Biochar was featured in a recent BBC Countryfile programme in the context of the fight against ash dieback, and there is some evidence that is may have some properties which help trees fight back. Here is a link to some key ideas about it. One of these is that it may be able to combat…
Planet Earth is a free magazine aimed at the public with an interest in the environmental sciences. It’s available on-line here, and requests for a print version (available for UK subscribers) can be made here. It is a rich source of up to date information and ideas, and the pictures are wonderful. Every school should have this in their…
The Public Health England blog had had quite a lot of environment-related posts recently. A recent post says: “Global food production is responsible for enormous emissions of climate damaging gases as well as taking up critical water supplies and physical space. Estimates suggest that food and drink production and distribution contributes 20% of UK carbon emissions every year.”…
Here’s a lively, if a little breathless, video from Barts hospital in London about their successful attempts to be more sustainable; that is, to save money and work more effectively for patient health. The numbers are impressive. Barts have made savings of £9.2m and 48,511 tonnes of CO2. The video blurb says that sustainability in the NHS is…
LEEF training afternoon: Faith and the environment Friday 11 March 2016, 1.30-6pm, Westminister Abbey Education Centre. This training session will explore the links between faith, plants and the environment in several major world faiths. Discover how environmental educators of all faiths and none are using outdoors spaces to teach environmentalism, spirituality and religious education. The…
You can view the latest edition of the Outdoor Families magazine here. It mostly contains features on the national parks in the USA.
The 2nd Interdisciplinary Conference: “Getting Connected to Nature” will be held at the University of Derby, on 15 June. Submissions are invited around the core themes of the conference: • Improving links between research, policy and practice in this area • Latest research and perspectives on: – the benefits of a connection with nature –…
Circle of Life Rediscovery is running a training day which it says … “will bring alive the core routines of deep nature connection, giving attendees embodied experiences of games and activities that facilitate nature information, recreation and connection. It will fill you up with inspirational ideas and experiences in relation to Spring time. We will include…
The Geographical Association, and SSAT, are offering professional development in critical thinking and problem solving, through the new British Council Connecting Classrooms programme. This ‘Teaching the core skills’ training package gives primary and secondary teachers of geography or history the knowledge and approaches they need to effectively integrate the teaching of core skills in their…
Tom Arsuffi, Director of the Llano River Field Station, explores the importance of a sense of place. A ‘sense of place’ in nature is fundamental to learning, understanding and an informed citizenry. Texas Tech University’s Llano River Field Station (LRFS) is the place that brings diverse stakeholders together to address and provide solutions to critical…
Here’s a new Soil Association film, ‘From Potato to Planet’. It’s by Aardman Animations and aims to help us understand the importance of soil to the planet. It also spotlights the role of organic farming and shopping in protecting soils. The Soil Association aims to increase soil organic matter content by 20% in 20 years which would make a difference…
Environmental Education Research [EER] has published a paper from the USA on practitioners’ perspectives on the purpose of environmental education. You can download it here. The Abstract says: Since the 1980s, scholars have suggested that environmental education (EE) has a ‘definitional problem’ represented by a multiplicity of perspectives that have critically impacted its discourse, practices,…