NAAEE says that it’s not too early to plan a trip to Spokane to attend the NAAEE 2018 conference. The research Research Symposium is from October 9 to 10 – the pre-Conference Field Trips and Workshops are on October 10 – and the Conference proper is from October 10 to 13.
The government has published its 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment. Speaking at its launch, the Prime Minister said that plan would deliver “clean air, clean and plentiful water, plants and animals which are thriving, and a cleaner, greener country for us all”. It has been both welcomed and criticised – particularly by environmental groups. If click here you’ll find a list of where the document mentions education-related ideas.
LOtC continues to develop its resource packs. There are now twelve packs, each focussing on either English or science and maths. Whether you teach early years, primary or secondary phases, there are likely to be useful information and practical ideas to help you enthuse your pupils in their learning.
These will soon include a Primary forest & woodland resource pack from the Forest Education Network [FEN] that has versatile lesson ideas to help deliver KS1 & KS2 curriculum objectives in literacy, maths, science, history, geography, PSHE, art, music and PE. LOTC says:
“Equally useful for those new to using woods and forests as a place for learning and those with more experience who wish to try something new, the pack will help you plan curriculum linked activities from a few minutes long to a one-day visit to the woods. Some ideas will help children to adjust to the new, and perhaps unfamiliar, environment. Others support sustained learning in this natural classroom. Overall, this pack offers a range of activities to enable you and your pupils to share a memorable few hours of learning and fun with the trees as your teachers.”
Rivers 2U – the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust mobile classroom can visit schools free of charge, bringing a rivers table, which shows how rivers work from source to sea, microscopes to show the minibeasts and riverflies that live in our watercourses, and displays showing different aspects of rivers and their habitats. Classroom-based activities are also available.
Nature Needs Half started as an idea, informed by science, that nature needs sufficient space in order to function properly for the benefit of all life on our planet. Since 2009, this idea has transformed into an international movement of scientists and conservation leaders who recognize the urgent necessity of keeping at least half the planet wild and intact. The movement is committed to improving the relationship between people and nature and ensuring that at least half of our planet remains protected throughout large, connected eco-regions, now and in the future. Click here for case studies.
Before Christmas, the BBC reported that over 50,000 people had signed a petition calling for the Oxford Junior Dictionary to reinstate words related to the natural world such as acorn, bluebell, cygnet, heron, and pasture. This follows their removal in 2007. Oxford University Press (OUP) said it still includes about “400 words focusing on the natural world” and that all the nature words mentioned in the petition appeared in the Oxford Primary Dictionary. OUP said it analysed language children are using when developing the dictionary, while reflecting the words children are encouraged to use in the classroom. The Sun reported on January 11th, that the number signing had reached 175,000. If you’d like to sign it, the petition is here.