New Scientist says that the clothes on our backs are responsible for huge amounts of pollution – but lab-grown fabrics and changes to our fashion habits can make a big difference. It adds:
Dressing ourselves is a necessity that has spawned one of the most polluting economic activities on the planet. The clothing industry creates carbon emissions of 1.2 billion tonnes a year – more than aviation – and making and maintaining our clothes consumes shedloads of water, energy and non-renewable resources, too. Concern about clothing sustainability is suddenly in vogue. In November 2017, designer Stella McCartney spoke out against her industry following a report on clothing’s environmental impact by the sustainable economy think tank the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
There’s more detail here.
Green Stories is a writing competition about what a sustainable society might be like. It’s free to enter and there are with prizes. The the deadline is April 19th. You’ll find details here. The organisers say:
The difficulty in promoting sustainable behaviours is that they are often seen negatively as ‘doing without’ and the typical fear-based discourse can turn people off. This matters as in turn, political parties tend not to see environmental issues as ‘vote winners’ which limits potential for green policy making. In response, we are engaging people in developing positive visions of sustainable societies, building a website to harness all these ideas and then launch a competition asking writers to draw upon this resource to write stories, TV series, screenplays etc. set within a sustainable society. From discussions and events with Prof Tim Jackson and Caroline Lucas and numerous sustainability advocates, we strongly believe that creating a reservoir of stories that present positive visions of sustainable societies, more than anything else has the potential to enable a shift towards more sustainable society.
British Science Week starts on March 9th and runs to the 18th. You can download activity packs to running an event or take part in this year’s citizen science project. This year BSW is working with The Plastic Tide, whose simple citizen science project works by getting members of the public to tag images of the coast that contain pieces of litter.
All the detail of how to get involved is on the British Science Week website.
Early Years Outdoors is a theme of the work of Grounds for Learning. Here are the details of work with a number of local authorities in Scotland on better design, resourcing and use of the outdoor area.
- My World Outdoors careinspectorate.
com/My_world_outdoors.pdf - Space to Grow gov.scot/
SpaceToGrow.pdf - Inspiration and Ideas ltl.org.uk/
EarlyYearsCaseStudies - Advice Sheets ltl.org.uk/EY_
Advice_Sheets - ERASMUS+ ‘Take Me Out’ project facebook.com/
TakeMeOut - Early Years Outdoor Practitioner ltl.org.uk/EY_
Outdoor_Practitioner
Calling all Steve Van Matre fans. A workshop is being organised by Green Light Trust and Ringsfield Hall EcoActivity Centre which they say will be “perfect for practitioners, teachers and activists of all kinds, but especially for those interested in outdoor and environmental education”.
The organisers say that it’s a chance for fresh perspective and a deeper grounding in your practice. As Steve V M says:
“Falling in love with the earth is one of life’s great adventures. It is an affair of the heart like no other; a rapturous experience that remains endlessly repeatable throughout life. The more one gives it away, the stronger it grows.”
You can book here.
The United Nations Association website has a wide range of features about the sustainable development goals. These include:
- Our common goals By António Guterres
- Improving child survival By Stefan Peterson
- Integrating development with environmental protection By Maria Ivanova, Natalia Escobar-Pemberthy
- Protecting unique environments By Inger Andersen
- Why is peacebuilding so difficult to achieve? By Sara Pantuliano
CLOtC’s Annual Conference will be held on Thursday 22nd November at the Black Country Living Museum, Dudley. CLOtC says, Save the date! Details will appear here.
More immediately, CLOtC’s Accreditations Manager, Sally Thompson, will be presenting a seminar on ‘Learning Outside the Classroom – Why & How?’ at the Education Show on Thursday 16th March, 10.00- 10.30am. There’s more detail here. Sally will also be available for one to one discussion throughout the show. If you would like to make an appointment email Sally: enquiries@lotc.org.uk
The World Economic Forum website has a research feature saying that living near forests is good for us. This begins:
“Studies have shown that repeated infringement of personal space in cities can trigger the brain’s threat system, which makes us feel stressed. Other factors such as constant contact with strangers and traffic noise all contribute to city dwellers being most likely to suffer from chronic stress. Mood and anxiety disorders, as well as schizophrenia, are up to 56% higher in urban environments when compared to rural locations. To combat the ill-effects of city living on mental and physical health, some cities have built parks and urban green spaces. In Japan, whose capital Tokyo is the world’s largest city, shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing”, has been practiced since the early 1980s. Forest bathing involves nothing more than spending time in a wooded environment, be it sitting or walking, but it has been found to lower blood pressure and reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Camcup is a re-usable cup made using spent coffee grounds. Inventors Gareth Roberts and Dr Xiaobin Zhao came up with the product as a way to showcase their new fusion of plant and plastic technology, which recycles waste, reduces carbon emissions, and saves the customer money.
The considerable detail about all this (c/o the Design Council) is here.