Supporting Sustainability and Environmental Education – On Tuesday July 2nd Middlesex University, in partnership with UCL’s Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education (CCCSE), and the London Schools Eco Network (LSEN) is hosting a face-to-face conference on Supporting Sustainability and Environmental Education in Secondary Schools. The conference is aimed at secondary education staff especially sustainability leads, senior leaders or any staff member interested in developing environmental education in their school. The organisers are looking for 100 delegates from local secondary schools to attend the event. There will be keynotes, workshops, networking and lunch. NAEE trustee, David Dixon will be speaking. If you would like to know more about or are interested in taking part in this event please contact Tremaine Baker, t.baker@mdx.ac.uk
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Habitat Heroes – This is a communications pack to help with the promotion of the National Education Nature Park’s upcoming Habitat Heroes campaign which is taking place on Outdoor Classroom Day on Thursday May 23rd 2024. The hope is that children and young people can be champions for nature and find homes for wildlife in schools, colleges and nurseries across the country. By taking part in this nationwide, curriculum-linked activity, they’ll be able to follow prompts to explore the homes for wildlife they have on their sites, and upload findings to see their discoveries alongside all of the other spaces being explored across the country on this day.
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Celebrate Dirt – The Dirt Is Good Project is a free programme for students aged 7-14 to take collective action on the environmental and social causes they care about, whilst contributing to the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. There is an online library of free resources including lesson plans, factsheets, worksheets, and assembly packs to facilitate a student-led, collaborative process of designing and delivering a social action project in their community.
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Big Green Week – Between June 8th and 16th, people across the country can come together for the Great Big Green Week. Whether you get involved with your family, your school, your community or your business, there are many ways to take part. See details here about how you can get involved personally and how to get your school involved.
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Spring Wake Up – Our Shared World [OSW] is a broad coalition advocating for the realisation of UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 in England. First chaired by Oxfam and WWF-UK, and currently chaired by SEEd and CoDEC. OSW is a coalition of more than 150 members including NGOs, businesses, universities, teacher, headteacher and student unions, subject associations, youth groups, and individuals. Click here to read and listen about its recent networking meeting.
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Cambridge Socials – Cambridge University Press & Assessment has a campaign on climate education. Details on X here and Linked In.
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Children in Court – A South Korean court has heard a children’s climate change case against the government. The proceeding is Asia’s first such climate-related litigation. It includes four petitions by children dating from 2020. Reuters has the details.
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Date Change – Please note that the 2024 Teacher Education for Equity and Sustainability Network [TEESNet] conference has been rescheduled for December 3rd. The call for papers is expected shortly.
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Splat! – A recent survey by BugLife shows a 78% decline in flying insects over two decades. The conservationists warned the dramatic falls in flying insects were a red flag for the state of nature in the UK which should not be ignored. The Independent has details.
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Scarce Crimson & Gold – Northern Ireland is home to a wealth of butterflies and moths, including threatened species such as Marsh Fritillary, Cryptic Wood White, Irish Plume and Scarce Crimson & Gold. But 17% of butterflies in Northern Ireland have declined since 2006 with species such as The Wall plummeting to the edge of extinction. Details here c/o Butterfly Conservation.
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Species Survival – Over £25million is being awarded to projects creating and restoring natural habitats in England. Twenty projects will receive funding from the Species Survival Fund, a partnership with Defra, to boost the quality and quantity of wildlife-rich habitats. Together, the projects will create and restore over 3,300 hectares of critical habitat on land and rivers across England. Communities, charities, farmers and local authorities can come together to help safeguard areas for biodiversity and create green jobs. The fund is hoped to help achieve the government’s ambitious targets to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030. Details here.
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The Sound of Nature – For the first time, nature will be officially recognised as an artist on Spotify and other global streaming platforms thanks to a new music initiative from the Museum for the United Nations. Sounds Right is a project designed to recognise the value of nature and drive funding for conservation. There is a global selection of artists taking part, including Brian Eno, Ellie Goulding and AURORA, highlighting sounds from a range of ecosystems all over the world. All the tracks credited to nature will generate funds to support conservation efforts, with at least 50 per cent of recording royalties going towards projects all over the world. You can listen to the sounds here, and find out more about the project here.
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Deep Dive into Fashion – The Ellen MacArthur Foundation says that by 2050 garment production could take up 26% of the world’s remaining carbon budget for limiting warming to 2°C. It seems that retailers and brands have cottoned on to the problem, even as they continue to make a lot of money from the status quo. Their customers are more eager than ever for green fashion. The Foundation asks: can this demand be channelled into a solution?
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No More Plastic Wipes – The UK Government says it’s going to introduce new “world-leading” legislation to ban wet wipes containing plastic. The Environment Secretary, Steve Barclay, confirmed this on Earth Day saying: “Wet wipes containing plastic are polluting our waterways and causing microplastics to enter the environment. I have been clear that a step change is needed to protect our waterways from pollution. The ban builds on a raft of actions already taken to protect our waterways and hold water companies accountable – including accelerating investment.” You can find out more here.