50°C
Climate, Heat and Resilience
50°C: Climate, Heat and Resilience is a Year 9–10 Interdisciplinary Project by Powerhouse and supported by the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer.
In the next 50 years, Greater Sydney will face double the frequency, intensity and duration of heatwaves. So it’s vital this generation of students understands the challenges current and future communities will face, and are empowered to act, adapt, build community resilience and respond to these challenges.
Over 10 weeks, you will examine heatwaves and extreme urban heat in Greater Sydney and explore ways to respond to and manage environmental hazards. You will develop specific knowledge and skills associated with fieldwork, data science, communication and community leadership, while aiming to build resilience in your communities.
This project aims to foster your interest in studying this global and local problem of rising heat. It will empower you with knowledge from experts and practical experiences to drive change in your communities.
There are four tasks to complete that have been designed so you can play with technologies, create local solutions and choose your learning pathway. At the end of the program, you will have the opportunity to share one of these tasks with key decision-makers, academics and industry at the 50°C Climate Summit, hosted at Western Sydney University on 11 April 2025.
Tasks
TASK 1
Thermal Photography
Tell a story of heat in your school or community or the effects of heat on your body using a thermal camera provided to your school.
TASK 2
Microclimate Investigation
Interpret and visualise your school’s microclimate data and use this to design and apply solutions to mitigate heat in your school.
TASK 3
Heat-Safe Messaging
Create heat-safe messaging for a specific group in your local community.
TASK 4
Student Interest Project
Inspired by the program, you will work with teachers and mentors to build a project of your choice or use the time to extend your Task 1, 2 or 3 projects.
Program
Unit Outline
Cooling the City
Week 3
Week 10
50°C CLIMATE, HEAT AND RESILIENCE MICROCLIMATE INVESTIGATION
Commissioned by Powerhouse and written by Dr Sebastian Pfautsch (Western Sydney University), this report outlines the findings from Task 2: Microclimate Investigation using the data collected in schools, and on the Powerhouse Parramatta site.
Sparking Change: Young People Show the Way at the 50°C Climate Summit
School Heat Mapping App
Project Collaborators
FEATURED EXPERTS
Dr Anna Azabdaftari
Dr James Smallcombe
Dr Negin Nazarian
Dr Ollie Jay
Dr Riccardo Paolini
Dr Sebastian Pfautsch
Carmel Reyes
COLLABORATORS
Angela Tiatia
Charles Casuscelli
Gemma Kerrisk
Grace Vegesana
Eilish Maguire
Emma Bacon
Emma James
Felicity Bright
Greg Ingleton
James Bradley
Janet Anstee
Lee Constable
Rebecca Gregory
Dr Tim Muster
Always Collective
Fehin Coffey, Gabi Meek, Will Potter
Melbourne Megagames
Dr Emily Gregg, Iolande Diamantis, Nellie Seale, Tom Lang
MENTORS
Alicia Wong
Camille Mora
Christian Valencia
Davide Siclari
Katrina Beatrice Atienza
Khan Rahmat Ullah
Larissa Gafa
Mahya Parchami
Namika Parajuli
Philip McKibbin
Shreya Shrestha
Zainab Malik
Industry Collaborators
For program enquiries, get in touch with the team at academy@powerhouse.com.au