NAEE is pleased to announce that we shall be working with COBIS supporting its new Eco-Award for its schools. COBIS is a membership association of British International Schools. COBIS supports its 500+ members and represent their interests in Britain and overseas, particularly with Government, education authorities and educational associations. The Award scheme will run from October 2019 – March 2020, with the winners being announced at the 2020 Annual Conference in May. COBIS was founded over 30 years ago and the Association is managed by an elected Board consisting of Headteachers and Governors from member schools worldwide. ∫∫∫
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The Transform Our World teacher resource hub was launched on 20 September. It’s full of free, practical resources for teachers and empowers young people to tackle the root causes of the climate breakdown and biodiversity loss. The organisers say that the hub will help teachers channel the emerging excitement around climate action into schools-based activities.
The resources are selected and rated by teachers, and set out to provide opportunities for students to lead impactful projects that benefit their friends, family and local area, as well as the wider world. The resources are sourced from a range of organisations that aim to inspire young people to protect the natural world through schools programmes.
Click here to read more. ∫∫∫
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We mentioned Our Shared World last week. It’s a consortium of organisations whose overarching goal is that “by 2030, the UK education community ensures every learner receives an education that equips them to contribute to a just, sustainable and resilient world through the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4.7″.
There’s a steering group co-chaired by Oxfam and WWF-UK, and a number of working groups:
- ESD – chaired by RSPB / SEEd
- Human rights education – chaired by Amnesty
- Peace – chaired by Quakers
- Global citizenship education – chaired by OxFam / TEESNet
- Culture – chair tbc. ∫∫∫
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The latest State of Nature report from the National Biodiversity Network shows that there has been no let up in losses to animals, plants and marine life in the UK. Written by 70 British wildlife charities, the report states that 41% of species have been in decline since 1970 and that the UK is at risk of losing a quarter of its mammal species, such as the wild cat, the greater mouse-eared bat, the European watervole, the Eurasian beaver, the European hedgehog, the Orkney vole and the hazel dormouse. Fifteen % of species – nearly 1,200 in total – are threatened with extinction, because of intensive agriculture and climate change.
The National Biodiversity Network is a membership organisation built on principles of collaboration and sharing wildlife information. Wildlife data are recorded by many organisations and people, collected together using a range of systems, verified by experts, curated by a wide range of organisations and then aggregated and shared regionally primarily by Local Environmental Record Centres and nationally via the NBN Atlas which holds almost 223 million wildlife occurrence records. The Network’s priority is to grow the national commitment to sharing wildlife data and information. Through this we will provide a comprehensive, unparalleled and authoritative understanding of our natural world and will use that knowledge effectively to educate and inform. ∫∫∫
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The Autumn 2019 Manchester Environmental Education Network [MEEN] newsletter has been published. This issue offers secondary schools support on climate change and wildlife conservation, and all schools have an opportunity to join an indoor clean air programme. It also gives details of the MEEN AGM on 17th Oct tat has a focus on ‘Rewilding the City’. In addition, there’s information on the Eco Schools awards, about becoming an accredited climate change educator and a funding opportunity.
Click here to read what it says. ∫∫∫
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Here’s the October update from the UN’s One Planet Network. It includes a report on a recent SDG Summit when member states adopted the Political Declaration “Gearing up for a decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”. There were pledges to “mobilise financing, enhance national implementation and strengthen institutions to achieve the sustainable development objectives by the target date and leave no one behind.” World leaders called for the decade of action to deliver the SDGs by 2030 and announced actions they are taking to advance the agenda. More than 100 acceleration actions, including those made by members of the One Planet network, have been announced.
You can find out more about the 117 Acceleration Actions which have already been registered. ∫∫∫
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Last Friday was World Animal Day. How did you mark it?. ∫∫∫
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Registration for the 6th NUS and SOS-UK Sustainability Summit is now open. The Summit offers workshops, talks and panel discussions with some of the UK’s top environmental activists and campaigners, from organisations including Friends of the Earth and the UK Parliamentary Engagement Team, as well as the students and students’ unions leading the youth climate movement. The Summit is open to all students over the age of 16, as well as officers and staff from both the SU and college/university. The full agenda is available on the registration page, but highlights include
- A keynote speech from Danielle Rowley MP, Shadow Minister for Climate Justice and Green Jobs
- A workshop from leaders of the Youth Climate Strikes on how to support the movement
- A session looking into how SUs and institutions can better work together on sustainability issues
Date Monday 4th November 2019, 09:30 – 16:30
Venue Sheffield Students’ Union Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TG. ∫∫∫
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The first speakers have been announced for Communicate 2019: Riding Waves, Changing Worlds! They come from academia, media, business and the environment. Click here to see who they are. The conference is on 12 / 13 November and takes place in Bristol. ∫∫∫
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Glasgow has been chosen as the location for the UN’s COP26 in December 2020. It will see up to 200 heads of government from around the world as well as up to 30,000 delegates, including climate experts, business leaders, educators and citizens, meet to draw up a new climate change strategy. The main summit will be held at Glasgow’s Scottish Events Campus (SEC) while joint hosts Italy will hold preparatory events before the summit and a youth event. It’s said that this will be the largest event the UK has ever held and it will last for 2 weeks. ∫∫∫
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There is to be a special issue of the journal Techniques&Culture (to be published in Autumn 2020) which is a French academic journal on technical cultures studies. The special issue focuses on the modes of exploration and habitation of universes conceived as hostile which yet stir curiosity and inventiveness. It invites us to think about the relations, mediated by techniques, that human beings maintain with noxious and even fatal environments. The full call is here and the journal website is here. Authors should contact the coordinators of the issue, Stéphane Rennesson and Annabel Vallard, through the journal’s editorial secretariat (techniques-et-culture@ehess.fr) to submit their project (title and abstract, iconographical project) with their name, contact details, institutional affiliation.
Deadline: 8 November 2019. ∫∫∫