The Forest School Association, the UK’s professional body and voice for all things Forest School, has launched a scheme for recognising Forest School Providers who are following good Forest School practice. This is the FSA Recognised Forest School Provider scheme. The first successful applicants have been added to the publicly accessible map and database. Gareth Wyn…
Brilliant Birds, by Matthew Morgan & Suhel Ahmad, is a beautifully produced sequel to ‘British Wildlife’ by the same publisher. Stunning illustrations of birds from all over the world feature on colourful themed double page spreads. Birds are grouped according to the kinds of interesting facts which make them memorable to children – by colour:…
Todays post is from Ronald Rovers and is a cautionary tale about our habit of using resource stocks in our pursuit of the good life at a speed beyond natural replenishment. This is how it begins: “Suppose you eat a orange from a well known brand like Jaffa from Israel, you might expect there is nothing…
Everyone knows that education has a role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and there is to be a St George’s House Consultation on the theme of Young People and the SDGs on 30 November / 1 December. The organisers say: We already know that a number of schools have programmes focusing on this, but if…
You can read all the latest Natural England newsletter here. Environmental education highlights include: The state of school residentials in England: 2017 A new study examining ‘the state of school residentials in England: 2017’ has been released by Learning Away. The study assesses the quantity and quality of residentials currently delivered in schools and is…
Laurence Ball writes … As someone who works in primary education, I often find myself walking a fine line between the creative and the coverage, the educational experience and the mastery. These outcomes often seem to be in opposition to one another. In our bids to meet government floor targets, the temptation to simply fill…
1. NAEE‘s Annual Review for 2016 / 17 has now been published and is available here. The Review sets out key developments in the year, reflections on the context in which our work is carried out, and commentaries on the 40th anniversary of the 1977 Tbilisi conference when so much was promised. It contains contributions from Mya-Rose…
The Parent Co website had a feature last summer by Jackie Semmens who describes herself as “a writer by nature and a mother by nurture”. Jackie writes about family, nature, and the experience of motherhood at ananchoredhope.com . Her article for Parent Co explores how to handle questions from young children about nature, and about why we…
Today’s post is c/o the BERA Blog. Its focus is the whys and why nots of taking primary pupils on a farm visit and is written by Leanne Mattu and Bethan Wood. It draws on research funded by the Mains of Loirston Charitable Trust into the use of farm visits for primary school pupils, and how…
The Global Learning Programme website says: We’ve collated a selection of resources and CPD to support your teaching around environmental issues and sustainability. The theme for World Environment Day 2017, ‘Connecting People to Nature’, implores us to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and its importance, and to take forward the call to protect…
Today’s featured blog is by Nadia von Benzon, a Lecturer in Human Geography at Lancaster University. In this, she discusses her research into children’s engagement with nature, particularly the experiences of disabled children, and the use of nature for children’s health and wellbeing. You’ll find this (and other blogs) on the Tree Charter website. The post begins:…
1. Does your West Midlands school want to get involved in the Ashden Less CO2 programme which provides support to help with energy saving measures in schools? Schools must sign up to 4 workshops and will receive a free energy audit. It’s most suitable for Bursars, Eco-leaders and Site Managers. The programme includes further support through one to one…