ESD-Net 2030 – On May 31st, the Unesco Learning Webinar welcomed over 300 participants as part of the four workshops on personal leadership for change, creative problem-solving, and play-based activities. The sessions were led by ESD partners: Soneva Namoona, the World’s Largest Lesson, Global Schools Program, and WWF Sweden/Kenya, who facilitated conversations and activities on a variety of pedagogical…
There has been much consideration and controversy recently about the AMOC – the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation – which is the Atlantic current that distributes heat around the world, and great confusion about how this differs from the Gulf Stream. Indeed, an opinion article in The Times even managed to confuse the two by saying…
What if every country promoted electric cars like Norway, reforested like Costa Rica, promoted cycling like Holland, invested in renewable energy like Paraguay and ate a vegetarian diet like many people in India? Could this solve our climate crisis? So begins a post by Neil Kitching who blogs at www.carbonchoices.uk . He expands on these and…
IUCN Webinar – On Monday (July 31st), the monthly IUCN webinar is an update on the DfE Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy presented by Dr Laura Soul and Dr Jade Gunnell. Sign on details here c/o Eventbright. . Spark of Active Citizenship – Young Citizens has a vision of a society where people are empowered to shape their communities and institutions to…
The North American Association for Environmental Education [ NAAEE ] has a brilliant programme that recognises young people who are making a significant contribution to environmental education and the world. You can learn more about it here. This is how Joseph Sarvary, Class of 2018, begins his recent reflection on the impact of the awards…
There have always been mixed views on whether Ofsted should be judging schools on their sustainability work. Those who support this see that being taken seriously by Ofsted is a good thing as it confers a sort of respectability on what is being looked at: it’s obviously as important as maths, the argument goes. Others…
Natural History – We hear that the DfE will – after much delay – finally be putting its proposals for a new GCSE in Natural History out for public consultation. We wonder how much of the original proposal has survived. Do keep an eye out for it – and for confirmation that there will be a parliamentary Select…
Last year, in a post on the Our Shared World website, John McLaverty (Oxfam GB) and Safia Mizon Thioune (Protection Approaches) argue that the DfE impartiality guidance provides a narrow interpretation of the 1996 Education Act and engenders confusion, rather than clarity, over the responsibility of educators to foster democratic and active citizenship. These are…
No Plan in Place – A new National Audit Office report on the DfE gives an overview of the approach taken by the Department to environmental sustainability. It covers: the DfE’s approach to delivering and overseeing its sustainability strategy, the progress in the first year of its strategy and in meeting environmental obligations, and its capacity to influence…
SEA CHANGE: An Atlas of Islands in a Rising Ocean is a new book from the University of California Press. Its author is Christina Gerhardt. Pages: 320 ISBN: 9780520304826 Price: £30.00 This is not just an Atlas but more an experience. As you turn the pages you realise that you are hearing life and death…