Council for Learning Outside the Classroom – CLOtC has published an evidence summary for learning outside the classroom in natural environments. Natural England commissioned this following the publication of 2 new reports. One of the lead authors of these is CLOtC trustee and NAEE President, Prof Justin Dillon. CLOtC hopes the evidence will be useful for encouraging more schools to feel confident to start or develop work with young people in natural environments.
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School Capital Funding – The DfE has announced that eligible schools and sixth-form colleges in England will receive an additional £447 million of capital funding to improve energy efficiency. This is part of an additional £500 million of capital funding for schools and further education institutions in England. This funding is for institutions that were eligible for devolved formula capital in 2022 to 2023. Payments will be made this month.
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Persuading the Treasury – Inspired Efficiency supported the DfE in writing the guidance and in providing the evidence base of the costs and value of energy efficiency measures in schools which allowed them to make the case to Treasury to secure this funding. The amount of the total fund of £447m is based on the findings from hundreds of energy audits completed in schools in 2020-2021. Inspired Efficiency says that for schools looking to maximise this funding on energy savings it would advise that the most prudent measures to consider are:
- the replacement of older fluorescent lighting with new LED units
- the installation of motion sensors on any replacement lighting in corridors, WCs, storerooms etc (not in classrooms)
- the installation of timeclocks on any electric water heaters
- the installation of electric point of use water heaters where this can allow the removal of centralised hot water tanks heated from gas or oil
- the installation of PV panels on the roofs
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Leading Learning – GTC Scotland’s Learning for Sustainability Hub has launched its third professional learning module –‘Leading on Learning for Sustainability. The Hub also contains other resources to help teachers engage with, and explore, learning for sustainability.
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A Fairer EE – TheTransform our World Youth Ambassadors are raising awareness of the unequal provision of environmental education in the UK. They’ve started a petition. You can see and sign it here.
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Apples & Pears – The Orchard Project creates and restores orchards and builds wildlife areas. It also provides practical advice for the public and for schools, together with lesson plans. Details here.
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Green Stories – No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save Our Planet is now available. Each story links to a webpage where readers can find out more how to make the solutions a reality. There are also a series of free Green Stories writing competitions with prizes.
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Sport and Sustainability – In 2009, when Qatar bid to host the men’s football World Cup, it promised it would be carbon-neutral event, but The Economist says that the event will emit more CO2 than any recent sporting event, and that promises of being carbon-neutral have proved fanciful. In their greenhouse-gas accounting report, published last year, FIFA, the game’s governing body, and the Qatari organisers estimated that the World Cup would generate 3.6m tonnes of CO2 emissions. Estimating emissions for big sporting events is a relatively new practice and methodologies can vary, but that figure is higher than for any recent World Cup or Olympics. This is a useful case study for those wishing to have a school-based cross-disciplinary consideration of sport and sustainability.
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Blue Ground – A rare beetle has been discovered in Devon woods where, it had previously been unknown. The blue ground beetle can reach nearly 38mm long and likes long-established oak and beech woods hunting slugs after dark.
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Three Visions – In an article for The Conversation, Harriet Bulkeley, from Durham University, says that at the 15th Convention of Parties of the Convention of Biological Diversity – COP15 – now being held in Montreal, three visions for protecting nature are on the table.
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Running Off – Our World in Data has a feature on the countries that cause the most environmental damage by overapplying fertilizers to land. Fertilizers have transformed the way the world produces food. They have not only brought large benefits for food security, but they also bring environmental benefits through higher yields, and therefore less land use. But there is a downside when excess nutrients are washed off and pollute the natural environment.
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On the Verge – Plantlife has a feature on what its road verge wilding campaign has achieved. For example, its work with Highways England has resulted in their allocating money for improvement along 75 miles of road verge with work starting this year. Well informed councils across the UK are working alongside Plantlife, Wildlife Trusts, Butterfly Conservation and other partners to transform the way they manage verges. Best practice management changes are delivering significant financial savings for trailblazing councils such as Dorset and providing botanical results.
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Soil is for Life – World Soil Day is held annually on December 5th as a means of focusing attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources. Soil is the heart and soul of our planet, but too often we’re taught to think of it as dirt. As a result, many of the world’s soils are now in crisis – degraded and eroding, often as a result of intensive farming practices. The good news is that by changing the way we farm and eat, we can help protect our soils, for generations to come.
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Diversity Bio & Human – The Wildlife Trusts believe that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the joy of wildlife in their daily lives, and so it is putting equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of its work. An equality statement has been written to help promote and advance equality and diversity as part of everything the Trusts do. Over the next five years, The Wildlife Trusts will:
- work to understand the current diversity of the organisation, noting areas of underrepresentation, and take a proactive approach to ensuring The Wildlife Trusts is a diverse organisation with representation from minority groups.
- work with internal and external networks to address all areas of underrepresentation and to adopt best practice.
- be actively anti-racist with a suite of training materials for trustees and staff to embed equality, diversity and inclusion across the organisation and ensure each person knows their responsibility.