More NAEE Manifesto Reviews – So far there have been a number of comments on the NAEE Manifesto on naee.org.uk, and you can find the latest here (Richard Jurin) and here (David Dixon). There will be more. If you’d like to comment please just let us know.
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UKSSN – The UK Schools Sustainability Network (UKSSN hosted by Global Action Plan) is an umbrella group for regional networks that bring together (mostly secondary) school pupils, educators and operations staff who are working on climate education and sustainability in their schools and communities. The Spring edition of the network’s Green Gazette is now available.
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Euro Green – The European Commission has made a recommendation on learning for environmental sustainability, which is currently being considered by EU education ministers. Details here in a report that provides details and evidence for the proposed recommendation, including results from the public consultation that helped prepare the initiative.
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SDG4.7 – A report by Douglas Bourn and Jenny Hatley on behalf of the Our Shared World Coalition of organisations, was launched last week. The report gathered evidence of the extent to which the themes of Sustainable Development Goal Target 4.7 are being engaged with within schools in England, examining how they are being delivered, areas of success, identifiable gaps, and what the priorities for policymakers should be in the future. There’s an edited video of the event here and the report can be downloaded here.
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Hope and Resilience – Mariam Kabamba presents a A Story of Hope and Resillience that explores an environmental education programme that has brought hope to her local community. Mariam is the national co-ordinator of the Congo Environnement et Nature Lubumbashi, and is an NAAEE 30 under 30 Fellow.
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Big Questions – CCERN is the Climate Change Education Research Network. It connects academic researchers and educators so that they might address the most significant questions in Climate Change Education (CCE) together. There’s more about the team here and an invitation to join. The Network’s latest news is here.
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Climate Literacy – The Royal Meteorological Society believes that every student should leave school with the basic climate literacy that would enable them to engage with the messages put forward by the media or politicians, or to make informed decisions about their own opportunities and responsibilities. The Society’s educational website, Met Link provides a home for its weather and climate resources aimed at all educators.
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APPG Global – There is an All Party Parliamentary Group [APPG] on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This is a is a group of cross-party UK parliamentarians dedicated to championing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals across sectors. There’s more on what this does here..
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Reducing Plastic – The aims of the Big Plastic Count campaign is to get everyone across the country tallying their plastic use for a week in order to boost engagement and positive behavioural change surrounding reosurce use. Additionally, it also aims to provide data for a citizen science project that Greenpeace / Everyday Plastic will be using to push government, big brands, and supermarkets to take more ambitious action on plastic packaging.
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NOAA – Discover Your World with NOAA provides over 40 hands-on activities highlighting science and stewardship to help students explore, understand, and protect the Earth. Discover Your Changing World with NOAA contains 10 hands-on activities that introduce students to the essential principles of climate science.
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Building Green – A UK Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap has been developed by the UK Green Building Council . Its mission is to radically improve the sustainability of the built environment, by transforming the way it is planned, designed, constructed, maintained and operated.
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Human Progress? – The e-book on Re-Purposing Universities for Sustainable Human Progress is available for free download here from Frontiers in Sustainability. Citation: Stewart, I., Hurth, V., Sterling, S., eds. (2022). Re-Purposing Universities for Sustainable Human Progress. Lausanne: Frontiers Media SA. doi: 10.3389/ 978-2-88974-858-7
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Fighting Fire – This is how the latest edition of the Economist’s Climate Issue newsletter for subscribers begins: “The weather app on my phone often alerts me that Denver, where I live, is under a “red flag warning”, meaning warm temperatures, low humidity and strong winds are increasing the risk of wildfires. As of Friday there had been 25 such warnings issued for Colorado—the most ever so early in the year. Climate scientists and politicians in the American West rarely talk about a summer fire season these days. Instead they warn that the 22-year megadrought that has parched the landscape, and the long-term drying of the region due to climate change, has created a year-round fire season. A grass fire nourished by 70-100mph gusts burned more than 1,000 houses near Boulder at the end of December. Another was petering out in Colorado Springs as I wrote this newsletter. …”
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World Bee Day – This was on May 20th this year. Reading University’s Institute of Education is holding its Bee Meadow Opening Ceremony on May 22nd and celebrating its Bee Hotel competition. More details here.