After carrying out activities discussed in class, the young people focused their research on floods, which emerged as the most worrying local climate problem.

These problems, as well as their causes and consequences for the region, were the starting point for the Collaborative Climate Labs (Cicli-Labs) sessions with the aim of fostering dialogue and co-creation of actionable solutions.

To this end, a Cicli-Labs session promoted networking activities between actors from different sectors, including Dr. Esther Garrido, from Associação Inspira; Drs. Rafaela Guimarães and Daniela Correia, from Aquavalor; and Dr. Francisco Melo, vice-president of Chaves City Council.

The aim of the session was to build a collaborative climate adaptation plan, focusing on the research work carried out by the young students and encouraging the sharing of knowledge and discussions on citizenship, politics and climate.

This session took place at Agrupamento de Escolas Dr. Júlio Martins on June 9. First, the young people created the Climate Problem Tree, representing the causes and effects of flooding in the region. From this, they discussed possible solutions to put into practice.

The young people suggested voluntary river clean-ups and awareness campaigns using images, which were discussed with the social actors. The concern that emerged from this session, on the part of the students, is related to the River Tâmega. Proposals for protecting the river were discussed, focusing on waste removal.

Next year, these proposals for solving the climate problem in Chaves will be followed up by articulating strategies for implementing the ideas discussed in the CiCli-Labs.

The aim will be to develop, through dialogue, regionally articulated and widely disseminated strategies to address the local climate problems pointed out by the young students of the Dr. Júlio Martins School Group.

Ultimately, it is hoped that these labs will point to possible collaborative paths for climate adaptation to strengthen local resilience in this municipality.