If you fancy being Wild and True with Debbie Warrener in The New Forest, there are still spaces for March 23-25 (with early bird prices for the May 25-27 weekend). There’s more detail here.
A Gaia Sensitive Living Workshop in Exeter will explore what a ‘right relationship with Gaia’ might be. The workshop will address such questions as:
- Can we create a Gaia inspired economic system which does make Earth system sense?
- Does the current wealth creation system contain re-cycling loops which need to be closed?
- How important are initiatives such as permaculture, the transition movement, circular economy and lets schemes?
See the event webpage for further information and to register for the event.
It’s on Friday 16 March 2018 13:30 – 16:00 at the Ibrahim Ahmed Room, Reed Hall, Streatham Campus, University of Exeter. Here are maps and directions.
Practical Action says that Ditch the Dirt is an exciting STEM challenge for pupils aged 8-14 years which helps pupils investigate ways of making dirty water cleaner through sieving and filtering, and can also be used to explore ways of making water safe to drink. It’s based in Turkana, Kenya, where for two out of three people do not have access to clean drinking water.
Practical Action says that Ditch the Dirt offers a;
- Real life global context to explore water quality, sieving and filtering investigations
- Perfect challenge to deliver parts of the science, D&T & maths curricula
- Great activity for a science or STEM club, transition or enrichment day
The Woodland Trust’s Green Tree Schools Award is ten years old this year and will soon have involved 10,000 schools. Funding from players of the People’s Postcode Lottery has allowed extra support for schools around Skipton, County Durham and Heartwood, and the production of a new resource pack which is available from: aaronbenson@woodlandtrust.org.uk quoting NES. You can find out more about the Award and about resources for schools here.
The next outdoor classroom day will be on Thursday 17th May and over 1 million children will probably be involved. Outdoor Classroom Day is a global campaign to inspire and celebrate outdoor learning and play and thousands of schools around the world take part. There’s more detail here.
The theme of this year’s TEESNet Conference (Tuesday 11th September 2018 at Liverpool Hope University) is Getting to the Heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): The Role of Teacher Education in Prompting Critical Engagement and Action
The Wildlife Watch Group of the Year Awards (2017) is the Rushcliffe Group from Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. This group is led by the children and spend lots of time outdoors. Many of their members have won Hedgehog Awards this year by helping wildlife in their area. The judges said:
“A fun, creative and enthusiastic group who impressed me with their hedgehog diary of wild adventures which carried on outside of group activities!” “This group is really led by what the children want to do. A good mix of fun and learning: great!”
There’s more information about the Awards, here.
The Freshwater Habitats Trust says it collect data on the whereabouts of frog and toad spawn across the country by taking part in the 2018 PondNet Spawn Survey. It’s asking us to record toad and frog spawn in garden ponds, local community ponds, and any ponds in the countryside.
The vernal equinox this year is on March 20th. If you’re in Greenwich it takes place at 1615. Next year, however, you’ll have to wait until 2158. For an explanation of this variability, you should browse the Science Geek website where this (and a lot more) is explained in plain language with fine diagrams.- TimeandDate.com (2016) Solstices & Equinoxes for London (Surrounding 10 Years)timeanddate.com/calendar/seasons.html?n=136
- TimeandDate.com (2016) London, ENG, United Kingdom — Sunrise, Sunset, and Daylength, March 2016 timeanddate.com/sun/uk/london