The NAEE Annual Review was published this week. This is a report on our work during 2019/20. It is an account of key developments in the year, with contributions that reflect on the context in which our work is carried out that were published during the year in our journal or as blogs on the website. This includes reports of a number of the projects with external organisations that we have been able to continue with despite the virus. Most of the projects that involve schools and universities have had to be put on hold but we will be resuming these, possibly in a revised form, and negotiations continue about this. Happily, we continue to develop new initiatives and we shall be reporting on these in due course.
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Two volumes of the NAEE journal, Environmental Education, have now been added to our website and you can access them here together with back numbers from 2011. Meanwhile, a new volume of the journal has been released to members. This has a focus on marine life: rediscovering our oceans and re-learning how to protect them. An advantage of membership is that you get to read our lively journal before anyone else.
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A statement from Joe Brindle, Founder at the Teach the Future campaign; Jo Grady, General Secretary of University and College Union; Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of National Education Union; Larissa Kennedy, President of National Union of Students; Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of National Education Union welcomed the announcement of a 10 point green plan. They said:
“We are pleased to see the PM’s announcement of a 10 point green plan, however, it does not address a critical element in the UK’s journey towards net-zero: education. Students must leave formal education with the skills and knowledge needed to understand the climate crisis and contribute to its solutions. We are disappointed this has been omitted from today’s announcements.” The full letter is here.
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The Royal Society of Biology’s Science at Home online public festival took place last weekend 21 – 22 November but the content will be available indefinitely afterwards. Content is split into three Zones, based on who you are and what you want to learn about. Zone 1: The World Around Us feature’s content for families and children of a primary school age who want to learn more about the world around them through activities, experiments, animations and more. Zone 2: Broadening Your Horizons features content for secondary school students who have a sound grasp of some of the fundamentals of biology, but want to learn more. Zone 3: Scientists at Work features content for aspiring scientists who want to find out more about the day to day life of a researcher, and hear from leading figures on their successes and challenges of their careers so far. More detail and a full list of partners and their dedicated webpages are here if you would like to browse content by organisation.
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On Thursday 26 November at 15:00 there’s an Ecology Live Special as part of the Festival of Ecology. Jane Hill of the University of York will be reviewing the last 12 months in ecological science. This event is free and open to everyone.
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The Canadian Sustainability and Education Policy Network has a new report: Responding to Climate Change Education: A Primer for K-12 Education. This sets out an analysis of the most effective climate change education strategies. It argues that though much emphasis has been placed on building students’ scientific understanding of climate change, school systems have not adqueately addressed the social-psychological factors that influence behavior and motivate action. The report addresses school-wide systems that can play a role in a more holistic approach to climate change education: cross-curricular integration, community partnerships, governance, etc.
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A new higher education institution – The London Interdisciplinary School – is opening next autumn and will not teach traditional separate subjects. Students will all take a combined arts and science course aimed at teaching problem-solving skills. Rather than offering conventional degree subjects, such as history or physics, there will be a single three-year degree course focusing on global issues, such as climate change, with the aim of “cutting across disciplines”. The School will have 100 students in its first cohort. More detail here.
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The Academic Network on Global Education & Learning (ANGEL) project is releasing a new bibliography of global education research and materials, the ‘Global Education Digest 2020’. The information resource including material published in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, will interest researchers, but also policymakers and practitioners. There’s more information here.
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UNESCO has just published Education for Sustainable Development: A roadmap which provides guidance for member states and others for the implementation of the new global framework ‘Education for Sustainable Development: Towards achieving the SDGs’ (ESD for 2030). You can learn more here.
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Click here to see the Winter collection from NHBS, and here to see what featured at the Conservation Hub.
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Thanks to the WMSSN for these webinar alerts: The second Earth Charter International Webinar is a conversation which includes Fritjof Capra and Jeremy Lent. Education as If the Earth Mattered is one of four webinars hosted by Earth Charter International exploring the intersection of education, sustainability and values. It features David Orr and Sam Crowell. Climate and Ecological Bill Alliance webinar features, among others, Caroline Lucas and Kate Raworth.
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North American birding has a controversial edge to it these days with campaigns to rename species that are associated with people whose pasts have caught up with them. See this comment from the Audubon magazine senior editor Jessica Leber. And, if you want to pursue the matter in greater depth, here’s a link to critical comments about John Audubon himself.