This paper investigates how primary school students perceive and communicate environmental issues through art (and communication design). We discuss how the current Climate Change Education (CCE) and Environmental Education (EE) approaches are largely confined to higher education and policy levels, leaving a significant gap at the primary level. This study addresses this by exploring the impact of integrating the Wonder Model of Inquiry and art-based pedagogy on students’ understanding of environmental concerns. Methodologically, the study involved a drawing workshop with primary school students in Delhi; using their artworks as a communication design outcome, we analysed their perceptions through a communication design and art-based workshop titled ‘My City, My Environment, drawing what I see’. The findings reveal six themes: city environment diversity, envisioning future cities, environmental empathy, critical views on adult actions, curiosity-driven change and child advocacy for environmental rights. The study concludes that these methods effectively enhance children’s environmental consciousness and critical thinking, advocating for broader implementation in school curricula. The paper contributes to the CCE literature by demonstrating the efficacy of art-based inquiry and inquiry-based learning in fostering environmental awareness among young students. It also contributes to education discourse by incorporating social context-based learning, as suggested by Vygotsky.