As we have already noted, the Royal Society of Biology [RSB] has launched a ‘what’s the nation’s favourite insect’ competition. You might have already voted for one of the 10 insects identified by the Society’s ecologists. Or, perhaps, you’re sceptical of the whole idea. Here’s one such view, taken from our President’s blog.
Mairi Kershaw, Chair of the South West Learning for Sustainability Coalition, contributes today’s blog post. “A person whose goal is self realisation is helping to change the world at its most fundamental level, such people are perhaps the ultimate revolutionaries” This quote dates back to 1996. In this century, however, social networking has facilitated an…
The Economist reports on a UNDP report that sets out likely global population (by country) in 2050. You can choose to see the data by graph, map or in data files. The headline figures show that while Europe’s population will fall (from 2015 to 2050) by about 4%, that of Africa will rise by over…
NAEE’s 2015 AGM is on October 24th this year. It’s being held at the imposing Birmingham and Midland Institute in the centre of Birmingham. It starts at 1030, and we hope to see you there. More details much nearer the time.
The NAEE web team thinks that it’s the environment on planet earth, and our dependency on it for the quality of our lives, that should be our most pressing concerns, given its parlous state. However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t think about what’s going on outside the biosphere. Here’s an animation from the European Space Agency illustrating Andreas Mogensen’s…
NAEE President, Bill Scott, met Dhaval Patel from the Voluntary Nature Conservancy, VNC, last week to talk about environmental education in India and the UK. VNC is based in Vallabh Vidhyanagar in Gujarat, and began its work as a charitable foundation in 1988. Its activities are wide-ranging, including: Nature Education Camps An Outdoor Experiential Educational Programme Observational Outing on Sunday Mornings A Reptile…
NAEE has published its new journal, Environmental Education Vol 109, for its members. Its contents include a number of regular features such as the President’s Column, and reports from NAEE-sponsored field work by schools. Feature articles this time include: Investigating soils in the primary classroom – Tracy Atkinson Discover Superworm in your local forest – Rachel Giles Soil…
Butterfly Conservation News says this, about one of our most common (and dazzling) butterflies … “The Small Tortoiseshell is a common garden species but you are most likely to find this butterfly amongst the weeds and wild areas than in the formal flowerbeds. Females lay their eggs on nettles and at night both sexes…
As we noted the other day, 1582 parks and green spaces have received a 2015 Green Flag Award from Keep Britain Tidy. These awards recognise the best parks and green spaces across the country, and a green flag is a sign to the public that the highest possible standards are adhered to. NAEE is very pleased that…
From this September, a new Ofsted inspection framework will apply to the following four stages of education: early years settings, schools, and the FE / skills sector. This is the framework. To download an inspection handbook for each of these four stages, just click on these links: early years maintained schools and academies non-association independent schools further education and skills And this is Ofsted’s…