Interactive ClimEx-PE session introduced groundwater resilience and NaBa-MAR to participants of the Hungarian Earth Science Olympiad selection event

As part of the professional programme linked to the first Hungarian selection event for the International Earth Science Olympiad, participants and their teachers also attended scientific presentations. Within this framework, Professor Judit Mádl-Szőnyi (ELTE) and hydrogeologist/project manager Ildikó Erhardt (ELTE) delivered an interactive session based on the educational material developed in the ClimEx-PE project.

Their presentation, titled “A water crisis towering above us – a solution beneath our feet? The importance of groundwater in mitigating the negative impacts of climate change,” guided the students through the links between climate change, water scarcity and groundwater processes. The session explained why groundwater is a crucial but often overlooked part of the water cycle, highlighted the importance of recharge and flow systems, and introduced the modern hydrogeological paradigm associated with Joe Tóth’s dynamic approach. Building on this foundation, the presenters showed how Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) can support adaptation and how the NaBa-MAR® concept opens up a broader, nature-based perspective at the landscape scale.

Using the educational material developed within the ClimEx-PE project, the session engaged students in a range of interactive learning activities in addition to the presentation. These included the completion of the pre-test and post-test, group-based activation tasks, collaborative mind mapping and guided discussion on groundwater, water retention and possible MAR-related responses to water challenges. Altogether, the session reflected the project’s educational approach, combining knowledge transfer with learning assessment and active participant engagement.

Reaching highly motivated secondary school students through this event was an important opportunity for the project. It allowed ClimEx-PE to bring groundwater-related climate adaptation questions to a young audience, while also demonstrating how interactive educational tools can support broader public understanding of groundwater and nature-based recharge solutions.