WWF has released the latest annual Living Planet Report which estimates that the population sizes of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have all fallen by an average of 68% in 50 years. The report is no based on an index measuring global biodiversity, and it tracks data on ~ 20,000 populations of more than 4,300 vertebrates. The Earth has already experienced five mass extinctions in its history during which immense numbers of species were wiped out. Many scientists believe that the planet is undergoing a sixth, and that the way that humans live on the planet is to blame. What do you teach your students about this? §§§§
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Meanwhile, over at the Steady State Herald, a skeptical eye is cast over what WWF has to say about what to do about the issues it raises in the report, and accuses WWF of mixed messages:
“Instead of helping to figure out the best ways to communicate the fundamental conflict between growth and conservation, social scientists try to figure out the best ways to avoid even using the phrase “economic growth” because they know that (currently) economic growth is politically entrenched. They’re dialog takers, not dialog makers. Then, they persuade the biologists, ecologists, and leaders of environmental NGOs that they have a better way to go about the social business of conservation. This makes them natural allies with the pro-growth neoclassical economists ….” §§§§
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Each year, the NAAEE project EE 30 Under 30 recognises 30 young leaders who are using environmental education to build sustainable and equitable communities around the world. The awardees in the EE 30 Under 30 Class of 2020 include social entrepreneurs, artists, researchers, and educators from 14 countries. They will join the global EE 30 Under 30 community of leaders, and will receive ongoing support to expand their impact through networking, peer mentoring, professional development, and grant opportunities. You can learn more here.
This year, two of the thirty are from the UK. They are Emily Cunningham who works towards a sustainable and equitable future for the UK’s coastal communities through advocacy and inclusive, pioneering projects, and Ben Berger who is a youth advocate for social-emotional learning at primary schools and the importance of human values and skills to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). §§§§
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Ecology Live, is a series of online talks that BES started at the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown. All 20 talks are on the BES YouTube channel §§§§
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The Herefordshire Green Schools Project is organising a Zero Carbon Schools conference. This free event for for headteachers, eco Leads and eco reps in on October 15th. It’s focus is how to write & implement your school carbon reduction plan. §§§§
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The Cumbria Wildlife Trust (Get Cumbria Buzzing) is calling on children aged 5–15 to enter its photography competition. It would like you to send them your best camera shots of wild insect pollinators feeding on flowers, such as bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies, moths, beetles and hoverflies. The competition is split into the following age categories: 5–8 9–11 and 12–15. The deadline for the competition is midnight on 4 October 2020. Details here. §§§§
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World Rivers Day is on September 27th – the 4th Sunday in the month. What will you be doing? If you’re planning an event, there’s help here. §§§§
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If you’re in the Bristol area do you know a school looking to create an orchard? The Forest of Avon Trust has a donation from Churchman Thornhill Finch architects to fund a school orchard project as a way to celebrate their 5th anniversary. If you do, call Alex on 07779 787011 or email partnerships@forestofavontrust.org Planting timing can be flexible with Covid 19 restrictions in mind. §§§§
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A resource pack has been created by Trees for Cities, Nature Nurture CIC and the Sensory Trust as part of the growing amongst trees partnership project. These free resources are suitable for use in both urban and rural education settings. §§§§
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A Zoom call costs 2g of carbon per hour on a 13in MacBook Pro but 50g per hour on a desktop computer. The chief footprint of a Zoom call is the embodied emissions in the computer hardware; the call cost is minimal. Of course, the emissions avoided by not travelling can be huge, as can the wear and tear on the body. This is taken from How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee, which was published on September 3 by Profile Books. We’ll be selecting another issue discussed in the book in coming weeks, and then reviewing the book itself at a later date. §§§§