World Press Freedom Day takes place on 3 May. The Global Learning Programme (GLP) says that you can mark the event with your pupils using a Key Stage 3/4 resource on exploring the right to freedom of expression it has developed. This resource supports citizenship and English lessons by exploring the right to freedom of expression and whether it has limits. It is linked to materials from Amnesty International, UNICEF and the British Council.
What did you do on April 25th – World Penguin Day? The Geographical magazine had a special feature on the Antarctic – The Earth’s last great wilderness – to mark this day.
The Natural History Museum celebrated Darwin’s 209th birthday (April 19th) with a series of features on his life and work. This is how the feature on natural selection begins:
“To this day the theory of evolution by natural selection is accepted by the scientific community as the best evidence-based explanation for the diversity and complexity of life on Earth.
The theory proposes that the ‘fittest’ individual organisms – those with the characteristics best suited to their environment – are more likely to survive and reproduce. They pass on these desirable characteristics to their offspring. Gradually these features may become more common in a population, so species change over time. If the changes are great enough they could produce a new species altogether. …”
The RSPB has a section of its website dedicated to teachers. There’s information on the Wild Challenge which is an opportunity to help wildlife, explore nature, and work towards awards by carrying out wild schools activities. There’s also a range of other activities as well. For example, a plant safari and weather watching.
EER has a paper discussing 10 years of environmental education research in Brazil by examining three conferences. It analyzes the authors, institutions, and regions whence the studies came from, as well as their main research subjects. Findings indicate the prevalence of women amongst PhD holders and candidates; professors in public higher education institutions; and environmental educators in formal teaching. The paper indicate some of the challenges involved in building a research tradition in this field, in close dialogue with the arduous political and pedagogical path of environmental education in Brazilian schools.
Here’s a sophisticated graph from Bloomberg showing the various possible contributions to Earth warming – already 0.8 [±25% or so] degrees Celsius above 1880 levels. Just scroll down the page to see how much various issues contribute. It’s NASA data and there’s a there’s a detailed note on methodology at the bottom.
SEEd has published an analysis and comment on the UK’s 25 year environment plan. You can read it here, and Christine Farrell from 1World Unite has written about the sustainable development goals here.
The Conversation has published an article on the development of enzymes to decompose poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), a common plastic in our lives. If you want a detailed account of the science and technology behind the discovery, and you might be better off reading the Economist article – Auf Wiedersehen, PET – on the same subject.
The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC) has announce that its 2018 Conference will take place on Thursday 22nd November at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. The conference offers “a hands-on approach, with the programme including a wide range of practical and informative workshops as well as carefully selected speakers and case studies. The workshops offered will include practical activities to develop your skills outside the classroom as well as more strategic sessions looking at key research and projects happening in the sector. Whatever your background, experience and interest in LOtC, you will find something for you.”
You can find out about the conference and earlybird discounts here and if you are interested in running a workshop you can download a submission form here.