CJS, the Countryside Jobs Service, has published a focus on environmental education and outdoor activities. This sets out accounts of the work of a wide variety of organisations, including NAEE, and is downloadable as a pdf. ∫∫∫
.
Teach the Future is organising an open letter to the Chancellor from its organisational supporters. The letter in support of its case for education to be a central pillar of the Government’s net-zero strategy. Commissioned research into the costs of making the entire English educational estate net-zero indicated that the investment required is £23.37 billion over 10 years. The letter encourages the Chancellor to listen to young climate campaigners and commit substantial new fiscal stimulus investment into retrofitting the educational estate as part of the green recovery. The letter is here and there is a table at the end for name, role and organisation. The deadline is 1200 this Friday, June 26th. ∫∫∫
.
.
NAAEE has received 263 applications for its EE 30 Under 30 programme which aims to find 30 game-changing leaders under 30 years of age who are using environmental education to build a sustainable future for all. Four applicants are from the UK. But will any make the final 30? We’ll let you know. ∫∫∫
.
Today is World Rainforest Day “super resources, powerful actions and a live stream of events.”
.
Plantlife asks what the road verges like where you live? Have they been full of flowers? Plantlife is now working with over 20 councils around the UK to provide guidance on making verge management more wild flower-friendly. ∫∫∫
.
The World’s Largest Lesson has a feature on the Sustainable Development Goals. This aims to introduce them to young people everywhere and unite them in action. ∫∫∫
.
A reminder about the Wild things! Silver Saplings programme. You can read about it on Facebook , twitter and linkedin ∫∫∫
.
Mottainai is a Japanese concept that express a sense of regret over waste, not only foods, materials, energy, things, but also time, money, chances, efforts, your talents, etc. The idea was promoted by Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Mottainai Grandma is an animation of a popular Japanese picture book character. Two stories have been released so far and each is about 5 minutes long. ∫∫∫
.
Although the worldwide protests for racial equality can often be see seen as tangential to the movement towards environmental sustainability, according to Brian Snyder in a CASSE blog they are two sides of the same coin. He argues [i] that a sustainable environment is impossible without social justice, and [ii] that true social justice leads to a sustainable steady state economy. Snyder rejects the usual Venn diagram representation of environment / economy / society noting that ecological economists improved the model by placing the economy within society which is itself totally encompassed by the environment. In his turn, Snyder offers a Rubik’s cube model where solving the puzzle at its ethical core leads to success on each front. ∫∫∫
The BIG Climate Teach-In is on Sat 4th July for students (and teachers). It’s focus is what they don’t teach you in school and what to do with it. The event will be live streamed and include discussion and workshops around questions such as ‘Why act now?’, ‘How can I mobilise action in school?’ and ‘How can schools better connect with nature?’ The organisers say that students will leave with both the knowledge and skills to affect change within their local communities. You can sign up using this form and get more information. ∫∫∫
.
Plans are taking shape, thanks to input from dozens of teachers, environmental and education organisations, for a week-long online festival of events and activities in a Virtual Schools COP26 this autumn. This is aimed at primary, secondary, families and staff run by student and community groups and organisations arranged around topics and themes. More info and a call for event proposals will be released soon. Contact environment@spgs.org if you would like to be involved or if you have any views on the name ‘Youth Climate Summit 2020’ and/or the potential dates of Mon 16 to Fri 20 Nov or Thurs 26 to Mon 30 Nov (i.e. including a weekend), particularly in terms of likely dates for mock exams. ∫∫∫