April 12th 2021

Good grief.  What a title! – The Duke of Edinburgh was not known as a champion of environmental education, mores the pity, but he was very interested in young people’s development, and in conservation (and the environment more generally). Examples were his presidency of WWF International, his support of the National Playing Fields Association (now Fields in Trust), his work with Martin Palmer on ARC, the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, and his keen involvement in the Countryside in 1970  programme.  When he spoke at a Countryside conference in 1970, he was introduced by Philip Neal (as Chairman of the National Rural and Environmental Studies Association – NRESA). Looking at Neal, the Duke, in characteristically blunt style, said:  “Good grief.  What a title!”

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[N]AEE – Neal recounts this story about the Duke in the lead article in the 1971 NRESA journal (Environmental Studies).  It was a useful anecdote for him as he was campaigning to change the title of NRESA to something more firmly focused on the environment.  “We are the association of teachers concerned with the environment – let us state this quite clearly” he wrote, suggesting the title: the Association for Environmental Education as it would “parallel the Association for Science Education [and] the Association for Physical Education.” It was not to be, however, as it was NAEE that emerged.

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Teaching the Future – At the beginning of March, Teach the Future’s suggested amendments to the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill were proposed to the Senedd by the Plaid Cymru Shadow Environment Minister, Llyr Gruffydd. Because they were all rejected by the government they were voted down (20 votes to 31). Teach the Future Scotland emailed MSP Candidates across Scotland asking them to sign its climate education pledge to launch its election campaign: “If elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament on May 6th 2021, I pledge to use my voice and my vote to further and support Teach the Future Scotland’s campaign, by endorsing more comprehensive climate education and sustainable actions in educational facilities.” Meanwhile, in England, Teach the Future has a new project which focuses on in-school actions to raise awareness of the need for youth engagement and the use of their voices to help shape their futures. This includes postering, small banners, notice boards takeovers and assemblies which it hopse will spread the words about Teach the Future.

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Designing a Thriving Society – Gaia Education is an Edinburgh-based international NGO which sets out to provide students of all ages and cultural backgrounds with knowledge and skills to design a thriving society. It teaches students how to use energy and resources with greater efficiency, distribute wealth equitably, and make quality of life the focus of future thinking, and says that its learners become changemakers, capable of playing active roles in transitioning their communities to sustainable and regenerative practices, lifestyles and infrastructures. You can discover more here.

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Igniting Optimism – The Global Dimension campaign – How will you reboot the future? – will feature a series of short films – following the lives of fives young people who, over the next five years, each play a role in rebooting the future. These films were inspired by a book written by Jonathon Porritt, which will be included as a resource, alongside a set of teaching guides to help support discussion in classrooms. You can download all the materials from April 21st, to “start conversations in your classroom and ignite your students’ sense of optimism, tap into their imagination and creativity, and inspire them with positive and personal ways of engaging in climate action”. You can also download Global Dimension resources here.

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Compassionate Actions – This year’s Global Action Days Campaign, in partnership with now/here encourage young people to take on a 21-days journey of Compassionate Actions. These are small positive actions (Handprints) that each one of us can take to become more compassionate towards Earth. The campaign will  demonstrate how small individual action can have a great impact on our own and our Earth’s wellbeing. There are three themed weeks: 1 – Protect Global Biodiversity. 2 – Reduce Environmental Pollution. 3 – Empower Climate Action There are more details here

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Countdown to Climate – TED is inviting communities around the world – schools, universities, businesses, NGOs, councils, etc – to share their own climate solutions by curating and hosting TEDx Countdown events between 30 October and 31 December 2021. Countdown is a global initiative from TED and Future Stewards to promote solutions to the climate crisis, turning ideas into action. Events can vary in format – virtual gatherings with or without original speakers, community brainstorms, showcases of climate solution technologies, or even volunteer actions contributing to positive change. If you’d like to organise your own TEDx Countdown event, you can get in touch with mihika.tewari@leadersquest.org or apply here.

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Please Make Sure you say “Hello” – According to a government press release, an updated Countryside Code from Natural England and Natural Resources Wales, “allows people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits that nature offers, while giving it the respect it deserves”. Changes include advice on creating a welcoming environment, for example by saying hello to fellow visitors; clearer rules to underline the importance of clearing away dog poo; staying on footpaths; and not feeding livestock. It aims to be a guide for the public rather than a list of rules, and is based on a survey of stakeholders conducted during the winter 2020/21. A total of 3,801 responses were received. The statement advises that “in interpreting these results, it is important to note that seasonal factors may have influenced the salience of some issues.” It’s fair to say that the revised code is not without controversy.

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Copless in Glasgow – Greta Thunberg has announced that she’ll likely not be going to COP26 in November. She called on the UK government to postpone the meeting (again), saying to the BBC: “This needs to happen in the right way. Of course, the the best thing to do would be to get everyone vaccinated as soon as possible so that everyone could take part on the same terms.”

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Muddy Faces – The Outdoor Practitioner is a new online magazine that you can download from the Muddy Faces website. There are feature articles, case studies and projects, and activities. It also includes contributions from organisations who are passionate about being outdoors.  Click here to read the Spring edition.

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Youth Climate Film – Keep Scotland Beautiful is looking for educators with an interest in climate action to attend a free training course with an experienced film trainer. This is a four week online programme, equivalent to 12 hours of CPD, and is part of the Youth Climate Film Project, delivered by Keep Scotland Beautiful and funded by Screen Scotland. Everyone who attends will be equipped with the skills and expertise to help young people create engaging 90 second films on climate change using smartphones or tablets/IPads and simple editing software. Check out the Eco-Schools website for a list of other new training dates available.

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The Sewage Agency – Data released by the government shows that water companies discharged raw sewage into English rivers more than 400,000 times in 2020. In total these discharges lasted for over 3,000,000 hours and included human waste, wet wipes and condoms. The BBC reported Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the Environment Agency, saying that the Agency was “working actively with the water companies to ensure overflows are properly controlled.” The Agency allows water utilities to release sewage into rivers and streams after extreme weather events such as prolonged heavy rain in order to protect properties from flooding and prevents sewage from backing up into streets and homes. It says that overflows are “not a sign that the system is faulty” as they are “a necessary part of the existing sewerage system.” The contrast between different water companies is marked and might form the basis of useful investigative enquiry by students.

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$100 / kilowatt hour – Lithium ion battery costs have fallen by 98% over the last 30 years. The Economist has a feature article on how batteries have changed over that period and what that means for our future energy supply, particularly in transport. It says that battery improvement is likely to continue. Currently, the average cost of a lithium-ion battery pack is ~ $140 / kilowatt hour. The key price is $100 / kilowatt hour: when electric vehicles will become comparatively with the cost of petrol ones. Battery-makers may well reach this target within two years. Battery storage is also expanding. Figures from Renewable UK show that by February 2021 Britain had 1.1GW of operational battery storage projects, with 600MW under construction and a further 8.3GW of capacity with planning consent. The 100-megawatt battery project on The Wirral will be capable of supplying enough electricity to meet the needs of more than 100,000 homes for an hour at peak demand.

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L or S Morph? – Plantlife is organising a cowslip survey in the coming weeks. See this. You do not need to have any prior experience to take part in this survey. All you will need is: a phone onto which you can download Plantlife’s Cowslip recording app; access to a grassland habitat (pastures or meadows, hillsides or a nature reserve) between April and May when cowslips are in flower; and a spare 30-60 minutes.