy.

3. David Yockney wants to a healthy safe world for his grandchildren.

4. He used to that there would be ice on winter mornings.

5. These days David Yockney sees any ice in New Zealand winters.

6. After he retired, he decided to with a local climate change action group.

5
  Discussion

a. Discuss these questions and statements.

• Is climate change real? And if it is, is it caused by humans? Why are you sure that your answer
is true?
• What changes could you make to your life to reduce your carbon footprint?
• Describe the world that you would like to leave to your grandchildren.

6
  In your own words

a. Work in pairs or small groups.

Imagine you create a local group to fight climate change. Most of the members of your climate action group are
under 50. You want older people to join your group. Think of ways to tell people about your group, and to get them
to join. Choose one you think will work and write, record, film, etc. Finally, present your idea to the other students.
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 ‘We need to become the solution’: older New Zealanders join climate change fight
Level: Intermediate – Teacher’s notes

Article summary: Taking action against 3. Comprehension check

climate change is no longer just something
that young people do. The results of a
10-year study show that older people are
getting involved, too.
Time: 90 minutes, plus extra time for
presentations
Skills: Reading, Speaking, Writing
Language focus: Vocabulary
Materials needed: One copy of the
worksheet per student
1. Warmer
a. Students share their answers to the questions with
a partner or in small groups to introduce the topic of
climate change and its effects on the weather and
people’s lives, livelihoods and living conditions.
2. Key words
a. Students find words in the article that match the
definitions and write them on the lines provided.
Then they should find and highlight them in the
article to read them in context.
a. Students decide whether the statements are true or
false according to the information they read in the
article. They should rewrite any that are incorrect
to make them true. This will leave them with an
8-sentence summary of the article.
Key:
1. False. Winters these days are warmer than
60 years ago. He hardly ever gets ice on his
bird bath.
2. True.
3. True.
4. False. He used to do these jobs but now he
is retired.
5. False. He first heard discussions about climate
change in the 1990s; then, in his retirement, he
began reading more about it.
6. False. He didn’t take the round-the-world trip
like many other retirees as he realized that he
had to limit his contribution to climate change.
7. False. One of these changes was to cut back
on the amount of meat he eats, but he didn’t
become a vegetarian.
8. False. He joined a local climate change action
group called Low Carbon Kāpiti (he didn’t start it
and it’s not only for the over 60s).
4. Key language

Key: a. Students first read the definitions, then combine

1. activist 6. baby boomer words on the left with ones on the right to make
2. awareness 7. strikes multi-word verbal phrases from the article that match
3. convinced 8. divide these meanings. They should find them in the article
4. limit 9. responsibility to check their answers and then write the answers
5. attitudes 10. denies on the lines provided.

b. Before reading the article carefully, students Key:

use some of the key words to fill the gaps in the 1. compared with
sentences to ensure that they understand and know 2. speak out
how the words are used in other contexts. 3. get involved
4. take something for granted
Key: 5. hardly even
1. limit 4. denies 6. leave behind
2. strikes 5. convinced
3. awareness
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 ‘We need to become the solution’: older New Zealanders join climate change fight
Level: Intermediate – Teacher’s notes

b. Next, they use them to complete sentences about 6. In your own words
the article.
a. Whatever their age group, students work in pairs or
Key: small groups and do the task on the worksheet. They
1. compared with should present their final product – this might be a
2. speak out radio or TV spot, a newspaper ad, posters for around
3. leave behind town, a sketch that could be acted out, etc, whatever
4. take it for granted they think will work best – to the rest of the class.
5. hardly even Finally, the students could discuss which method
6. get involved they think will be most effective at encouraging older
people to become active against climate change.
5. Discussion

a. Students discuss the questions directly from, or

connected to, the article.

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