DfE Changes – The latest government renewal has led to more changes at the DfE. The new team can be seen here. Some old faces are welcomed back (Nick Gibb, for example) and there are new appointees (Robert Halfon, for example, who used to chair the Commons education select committee). There is a renewed emphasis on skills and talk of a Baccalaureate.
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Worshipful Educators – The Worshipful Company of Educators’ award in environmental education for 2023 will be for educators who work with 16-19 year-olds in secondary or further education. Here, ‘educator’ covers all those professionals who contribute to creating a stimulating, diverse and supportive environment in which people learn and enrich their lives. The winner gets a cheque for £500, an inscribed crystal glass and a certificate. The award is presented to the winner at an Annual Awards Dinner which is held in a Livery Hall in the City of London. The nominator of the winner is also invited. The winner can also apply for up to a further £250 for professional development expenses. The nomination has to be for someone working with secondary or further education rather than a university level professional. If you know anyone whose work makes them suitable for nomination you can find the details here.
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The Climate Book – Greta Thunberg’s new book was serialised on Radio 4 last week. You can catch it here on BBC Sounds. Over 100 scientists, writers, activists and thinkers share their expertise with the aim of combatting the climate crisis.
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Power and Justice – The Transform Our World Youth Summit, opening ceremony on Monday 7th November, will discuss ‘What is Power?’ It will feature climate justice activists Phoebe Louise Hanson, Isaias Hernandez and Josephine Beckeras well as 7-year old poet and conservationist from Britain’s Got Talent, Aneeshwar Kunchala. Across the fortnight you can also hear 13-year-old Raheen Fatima (stand-up comedian, actress and social entrepreneur), environmental academic and advocate Joycelyn Longdon and Greenpeace youth speakers as well as Transform Our World youth ambassadors. You can book sessions here by downloading calendar links.
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FE ESD – The Education and Training Foundation’s interactive webinar series on ‘How to promote and embed education for sustainable development across learning and working practices’ begins on 16th November. This six-part series is “for teachers, trainers, and tutors across the FE and training sectors who wish to embed sustainability into their professional practice”. More details can be found here.
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Expert Questions – Curious Kids is a series by The Conversation that gives young people the chance to have questions about the world answered by experts. If there are questions for experts, send them to curiouskids@theconversation.com including the enquirer’s first name, age and town / city. The latest enquiry is about snail slime.
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Youth Leaders – The British Trust for Ornithology held a Youth in Nature summit in Manchester last week. There was a leaders panel and a youth panel. The latter included Indy Kiemel Greene, a 17-year-old naturalist from Sherwood Forest, Mya Bambrick, a 20-year-old naturalist, wildlife photographer, vlogger, and writer, and Erinna (Ezz) Miles, a conservationist and aspiring wildlife presenter. Since its inception at the end of 2019, the BTO Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) has worked in a strategic capacity to improve what BTO does for young nature-lovers through schemes, events and representing young voices in decision-making processes. You can find out more by writing to youthsummit@bto.org
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Ocean Ed – The NOAA Ocean Service Education, in partnership withK2 Studios, has developed eight primary school level lesson plans inspired by the IMAX filmOcean Odyssey. The lessons present many NOAA mission critical areas including ocean biodiversity, marine mammal ecology and migration, ocean currents and climate, sustainable fishing, and marine debris. You can view an extended preview of the film here.
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Justice & Sustainability – Social justice is the key to a greener world says Julian Agyeman in a recent Guardian article. He says that environmental issues in low-income areas have long been ignored by activists who fail to grasp the importance of equity. Julian Agyeman is a professor of urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University, editor-in-chief of Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, and along with Ingrid Pollard, Judy Ling Wong, Roland de la Mothe, Vijay Krishnarayan, Swantee Toocaram, was a founder of the UK’s Black Environment Network in 1988.
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Sustainability Education – Stephen Scoffham and Steve Rawlinson will lead a session providing analysis and critique of sustainability education approaches on December 7th. This event is a partnership between DERC and the UCL Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education. You can find out morehere. They will also be making a presentation to NAEE’s AGM on November 26th.
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Amplifying Awareness – The final Communicate 2022 programme – November 15/16 – can be seen here. Communicate is the annual conference for environmental communication professionals, attracting NGOs, academics, content creators, businesses and local and national policy makers in a cross-sector event running since 2004. The theme this year is “Amplifying Awareness, Focusing Action” with a series of 45 minute briefing sessions, interactive sessions and sector roundtables. Registration is here.
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Butterfly Demise – BirdGuides reports that UK conservationists have warned that butterfly sightings are “worryingly low” and continuing to decline, despite the hot summer.
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Taxing Cows – New Zealand is set to become the first country in the world to tax farmers for their animals’ greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions from its six million dairy cows are a large source of greenhouse gases. The nation’s 26 million sheep will also be included in the scheme, although they are not quite so [ir]responsible. The government will tax the methane and nitrous oxide produced. BBC Newsround has the fuller story.
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Planet Solutions – The anthology No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save our Planet, is nearly complete. If you click here you will find various responses to help tackle the climate crisis where each one has been included in one or more stories in the anthology. Click on any of the solution buttons below to be taken to a web page dedicated to research and information on that solution. At the bottom of each page, you will find a table that includes actions for policymakers, businesses, funding bodies and the public on how these solutions can be progressed further.