Category Archives: Blog

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE USE 24 June 2015

New NAEE guide highlights ‘environment’ in the school curriculum How can teachers respond to the challenge of teaching about pollution, endangered species, deforestation, climate change, and other environmental issues? The National Association for Environmental Education (NAEE UK) has looked carefully at the numerous opportunities that the new early years and primary curriculums provide, for teachers and children in early years settings and primary schools, to…

A new UNESCO report promotes GCE

UNESCO’s report on delivering global citizenship education, Global Citizenship Education: Topics and Learning Objectives, is aimed at anyone who wants to promote the idea of global learning.  The report sets out a series of nine topics to explore GCE in the classroom.  It identifies learning objectives and themes for teachers to explore with students, and for policy makers to incorporate into the curriculum…

A strong voice sounds against the denial of climate change

The Vatican has published the Pope’s long-awaited encyclical on climate change: On Care for Our Common Home.  It runs to 246 paragraphs and ends with a prayer for our earth. Pope Francis argues for a new partnership between science and religion to address human-driven climate change, and chides those who remain sceptics on the issue.  The encyclical is necessarily spiritual,…

Green space and children’s mental development

Research in Barcelona, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and reported in the Guardian, explores the relationship between children’s exposure to green spaces at school, and their learning.  The Guardian report says: “The researchers carried out mental performance tests on 2,593 children aged seven to 10 attending 36 primary schools in Barcelona every three months…

A Daily Dose of Nature

Have you caught up with Gary Mantle’s blog: A Daily Dose of Nature? Gary is Chief Executive of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and President of the Sensory Trust, but his blog  provides personal reflections about his experiences of nature with occasional comments on both environmental issues, generally, and on how both Trusts are working to reconnect people and nature.…

An ambivalence of zoos

What do you think about zoos?  If you’re ambivalent about their message and morality, then you might find Gordon Eaglesham’s blog a useful aid to your thinking, and that of your students.  The post refers to Chris Packham’s recent article on zoos and their role in conservation, for the BBC Wildlife magazine.  This is as honest…

Mind the Gap

UNESCO has released two education-focused reports: Global Citizenship Education: Preparing Learners for the Challenges of the 21st Century This is an overview of the delivery of yet another adjectival education: GCE – Global Citizenship Education.  The report makes recommendations on how GCE can become a more integral part of teaching and learning.  It focuses on support for teacher education, better…

US scientists say there was no slow down in Earth warming

Today’s Guardian reports that global warming has not undergone a ‘pause’ or ‘hiatus’. A new study looked anew at the temperature records of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) in the light of changing methods of measuring the global surface temperature over the past century. Adjustments to the data were slight, but removed a flattening of the graph this century…

Rewilding the land

George Monbiot is a great fan of rewilding, and writes about it frequently. He would like to see parts of Britain rewilded, especially its uplands. Essentially, this means humans getting out of the way, although opinion varies on the extent a rewilding process would need to be managed (by humans). Last week’s Spectator carried an…

A day of action on climate

On June 17th, there’s a lobby of the UK parliament in London – 1300 to 1700.  WWF says “This will be the UK’s biggest ever meeting with MPs on climate change.  It will be an unforgettable, colourful day of fun, community spirit and inspiration and a big step towards a better, safer world for us…