Net Zero Schools – This week Teach the Future launched its report with Energise on the cost of net zero schools. Teach the Future wants to see all schools in the UK decarbonised as they say that this will reduce their climate impact and save money in the long term. Doing this, they say, will also allow education buildings to be practical teaching and learning resources of how the built environment needs to be adapted to respond to the climate crisis and ecological emergency.
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The other Ministry – The Ministry of Eco Education sets out to support schools to embed sustainability across their curriculum. It offers sustainability teaching resources and series of lessons framed around big questions. The aim is to provide support for primary and secondary schools with online resources and teacher training modules. There is full access using this username: info@caph.org.uk and the password: ministry2023. There’s also a YouTube channel.
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New Curriculum Plans –The Oak National Academy was set up during lockdown to help schools provide online materials, and now offers resources for teachers across a range of subjects. It aims to represent the diversity of modern life in its lessons. It has just launched its in its new curriculum plans for English, history, maths and science (key stages 1-4) plus primary geography and secondary music. You can also download new early-release teaching resources for a taste of what’s to come.
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Litter Less Plus – To join the Foundation for Environmental Education’s webinar on November 8th at 1500 CET and share the achievements of Litter Less Plus campaign, register here for the webinar.
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Hog Friendly – From now until November 30th, Hog Friendly Campus is holding a national competition to find out which institution can collect the most litter from campus and in the community. There are 4 categories: university, college, secondary, and primary school. We’re invited to take part to help save wildlife and receive a digital certificate.
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Missing Links – If you missed the recent Nature Park and Climate Action Awards update session, here are a few of the links shared in the website chat:
- Website teaser page
- The Hidden Nature Challenge
- The 4th Oct launch comms pack
- Teacher e-newsletter
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Planet News – The autumn newsletter of Solutions for the Planet is here. You’ll find past mailings here. If you want to find out more about their new Sustainable Schools Programme, click here.
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Greenhouse Effect – The latest newsletter of the Greenhouse Think Tank is here. It was founded in 2019 to lead the development of green thinking in the UK.
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Eco-conscious Laziness – The Imagine newsletter from The Conservation says that if you have a garden, you have a tiny pocket of habitat itching to burst its bounds. How far you decide to let it do that is up to you. At stake are homes for local wildlife and a pump capable of removing more and more carbon from the air. The same argument applies to schools but on a bigger scale.
Gardening doesn’t have to be a guilt-inducing chore, according to Aimee Brett, a lecturer in ecology and conservation at Nottingham Trent University. In fact, it can be a liberating act of eco-conscious laziness.
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Laudate Deum – The Pope has said that humanity’s power over nature now threatens the planet. He was speaking at a Vatican synod where he launched his new apostolic exhotation, Laudate Deum, eight years after his first call to action on the climate.
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GEEP in Belfast – During August GEEP held a meeting of its Advisory Group in Belfast to discuss the the 2023–2028 Strategic Plan, brainstorm how to advance the work of the GEEP, hear regional updates, and learn more about the work of its partner, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful. During the meeting, there was a chance to hear from a panel of Northern Ireland’s 30 Under 30 Climate Change-Makers and learn more about the work they are doing across the region. Our Chair of Trustees and two Fellows were there.
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Wild Walking – The Wildlife Trust’s Big Wild Walk runs from October 16th to October 30th. There are FAQs here, and you can register here.
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Acinonyx jubatus – According to the National Geographic, 11,000 years ago, cheetahs almost went extinct. Evidence suggests that, in the entire world, there were as few as seven cheetahs alive. This is an example of a population bottleneck, in which the population of a species drastically shrinks, often due to environmental change or a cataclysmic event that wipes most individuals out. The cheetahs had such an extreme population bottleneck that all modern cheetahs are extremely similar genetically—so much so that you can take skin from any cheetah and graft it onto another. The host animal’s body will immediately accept it as though the other cheetah’s skin is its own. You can read more about this and related matters on the Garden of Forking Paths.
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Hoppy Beer – The Conversation reports that hotter, drier summers will be a threat to the taste of craft beer as the pungency of hops will be affected. The article explains all and sets out a range of strategies to overcome the problem.