Although John Smyth died over 11 years ago, in 2005, his contribution to environmental education lives on. An obituary in the Herald Scotland painted a picture of his life and work, but there are many of us today who can add anecdotes to what this says about him. John’s contribution was national and international, and…
11 April 2016, 0930 – 1100, London At this event, hosted by the ESRC’s The UK in a Changing Europe (UKiCE) Initiative, leading practitioners will debate the findings of a landmark independent report on the implications of a Brexit for the UK’s environment. The EU has had a profound impact upon UK environmental policy and…
NEEF has announced that April 17 to 23 is National Environmental Education Week – at least in the USA which is where NEEF operates. This is NEEF’s 12th annual EEWeek, and this one is sponsored by Samsung. It is the USA’s “largest celebration of environmental education”, and NEEF invites environmental educators of all kinds, teaching…
Canada geese tend to get a bad press. As Simon Barnes says in a column for a recent Spectator, “… they’re noisy, filthy and polluting and far too efficient at breeding.” Barnes adds that he rather admires them for this. After all, they are rather like us. For more on geese generally, and our relationship with…
The Guardian website carried an evocative article last week that originally appeared in the Manchester Guardian in March 1916. It begins, “The sun went down a huge ball almost blood-red in colour, and so vast that half the heaven in the west seemed to be covered. As it sank, all that remained of this ruddy twilight…
The deadline for making submissions to the House of Commons Education select committee enquiry into the purpose and quality of education in England has now passed, and you can find all the written evidence on the committee website. A significant section of the evidence provided had a focus, one way or another, on outdoor learning,…
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust says that a foraging bumblebee with a full-stomach is only ever about 40 minutes from starvation, so “help feed bumblebees”, it says. Here’s an informative 10 minute video on YouTube about what plants to grow in the garden. It’s full of information about how vital bees, in general, are to our food…
Margaret Bates, professor of sustainable waste management at the University of Northampton, allowed the BBC go through her rubbish, weigh it out and chart its journeys from her home to various points near and very far. The results are revealing. After it is collected, Margaret Bates’ waste is sent to firms which specialise in different…
Spring has arrived, if you are a weather forecaster, as it starts on March 1st, whether or nor the sun is hot or snow is thick on the ground. This always comes ahead of the spring (vernal) equinox, which is popularly said to be the 21st March – next week. This is when we (non-weather…
Planet Earth is a free magazine aimed at the public with an interest in the environmental sciences. It’s available on-line here, and requests for a print version (available for UK subscribers) can be made here. It is a rich source of up to date information and ideas, and the pictures are wonderful. Every school should have this in their…