A July 7th Deadline for COP26 Activity – Global Action Plan / Transform Our World is sharing a set of slides (here) about its Pupil Poster Roadshow and opportunities at COP26 (inside the Green Zone) for secondary students. Anyone interested should complete this form.
.
A July 8th Deadline for that Big Conversation – A reminder that the Big Change Charitable Trust is holding a national campaign to get people talking about what education is really for and how it should change for the future. It calls this a Big Education Conversation. If you have an opportunity to complete the conversation survey please do before Thursday 8th July.
.
Regional School Network Evaluation – This is a feedback form for use by past, current or potential members of regional school eco-networks & UK Schools Sustainability Network to help with future planning so they can be as useful and have as wide a reach as possible.
.
Nature Connection in Schools – The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust’s Generation Wild programme plans to connect 45,000 children and their families to nature. This will include free school visits (including transport), free visits for families and a website to encourage continued nature-connection activity at school, at home and in local greenspaces. The programme is now open to eligible schools, with places offered on a first-come-first-served basis. Eligibility criteria (based on % of pupils eligible for free school meals) vary across centres so go to the Generation Wild website to find your nearest centre and see if your school qualifies. Click here for more details.
.
G20 Education – Education Ministers from across the world have been urged to prioritise quality climate education as a major outcome at the next UN Climate Conference. You can read the EarthDay statement about this here.
.
STEM in Ayr – The Prince of Wales is building nature classrooms in Ayrshire. These are to be erected in woodland at Dumfries House to encourage pupils to learn about the natural world. The timber-framed structure will feature STEM workshops. The prince’s representatives said they wanted to teach children about aerospace, renewables, sustainable design, food and farming technology and environmental sciences to help them find future employment.
.
Let’s Make Meadows – So says Trevor Dines in a feature for Plantlife to mark National Meadows Day (July 3rd). The key message is that anyone can make a meadow. He is a regular blogger for Plantlife; here’s a recent post about how wild flowers are good for us (and for bees, etc).
.
No 47 = Curriculum – Friends of the Earth has produced a climate action plan for schools and colleges. This contains 50 top tips for schools and colleges. These begin with [1] Declare a climate emergency and end with [50] Let students lead the way. The tips are divided into sections such as transport, plastic waste, food, stationery, nature and energy. All these tips are good conversation starters within educational communities and could also be used to benchmark existing actions and developments.
.
Green Jobs and COP26 – Here is an update on the BEIS / DfE green jobs taskforce and on Mock COP26’s ongoing efforts to engage education ministers at COP26.
.
Climate and Biodiversity – The Conversation has a feature on a report by scientists studying climate and biodiversity which argues that the world will have to tackle the climate crisis and the species extinction crisis simultaneously, or not at all. That’s because Earth’s land and ocean already absorbs about half of the greenhouse gases that people emit. Wild animals, plants, fungi and microbes help maintain this carbon sink by keeping soils, forests and other ecosystems healthy. Failing to tackle climate change meanwhile will accelerate biodiversity loss, as higher temperatures and changing rainfall patterns make survival for many species more difficult. Both problems are intertwined, and so solutions to one which exacerbate the other are doomed to fail. Luckily, there are options for addressing climate change and biodiversity loss together, called nature-based solutions.
.
CBA15 – The latest edition of the IIED Newsletter is here. It includes features on COP26, investing in grassroots-led responses to climate change, reporting greenhouse gas emissions, locally led adaptation, and the CBA15 conference.
.
Back from the Dead – This is the title of an article in the latest Economist Technology Quarterly which deals with preserving cells from endangered species, and the possibility of reviving extinct ones. Efforts to help the po’ouli, a bird from Hawaii, to survive are featured as a case study. See also the new UK charity Nature’s Safe. This would likely win best punning charity title of the year, were there such an award.
.
Penguin Green Ideas – NHBS says that, in twenty short books, Penguin has gathered together key theories, philosophies and arguments in environmental thought about the impact and consequences of climate change. From art, literature, food and gardening, to technology, economics, politics and ethics, each one delves into our sense of our place in nature, and presents the most pivotal reflections on ecology and the environment.
.
School Grounds – Learning Through Landscapes is hosting this year’s International School Grounds Alliance Conference in Stirling and online on 23rd and 24th September. LTL says the meeting will be Ideal for teachers, educators and design professionals as the conference will unite outdoor learning and school grounds experts from around the world. The link gives you a link to early-bird discounts.