Design and Implementation of EcoLearn: An Interactive Climate Education Platform for Raising Awareness and Promoting Sustainable Practices

Climate change education faces persistent challenges in engaging diverse audiences, particularly in regions like Zambia where climate impacts are increasingly evident (Mumba et al., 2022) [7]. This paper presents the design, development, and evaluation of EcoLearn, an interactive web-based climate education platform created to address well-documented limitations in traditional climate education methods (Anderson and Wallin, 2020) [3]. Using a Design Science Research approach (Hevner et al., 2004) [15], the platform integrates interactive simulations, gamification elements (Deterding et al., 2011) [8], real-time climate data via OpenWeatherMap API, and psychological support features (Clayton et al., 2022) [13]. The development employed HTML5, Tailwind CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and MySQL technologies. A mixed-methods evaluation with eight participants demonstrated statistically significant improvements in climate knowledge (29.6% average increase, p < .001) and excellent usability (System Usability Score = 85.6). Qualitative analysis revealed increased motivation, reduced eco-anxiety, and stronger behavioural intent toward sustainable practices. The study concludes that interactive, gamified platforms such as EcoLearn can bridge the gap between climate awareness and actionable understanding, offering a scalable solution for climate education in Zambia and similar contexts (Monroe et al., 2019) [5].