August 13th was Earth Overshoot Day this year. That’s the day when our annual demand for the goods and services that our land and seas can provide goes beyond what the Earth’s ecosystems can renew in a year. Overshoot means we are drawing down the planet’s principal rather than living off its annual interest and leads to a depletion…
Here’s a blog post from the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust on the importance of learning outside. It begins: It’s a myth to think that learning outside the classroom is ‘just play’ – we’ve seen first-hand how play helps children develop their social, emotional and physical skills. Every young person should experience the…
Click here to see something of the Whirlybird Theatre Company’s underground eco-drama: Underneath your feet in the muddy brown soil squirms the world’s best kept secret – a wonderful, magical creature called the Worm. Join Wilma and William, two nature lovers, on a journey underground as they discover a family of friendly, musical worms and their colourful…
Are you confused about what an El Niño is, and how it starts (or not)? And are you, perhaps, not all that clear about the Walker circulation either – we certainly weren’t! Last week’s Economist looked in readable detail at the Pacific Ocean phenomena that so significantly influences our weather even though it’s half a world away.
Vitamin N might not feature in all manuals of nutrition, but to Richard Louv and the Children and Nature Network in the USA, it is hugely important. The mission of the Network is to lead the movement to connect all children, their families and communities to nature through innovative ideas, evidence-based resources and tools, broad-based…
Lesley Sleight, Head of Life Skills, Queen Elizabeth II High School, Isle of Man, writes about how her students have been growing their own clothes. A group of year 13 pupils from Queen Elizabeth II High School, Isle of Man have spent the last year growing clothes from green tea, sugar and bacteria. The tragic deaths in the…
We think of Thomas Hardy as a nature poet, although probably not to the extent that we know John Clare to be one. Hardy’s ‘An August Midnight‘, written in 1915, is not just about the natural world, but concerns our relationships in it. Here it is: A shaded lamp and a waving blind, And the beat…
‘Superworm’ is written and illustrated by the team who produced the hugely successful book, ‘The Gruffalo’. Superworm is a hero to all of the animals around him, helping them out with any problems they encounter. As a result, he is highly valued and respected and the animals rally round to support him when he ends…
On 25th September, the UN will announce its Global Goals for Sustainable Development [SDGs], that aim to make our planet fair, healthy and sustainable by 2030. The ambition of The World’s Largest Lesson (beginning 27th September) is that children across the world will learn about these goals and began to contribute to their achievement. For schools, it’s…
A new publication, ‘Not Just Hot Air – Putting Climate Change Education into Practice’, presents UNESCO’s recent work in supporting education policy-makers and teacher educators to act on climate change. It includes national case studies on UNESCO country pilots in the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Mauritius, Tuvalu and South Africa, making accessible results and lessons learned. …