Darwin Day occurred last week (February 12th) and we wonder how many schools took the time to mention this and celebrate it with their students. Did yours? The day is used to highlight Darwin’s contribution to science (and our understanding of life) and to promote science in general. At a time when so many across…
The latest NAEE journal is being mailed out to members this month. It’s a special feature on how the sustainable development goals are being explored in schools and NGOs. We would have liked to have used the new potato starch-based polymer as the cover to send them out but the 75,000 minimum posting was a little above our usual…
The Freshwater Habitats Trust says it wants to hear from us about the frog and toad spawn that we spot in garden, community and country ponds. The details of this year’s spawn survey are here and the survey runs until the end of May. Meanwhile, you can take a look at the 2018 records on the interactive map created by Merseyside Biobank. . BBC Radio…
The Environmental News Network reports that global carbon emissions reached a record high in 2018. ENN says that a Columbia Engineering study, published in Nature, confirms the urgency to tackle climate change. It says: While it’s known that extreme weather events can affect the year-to-year variability in carbon uptake, and some researchers have suggested that there may be longer-term effects,…
The UK Government has launched YoGA – its Year of Green Action setting out to galvanise activity by everyone. YoGA is about connecting people all around the country with nature, and showing how we can all take positive action to improve our environment. It’s a year-long drive to help everyone get involved in projects that support nature…
NAEE was at the Association for Science Education annual conference in Birmingham running two workshops on environmental education through STEM and taking part in a Teachmeet. One of the most valuable parts of the day was considering with interested and informed colleagues how to bring the 17 sustainable development goals, environmental education and STEM subjects together. Very stimulating; we’ll be…
Happy New Year. George Ellis (1753–1815) was a specialist on medieval literature, but took the time to write (in 1778) The Twelve Months under the pseudonym Sir Gregory Gander. This is what we can expect in 2019 by way of seasonal variation: Snowy / Flowy / Blowy Showery / Flowery / Bowery Hoppy / Croppy /…
You can read about Ofsted’s proposed new inspection framework here. This will be open for consultation in the New Year. It proposes the introduction of a new judgement for quality of education which will replace the current outcomes for pupils / teaching, learning and assessment judgements. The 3 other inspection judgements that Ofsted will consult on are personal development…
UNESCO’s Commitment to Biodiversity (Connecting People and Nature for an Inspiring Future) is a new publication that highlights some of UNESCO’s biodiversity-related actions and solutions that have been implemented, along with suggestions for improvement and innovation. This is how it begins: “Biodiversity is the living fabric of our planet. It underpins human wellbeing in the present and…
NAEE is contributing to the ESD strand of the 2019 ASE conference in Birmingham on January 10th. Our two sessions at 1000 and 1500 will explore how STEM subjects can enable students to learn about the key environmental issues that we face. The full programme is here. There is a UNESCO global education meeting on 4th December and part of…