Alan’s climate story began around 2015 when climate change became a prominent topic in mainstream news, especially during the lead-up to COP21. At the time, he was working in a conservation role in the tropical Andes. Conversations with local farmers revealed their struggles with unusual weather events, such as flash floods and prolonged droughts, which were devastating their livelihoods. These events were effects of climate change, a subject Alan realized he knew little about. Seizing the opportunity, he used professional development funds to attend a two-week training course on climate change. This marked the beginning of his transformation into a source of climate knowledge within his team. Simultaneously, Alan’s publisher challenged him to create his next graphic novel. Inspired by his new understanding of climate change, he created “The Adventures of Captain Polo.” This ongoing series of graphic novels explores various aspects of climate change, including its causes, effects, and solutions in the form of mitigation and adaptation. The main character, Captain Polo the polar bear, travels the world, documenting diverse and often underappreciated facets of climate change in a travelogue format that balances information with adventure, humor, and accurate geographical and cultural depictions.
Each book in the series is meticulously researched, with dialogues, narratives, footnotes, and technical sections at the back of the books reflecting thorough research. The series has garnered endorsements from top-level climate scientists and policymakers.
Book cover
The success of his books spurred Alan to expand Captain Polo’s reach beyond the two-dimensional realm, creating the Captain Polo Academy. From this platform, Alan engages with diverse stakeholders worldwide, including schools, NGOs, think tanks, and individuals, collaborating to promote climate literacy.
A year ago, I created an online Module using Captain Polo animations aiming at teaching children in the 6 to 12-year range some basic concepts about climate science, causes, consequences of global warming, and some high-level solutions.
He continued,
All of this requires keeping pace with evolving climate change knowledge and practice, which is why I am constantly educating myself on this subject. Hence my having completed the UNCC Learn course.
He has taken the e-course Climate Change: From Learning to Action offered by UNCC Learn, to stay abreast of fast-moving developments in climate-related thinking, policy, and practice. This knowledge has also allowed him to write a couple of climate education articles in the Environmental Education Journal (Vol. 134, Spring 2024), and has been instrumental in helping him accurately craft the narratives in his series of Captain Polo books. Additionally, he is in the final stages of creating the fifth comic book in this series. This latest edition, titled Polo in Brazil, is dedicated to documenting climate challenges and solutions in that country.
Ambassador for the Center for Climate Literacy at Minnesota University and a Partner of the climate education open source portal Subject To Climate, Alan through the Captain Polo Academy delivers climate-themed workshops and projects to schools, furthering his mission of climate education. While he remains a conservation biologist, Alan is committed to taking the Captain Polo Academy to new heights, making climate education his life mission moving forward.
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*The views expressed in this story are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of the United Nations or any of its affiliated organizations.