STEM-IT was featured at the 6th Panhellenic Conference of Young Researchers in Science Education and New Technologies in Education, held in Nea Makri, Greece, from 27 to 29 March 2026.
The project was presented through the contribution “STEM-IT: Integrating Satellite Earth Observation and Citizen Science in Teacher Education through Wildfire Monitoring”, developed by Eirini Chatzara, Athina Karatza, Evangelia Mavrikaki and Apostolia (Lia) Galani from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
The approach explores how satellite-based Earth Observation data can be integrated into teacher education to strengthen climate and wildfire literacy. Teachers work with freely available Earth Observation platforms to analyse information such as active-fire detections, burned areas and vegetation indices, using real wildfire events as the basis for inquiry-based learning activities.
These analytical processes can then be translated into classroom scenarios. Students can become “fire detectives”, combining satellite information with observations from the ground, local knowledge and community-reported impacts to investigate wildfire behaviour and environmental change.
The approach connects STEM inquiry with citizen science and aims to develop geospatial reasoning, critical data literacy and environmental citizenship among both educators and students.
The conference contribution also provides an opportunity to present preliminary experiences from pilot activities, including teacher feedback, classroom materials and reflections on the potential of Earth Observation to support wildfire and climate education.