From the Nepal Himalayas, to the Cambridgeshire Chalk Marl, to the Italian lakes In the winter of 2013/14, an environmentally orientated communication between schools in Italy, England and Nepal began. To initiate the connection, several steps had to be taken. First of all, while collaborators introduced the idea into the European schools, four volunteers began making their…
It is quite a challenge to teach children to understand the environmental issues that our planet faces. The incredibly abstract scientific ideas backed up by a wealth of carefully compiled data are arguably of less significance to the average primary school pupil than other more pressing concerns that they might have at their age like…
Redesigning Plastics is a new lesson plan written by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Schools and Colleges team as part of the World’s Largest Lesson 2017 [*]. The two part lesson is aimed at students aged 12+. It introduces key facts about plastics, what could be done to make them fit in a circular economy, and encourages students…
Dr Ria Dunkley Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University I grew up in a village in mid-Wales and spent a considerable amount of time in the town, but that town was Aberystwyth and Aberystwyth looks out at the sea. My house was separated from that sea by a 120-metre Iron Age hill fort. My grandfather…
Hooda Samad Reception teacher, Montgomery Primary Academy, Birmingham As a ‘Talk 4 Writing’ school, we always focus our literacy around a story; this half term, Reception children are reading The Bad-Tempered Ladybird by Eric Carle. To immerse the children into the story, we planned a trip to Martineau Gardens which gave them hands-on experience by…
Lisa Bell Head of Curriculum for Early Childhood & Health, Brockenhurst College writes about learning and teaching outside the classroom and the impact on students’ learning. Brockenhurst College maintains an excellent academic reputation and is committed to providing the highest quality education for all, offering a range of courses, attracting around 3000 sixth-form students from…
Kat Wooley Education Officer & Trainee Forest School Practitioner, Potteric Carr Nature Reserve, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust The county of Yorkshire is big: approximately 11,903 square kilometres (thanks Wikipedia) and has a population of just over 5 million. Yorkshire also has a wide and varied landscape, which is rather exciting for staff at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to…
Mya-Rose Craig is a 15-year-old British Bangladeshi young naturalist, birder and conservationist. She writes the successful Birdgirl blog and was a Bristol European Green Capital Ambassador along with Shaun the Sheep. She has also been listed with singer George Ezra and actress Maisie Williams as one of Bristol’s most influential young people. The article which…
Using the solar racing car challenge to teach about renewable energy “Make the fastest solar car you can!” This was the simple challenge posed to the students at Swinton School, Rotherham, on a recent renewable energy project day. Can you remember learning about electricity using a series of line diagrams filled with obscure shapes and…
What can talking and walking with children in different parts of the world tell us about how humans are responding to changing climates, and what does this mean for school curricula? In a recent comparative study of children’s perceptions and articulations of place in the UK, Mexico, Mongolia, and Alaska[1], we explored children’s experience of…
The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust has a long history of involvement in providing informal and formal environmental education. Over the years, general nature studies have given way to specific activities tailored to help teachers meet attainment targets. We have worked with hundreds of schools; creating wildlife areas, running teacher training sessions, giving presentations to school assemblies…
Does changing our behaviour at school actually make a difference in terms of climate change? And if it does, how can we know? Sheila Gundry Bins slopping with school dinner waste…. images of tonnes of unnecessary waste dumped in landfill sites…. waste can really capture children’s attention. What’s more, it’s a tangible issue for children…