Today, December 5th, is world soil day. Here’s a link to the UN site, and here’s one to related Twitter feeds. UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon says “On World Soil Day, I call for greater attention to the pressing issues affecting soils, including climate change, antimicrobial resistance, soil-borne diseases, contamination, nutrition and human health.” The Soil Association reminds us:…
Salvatore Gencarelle will be presenting a one-day workshop on the healing power of the drum and indigenous ceremonial song from North America. Sal says that he drum is a sacred gift of re-connection and movement that was given to all people. It connects people to the heartbeat of the great mother, the Earth. During this workshop, he will…
Rooted Forest School has finalised its training calendar for 2017. A full range of Forest School and Outdoor Learning training is offered as well as one day courses at a range of venues across the Midlands. Rooted Forest School has been actively involved with the development and provision of Forest School across Herefordshire for a number of years.…
There was a meeting the other week at Defra about the UK’s 25-year environment plan. This was not actually about the plan, or about the environment; rather, it was about that most muddled of ideas, outdoor learning. In the following, NAEE Chair of Trustees, Bill Scott (who was there), sets out a few thoughts on what he sees…
Ben Balin writes about the Young People on the Global Stage Project. The great educational thinker Jerome Bruner once famously asserted that “education is not an island, but part of the continent of culture.” If so, then there seems to be a bit of a muddle in the map-making department about where some of the key…
Andrew Motion uses interviews with scientists and environmentalists to form the basis of a new series of poems that address the subject of climate change and which the BBC recently featured. Motion writes, “What is happening to our planet and its creatures it a question that should keep us all awake at night. I’ve responded…
The Ramblers say that 59,000 problems were reported through the Big Pathwatch last year, but that they found that the majority of our paths seem to be in good condition. It follows, they say, that the scale of the challenge to maintain all 140,000 miles of our rights of way is far from insurmountable. With low level…
The BBC’s attempt at an explanation of nature deficit disorder begins badly … “It’s tough to connect with nature at this time of year. Your days are spent under artificial lights in an office, while the last of autumn’s blooms are hidden beneath piles of decaying leaves.” It seems that the BBC thinks that decaying leaves…
Based on the United Nations Climate ‘COP 22’ Conference in Marakkech, Morocco, this event was organised by the InterClimate Network in Cheltenham. Students represented different countries, as they negotiated and bargained with other countries in an attempt to move the world forward in its fight against climate change. Following the negotiations, students who have been…
Not everyone is likely to think that a Remembrance Day for lost species is a good idea. But if you do, it’s on November 30th, and more details are here. Maybe there’s an event near you. We wonder if anyone will be remembering the Smallpox virus which was hunted to virtual extinction by ruthless human…