Students across the UK will have the chance to test their green skills and learn about the challenges of planning offshore wind farms and protecting marine life through the launch of a new Minecraft Education world, ‘Offshore Wind Power Challenge’.

Thanks to a new partnership between Microsoft and The Crown Estate, primary and senior school students will have the opportunity to grow their knowledge and skills around climate change and the natural environment while considering careers in areas like engineering, sustainability, and conservation.

The initiative will ‘expose more students to the growing world of offshore wind’ by making important subject material more accessible to a broader and younger audience and engaging them with new challenges through Minecraft game-based learning.

It will include two new worlds created for Minecraft Education – a special educational arm to the best-selling Minecraft franchise – each with supporting lesson plans and teaching materials aligned with the curriculums in each of the UK’s devolved nations. These worlds are due to be released on Minecraft Bedrock Edition later this year, as will Welsh language versions of the two worlds.

In the Offshore Wind Power Challenge, students will see if they can power a coastal village by designing and building an offshore wind farm. In doing so they will have to navigate the need to produce renewable energy while balancing the needs of all other marine users, including the impact on natural habitats.

The second world will be based on Windsor Great Park and will give students the chance to be a conservation apprentice at one of the UK’s most renowned environmental and ecological sites. The park has a history stretching back over 1,000 years and is home to thousands of species of wildlife spanning around 4,500 acres.

Students will get to manage the ecological health of the historic park through the immersive world of Minecraft by completing a series of quests to learn about the water cycle, the aquatic food chain, conservation, and environmental management.

Judith Everett, executive director for Purpose, Stakeholder and Sustainability at The Crown Estate, said: “This is a fabulous opportunity to team up with Microsoft and share worlds with young people to gain insights and deepen their understanding of the urgent and complex challenges of climate change and nature protection.

“At the Crown Estate, we are fortunate to be stewards of some of the UK’s most incredible natural environments, including the seabed and Windsor Great Park. By recreating these worlds in Minecraft, we are giving students and teachers a safe and fun way to experience some of the opportunities and challenges involved in managing the transition to Net Zero and protecting our natural habitats.

“We hope this will help to inspire the next generation to develop their skills and passion in these areas and introduce some of the green career opportunities that the UK increasingly needs if we are to achieve a lower carbon future.”

Justin Edwards, director of learning experience for Minecraft Education, added: “We’re committed to making a better world through the power of play, and it’s never been more important to educate and inspire players everywhere, across all devices, about the effects of climate change.

“This partnership is an important part of that mission. It follows previous collaborations with the UK Environment Agency and BBC Studios’ Frozen Planet II. I believe these Minecraft worlds could well usher in the next generation of wind farm engineers or nature conservationists.”