The latest updates on the NAAEE annual conference can be found here. As it’s virtual this year, there’s no reason not to join in. Well continue to keep you informed of developments. §§§
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Martineau Gardens is a great supporter of NAEE, and so we’d like to encourage you to vote for it in the Education and Arts category of Persimmon Homes ‘Building Futures’ fund. The Gardens’ entry for the completion says:
“We are a 2.5 acre community garden in the centre of Birmingham. Since the 1960s Martineau Gardens has been dedicated to environmental education, encouraging children to explore the diverse habitats and hunt for invertebrates; learn about the natural world and wildlife; discover where food comes from (and how good it tastes) in the vegetable plots and orchard; understand the important role of bees and butterflies in pollination and generally have fun while learning. If we are fortunate to win one of the top prizes we will build a dedicated Environmental Education Classroom and redevelop the play area to enhance the natural play experience.”
You can vote here. §§§
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The 2020 National Whale and Dolphin Watch event organised by the Sea Watch Foundation involved hundreds of volunteers from all around the UK, and ran between 25th July and 2nd August. So far, there have been 709 sightings with more still coming in. Nine cetacean species (minke whale, bottlenose dolphin, humpback whale, harbour porpoise, killer whale, common dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, Atlantic white-side and white-beaked dolphins) were recorded, and two non-cetacean species (basking shark and sunfish). More detail here. §§§
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Whether you missed #NationalMeadowsDay or not, there’s a Plantlife video in which Mike Dilger explores Ryewater Farm Nature Reserve and explains why such areas of land are so important. There are other National Meadows Day videos on the same site. No reason not to watch them all. §§§
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After a successful campaign by their representatives, beavers have been given permission by Defra to keep living on the River Otter. In 2015, they were granted a licence in 2015 permitting the beavers to remain on the river until August 2020 so that they could be monitored by Devon Wildlife Trust and the University of Exeter. They can not only stay in Devon, but can spread naturally to other English rivers. Not everyone is overjoyed; anglers and farmers, in particular. There are other wild beaver populations in England, including on the Wye, the Tamar and the Lynher. Beavers were hunted to extinction in the UK four centuries ago for their meat, fur and the castoreum oil in glands under their tails. §§§
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The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ have released Breaking the Plastic Wave which shows that plastic pollution is rapidly outpacing efforts to stop it. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation says that this confirms that the vision of a circular economy for plastic is the only way to address the crisis at the source. §§§
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Is the loss of biodiversity making us all sicker? The Conversation has a feature exploring this possibility. The main focus of the article is microbial diversity which it’s said is a large part of the biodiversity that is being lost. Such microbes – eg, bacteria, viruses and fungi – are essential for maintaining healthy ecosystems. Because humans are a part of these ecosystems, our health also suffers when they vanish, or when barriers reduce our exposure to them. §§§
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Butterfly Conservation says that the Large Tortoiseshell is considered extinct in this country and is usually a rare migrant from the continent. However this year has seen the largest number of sightings for decades with 44 in the Spring compared to less than five in a normal year. Evidence of Large Tortoiseshell eggs & larvae has been found on Portland, Dorset. This is the first time they have been detected in the wild in the UK for 70 years. As well as Dorset, sightings have been reported from Sussex, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight. The butterfly is a mobile species that emerges in July and August and will visit garden flowers. Therefore take a closer look at Small Tortoiseshells in case you spot its rarer cousin. §§§
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TEESNet would like to invite you to participate in fully-funded, online facilitated professional development courses:
Introducing Learning for Equity and Sustainability in ITE16 September – 28 October 2020
Leading Change in Learning for Equity and Sustainability in ITE7 October – 18 November 2020
Both courses are for teacher educators, and have been developed through collaboration between TEESNet (Teacher Education for Equity and Sustainability Network) and the British Council Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning (CCGL) programme. Each course responds to the need to inspire new teachers’ engagement with issues relevant to young peoples’ development at local and global level. The aim is to support teacher educators across the UK in implementing and leading Learning for Equity and Sustainability (LfES) in practice. The introductory course is for those more interested in starting to embed LfES within their practice, whilst Leading Change is a more advanced course for those considering how to initiate and implement wider scale LfES change. For more information on each course and how to register just follow these Eventbrite links Introducing / Leading §§§