Today's young people are very aware of climate change, natural hazards, and other global environmental challenges, and many want to do something about it. Mission Earth, a new education initiative funded by the EGU Special Activity Fund, connects students' innate curiosity about the environment around them to real-world action by giving them the skills to share their geoscience stories. Throughout summer and autumn 2026, Mission Earth will leverage virtual classroom visits for building storytelling skills, and fun and interactive science shows to see science communication in action to prepare students for the EGU Student Mission Earth Challenge. During the challenge, students will produce short videos about a project they are already working on to address a local geoscience challenge (e.g., measuring rainfall to track flooding or drought conditions, growing a community garden to explore food security, community events to discuss how to build resilience to climatic changes). Mission Earth project leader Rebecca Haacker said “We are so grateful to EGU for supporting Mission Earth through the Special Activity Fund. This initiative empowers young people to connect their curiosity about our changing planet with meaningful local action. By helping students develop storytelling and science communication skills, we can amplify their voices and inspire the next generation of geoscience leaders. The first two workshops at EGU were a success and we are looking forward to the next online workshop for anyone who is interested in joining the project!"

A call is now open for Early Career Scientists in the geosciences to join the Mission Earth initiative. As a Mission Earth ambassador, you will:

• Gain storytelling skills
• Facilitate virtual or in-person school visits to classrooms nearby where you live to talk about your geoscience career path and attend a science show by science educator and entertainer Jo Hecker
• Help students develop, film, and edit their video stories for the EGU Mission Earth Student Challenge.

The best short films will be recognized with a small book award to the winning schools and as well as being featured at the EGU27 GeoCinema during the annual General Assembly for over 20,000 scientists. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Mission Earth ambassador, you can register now for the free online workshop 17:00CEST, 15 July or contact the project team. 

Workshop Facilitators

Joachim Hecker is an electrical engineer by training who now is a freelance science entertainer, having worked in science education for nearly 20 years. He is an author of popular science books for children and hosts kid’s TV shows.

Daniel Zietlow is an informal Earth science educator and filmmaker, with a research background in solid Earth geophysics.  His award-nominated work has been broadcast on PBS and NOVA, as well as various film festivals and during the EGU26 Geocinema.

Barbara Ervens is a Senior Scientist at the Institute of Chemistry at Université Clermont Auvergne where her current work focuses on biological processes in clouds. Barbara is also the chair of the EGU Publications Committee.

Rebecca Haacker is a geographer and cultural anthropologist, with experience running nature reserves in Latin America, and a career in science management, mentoring, and promoting interdisciplinary research in the geosciences.

• EGU Special Activity Fund