From classrooms and grandparents’ gardens to newsrooms and policy desks: how NEUROCLIMA’s Portuguese pilots tackle the handoff where climate action stalls.
Climate action rarely stalls for lack of science. It stalls in the handoff between research, the public and decision-makers. In Castelo Branco, our partner CATAA, which also coordinates NEUROCLIMA’s pilots across six countries, has tested how to close that gap along two strands: one with young people and communities, the other with journalists and policymakers.
Messages from the Future
Through the One Health lens, Castelo Branco students explored regional climate threats with cameras, video and creative writing, coached by photojournalist Pedro Martins, researcher Miguel Ferreira, and creative writer Joana Lopes. The photo contest alone drew hundreds of students and more than 6,300 citizen votes and reshares.
Read the full story: Empowering the Next Generation of Climate Leaders in Portugal
On 5 June, World Environment Day, the contest closed at the Castelo Branco School of Agriculture, on a former landfill now restored. Students explored water footprints, wildfire prevention and sustainable wool, then buried the NEUROCLIMA 2050 Time Capsule beside a young Galega olive tree, sealed until World Environment Day 2050.
Read the full story: Bridging Generations and Biodiversity: Inside NEUROCLIMA’s “Messages from the Future” Final Event [LINK]
Twenty six- and seven-year-olds sat down with local elders, old photographs and simple questions: How did you get to school? Where did you collect water? A lifetime of change in water, land and seasons made climate tangible, and each group hung a message for the future on a specially built tree. Nearby, older children watched two wordless short films on our relationship with nature. In total, 46 children, 8 youth workers and around 30 older adults took part.
Read the full story: Memories That Plant the Future [LINK]
The climate has already changed. And us?
On 25 June, CATAA gathered researchers, policymakers, journalists, educators and citizens at the Fábrica da Criatividade. Mayor Leopoldo Rodrigues presented the municipality’s climate measures, and the NEUROCLIMA Hub’s Lens and Bot had their first public presentation outside the consortium. A panel moderated by Ana Rita Cristóvão (Conta Lá) with Patrícia Fonseca (Médio Tejo), Graça Passos (Quercus), Paulo Gomes (Voz do Campo), João Carvalhinho (CIM Beira Baixa) and Duarte Costa (climate communicator and Co-President of Volt Portugal) agreed that climate action needs structural change, not individual effort alone.
Read the full story: The Climate Has Already Changed: Shaping Our Future Together in Castelo Branco [LINK]
Journalists: when more data isn’t enough
On 1 and 2 September, reporters from Contala.pt, Público Azul and Jornal Reconquista tested Lens and Bot in the NEUROCLIMA Hub against real editorial tasks, from finding a local angle to checking a claim on deadline. Their feedback goes straight to the project’s technology teams.
Read the full story: When More Data Isn’t Enough: Portuguese Journalists Test NEUROCLIMA’s Climate Tools [LINK]
Policymakers: from science to decision
On 16 September, CATAA and Portugal’s Climate Agency (ApC) opened a new engagement cycle for policymakers, “Da ciência à decisão” (From science to decision). Participants tested Bot and Lens on cutting through dense or conflicting information and moving decisions faster from paper to practice.
Read the full story: From Science to Decision-Making, From Knowledge to Climate Action [LINK]
What Portugal taught us
Across both strands, one lesson held: the gap between climate knowledge and action closes through connection, not more data. A student’s photo, a grandparent’s memory or a well-sourced local story makes climate real, and tools help only when they fit real workflows.
Get involved: explore the NEUROCLIMA Hub and subscribe to the NEUROCLIMA Newsletter for updates from our pilots.
