1. Read the latest from IUCN’s Protecting the Planet newsletter here.
Details of World Environment Day (June 5th) are here: “On 5 June, go outside and show us that you’re #WithNature. Breathe in the beauty and remember that by keeping our planet healthy, we keep ourselves healthy too.”
2. Here are details of the Beyond COP 21 Symposium Series that is a global initiative in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.
3. This link takes you to Project Dirt’s latest newsletter with features on allotments, bee-keeping and birdwatching.
4. The latest update from the Children & Nature Network is here. The lead article reports a study that finds that the current lack of activity among US children ages 8–11 could result in $1.1 trillion of direct medical costs over their lives. NB, Children & Nature Network’s Research Library recently published its 500th article summary.
5. The Storytelling Festival Returns for Midsummer at Martineau Gardens. Storywalks in the woods, campfire tales and family storytelling all day are all on the programme for the sixth Martineau Gardens Storytelling Festival. Community Garden Martineau Gardens and the Traditional Arts Team have joined forces to create the Martineau Gardens Storytelling Festival, a family friendly day of storytelling plus arts, music and crafts taking place on Saturday 17 June, 11am – 7pm.
6. The Parks Alliance would be grateful if we could complete a short survey (~10 mins) about parks and The Parks Alliance itself. Responses will help the Alliance to promote and protect parks into the future. The background is the recent Communities and Local Government Inquiry into Public Parks. This found Parks
“at a tipping point and face a period of decline with potentially severe consequences unless their vital contribution to areas such as public health, community integration and climate change mitigation is recognised.”
7. Nature Connections 2017, the 3rd Interdisciplinary Conference: Getting Connected to Nature, will take place at the University of Derby on Tuesday 27th June The draft programme is here. It begins like this:
- Miles Richardson – Welcome & Introduction
- Mark Cocker – Award-winning author, naturalist and environmental tutor
- Beyond Knowing Nature – Ryan Lumber
- Connection to Nature over the lifespan – Mike Rogerson/Joelene Hughes
- A new national indicator for connection to nature? – Anne Hunt