Gaia + James Lovelock died last week on his 103rd birthday. Here is the obituary from the Guardian. He will be forever associated with the Gaia theory of a self-regulating Earth, but his achievements were much wider than this through his inventions and experiments. For example, he alerted the world to the presence of CFC gases in the atmosphere although he did not take the threat to the stratospheric ozone layer seriously at the time. Although he was a hero to many in the green movement because of Gaia, his support of nuclear power alienated others. He was in many ways a one-off, and would describe himself as an independent scientist preferring, since the 1960s, to work on his own terms rather than as part of institutions.
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IB or not IB – Jo Sale has an article in Schools Week setting out the work of Impington International College in relation to sustainability and the climate crisis. Key to this is being part of the International Baccalaureate: “Throughout the Primary Years Programme (PYP), students learn about the environment through transdisciplinary themes such as sharing the planet. This learning is consolidated during the Middle Years Programme (MYP), when subject learning is grounded in real-life contexts that encourage students to create connections between their classroom learning and six related concepts, one of which is sustainability. Once our students reach the Diploma Programme (DP), they have been engaged with learning about the environment for many years and this learning becomes more focused and scientific. It is at this stage that they can choose to study the Environmental Systems and Societies course.”
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In the Nature Park – Although, as we noted earlier, there was only one bidder to take on the DfE’s National Education Nature Park and Climate Leaders Award scheme, we understand that the Department has decided to go ahead, and negotiations are now being finalised. More details when they become available.
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Rubbish – Cloud tech creation specialists, Revolent, asked school pupils to draw their predictions for the future, with the shortlisted entries being brought to life by a professional 3D designer. The results included a car that will fix the climate crisis and a bin that turns rubbish into solar energy. You can view all 10 shortlisted entries here
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Compassionate Causes – Year 5 students from the EcoVengers group at Glenfrome Primary in Bristol have been fundraising for compassionate causes and improving their local community. You can read more about their work here.
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CCC Catapult – This is a 3 year international research project focused on climate education through working co-productively with young people. It is taking place in locations across Europe, including Bristol, Galway, Tampere and Genova.
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Art in Nature – The Eco-Capabilities initiative is supporting children’s wellbeing through a research project exploring how the wellbeing of children living in areas of high deprivation can be supported through working with artists in familiar outdoor places. It is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and ends this month.
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Moss and Fen – Tristan Moss, an 11 year old botanist found a rare fen orchid in sand dunes along the Welsh coast. Tristan was taking part in the annual Carmarthenshire recording week run by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. The fen orchid is inconspicuous and hard to spot, was one of the species that volunteers had been asked to look for.
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COP27 – The Transform Our World Youth Summit will be online over the two weeks of COP27, from Monday 7th November. More details about this in the autumn
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Earth Overshoot Day – In 2022, this was July 28th. The Day marks the date when we have used all the biological resources that Earth regenerates during an entire year. It’s been getting sooner and sooner. More detail here.
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Counting Carbon – If you’re busy accounting for your (school’s) carbon footprint, you might find the following useful, particularly if you are including travel emissions as you surely should. These are atmosfair and carbonfootprint.
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Put out more Flags – To raise awareness of the SDGs and showcase all our contributions to the realisation of the Goals, we are invited to join the SDG Flag campaign this September and be part of a global movement. The campaign started in the Netherlands and has grown over the past two years to see hundreds of businesses, government departments, civil society organisations, and schools raise an SDG flag each September to mark the adoption of the SDGs.
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Not so Clingy – Xampla, a Cambridge University spin-off has produced a biology-based alternative to cling film. One use is around the stock cubes used in Gousto recipe boxes. The wrappers, rather than being plastic, are made from pea protein which dissolves in hot water.
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Glasgow22 – The World Congress of Soil Science is taking place in Glasgow (31 July to 5 August). Its theme is Crossing Boundaries, Changing Society. The plenary speakers are here.