Nature Detectives
Nature Detectives is run by the Woodland Trust, and has loooaaads of downloadable information and games (try the Trump Cards for Fungi!), a bird food cookbook, and more. There are even templates to design your own worksheets/playing cards/bingo/wordsearch. There's an educators' section. See their website.
Nature Detectives is run by the Woodland Trust, and has loooaaads of downloadable information and games (try the Trump Cards for Fungi!), a bird food cookbook, and more. There are even templates to design your own worksheets/playing cards/bingo/wordsearch. There's an educators' section. See their website.
Join in Greening Grey Britain in 2019
Is there a neglected space in your community that you’d love to transform into a green oasis for people and the planet?
The RHS is offering a number of community groups expert hands-on support, plus up to £500 worth of plants and materials! To be eligible, you should take part in Britain in Bloom, It's Your Neighbourhood, RHS Campaign for School Gardening, or be a registered RHS Affiliated Society.
See https://www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/community-gardening/news/articles/ggb-with-communities
Is there a neglected space in your community that you’d love to transform into a green oasis for people and the planet?
The RHS is offering a number of community groups expert hands-on support, plus up to £500 worth of plants and materials! To be eligible, you should take part in Britain in Bloom, It's Your Neighbourhood, RHS Campaign for School Gardening, or be a registered RHS Affiliated Society.
See https://www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/community-gardening/news/articles/ggb-with-communities
EMPTY CLASSROOM DAY is an annual, international event for schools. You can sign your school up to do at least one lesson outdoors at the end of May. The original website for Empty Classroom Day has been overtaken by the one supported by a washing powder manufacturer to make it global, with the title Outdoor Classroom Day (UK site or international site).
Sustainable Schools Conference
Sustainable Schools Conference ran for a few years: no more. May be resources on https://warringtontsa.co.uk/sitemap, eg Forest School – observing practice.
The organisation Sustainability and Environmental Education (SEEd) has resources and runs training. See https://se-ed.co.uk/edu/
Resources cover habitats and homes, energy and climate change, equality and justice, health and well-being, water, green growth and economics, design for the future, nature and biodiversity, communication and media, working with the community, food and farming, campus facilities.
Sustainable Schools Conference ran for a few years: no more. May be resources on https://warringtontsa.co.uk/sitemap, eg Forest School – observing practice.
The organisation Sustainability and Environmental Education (SEEd) has resources and runs training. See https://se-ed.co.uk/edu/
Resources cover habitats and homes, energy and climate change, equality and justice, health and well-being, water, green growth and economics, design for the future, nature and biodiversity, communication and media, working with the community, food and farming, campus facilities.
Has a schools page, with teaching resources, national curriculum links, current 'to do', and games. Local schools involved include Ashton Hayes, Comberbach, Cransley, Helsby Hillside, Manley, St Mary's, St Wilfrid's, and The Grange; and Delamere Forest Education
Dept. Click here.
Food For Life Partnership
Garden Organic and the Soil Association are partners in Food for Life, an accreditation scheme promoting local and organic food for school meals. It offers a structure for improving the food culture of the school, promoting increased uptake of school dinners, especially free ones; ethical sourcing, eg local, freerange or organic produce, and MSC (Marine Stewardship
Council) fish, onsite preparation, and pupils' (and parents') involvement in learning about growing and preparing food. Food waste is also addressed. Schools are graded bronze, silver or gold depending on how many criteria, and at what level, they achieve.
More info on the Food for Life website, including courses and other helpful resources.
Dept. Click here.
Food For Life Partnership
Garden Organic and the Soil Association are partners in Food for Life, an accreditation scheme promoting local and organic food for school meals. It offers a structure for improving the food culture of the school, promoting increased uptake of school dinners, especially free ones; ethical sourcing, eg local, freerange or organic produce, and MSC (Marine Stewardship
Council) fish, onsite preparation, and pupils' (and parents') involvement in learning about growing and preparing food. Food waste is also addressed. Schools are graded bronze, silver or gold depending on how many criteria, and at what level, they achieve.
More info on the Food for Life website, including courses and other helpful resources.
Appetite for Action
helps primary schools tackle a range of sustainability issues through the topic of food. Developed in conjunction with teachers, the website offers schools free resources: lesson plans, fact sheets, activity ideas and films, helping pupils to reduce food waste, grow their own fruit and vegetables, understand composting and reduce waste to landfill. Plus a chance to join in a school challenge to reduce their schools CO2 impact and potentially win £3000 and Sky News visiting their school for the day. See the Appetite for Action website.
helps primary schools tackle a range of sustainability issues through the topic of food. Developed in conjunction with teachers, the website offers schools free resources: lesson plans, fact sheets, activity ideas and films, helping pupils to reduce food waste, grow their own fruit and vegetables, understand composting and reduce waste to landfill. Plus a chance to join in a school challenge to reduce their schools CO2 impact and potentially win £3000 and Sky News visiting their school for the day. See the Appetite for Action website.
The RHS has a Campaign for School Gardening, with resources such as seeds, information, local advisors and CPD training. Click here.
The RHS has a number of one-day CPD courses to help teachers: local ones are detailed on their website here.
The RHS has a number of one-day CPD courses to help teachers: local ones are detailed on their website here.
Edible Playgrounds
For a subsidised fee you can get your school garden raised beds, outdoor seating, greenhouse, wormery, shed, tools, seeds and fruit trees, along with support including teacher training, whole school assemblies, sowing/planting/harvesting workshops and lesson plans and guides for using the Edible Playground across the curriculum. See the Trees for Cities website.
For a subsidised fee you can get your school garden raised beds, outdoor seating, greenhouse, wormery, shed, tools, seeds and fruit trees, along with support including teacher training, whole school assemblies, sowing/planting/harvesting workshops and lesson plans and guides for using the Edible Playground across the curriculum. See the Trees for Cities website.
Creeping Toad - Environmental Art & Celebration – Education, Training & Workshops
From environmental educator Gordon MacLellan. Creeping Toad projects revolve around celebration, and set out to help people discover their own ways of valuing the 'specialness' of their homes, schools, neighbourhoods and the wildlife that surrounds us. Website, with contact details, calendar of events, and worksheets.
From environmental educator Gordon MacLellan. Creeping Toad projects revolve around celebration, and set out to help people discover their own ways of valuing the 'specialness' of their homes, schools, neighbourhoods and the wildlife that surrounds us. Website, with contact details, calendar of events, and worksheets.
Grow Your Own Potatoes
The Potato Council offers the challenge to primary schools to grow the heaviest weight of potatoes - from free seed potatoes and a growing kit. Register by late January - entry for next year already open. Click here.
The Potato Council offers the challenge to primary schools to grow the heaviest weight of potatoes - from free seed potatoes and a growing kit. Register by late January - entry for next year already open. Click here.
Talks and demonstrations on Love Food, Hate Waste; and Composting, are offered by Cheshire East council in conjunction with ANSA, to schools and other community groups. They're given by passionate volunteers. See the Cheshire East website.
Schools that grow fruit and veg
More than half of secondary schools do not offer students the chance to grow food. Apart from the lessons possible – science, nutrition, geography, maths, even enterprise (eg selling produce), environmental awareness and community spirit (links with the wider community – even donating food to hospices, etc.) – they food growing schoolchildren also eat healthier. Research shows that more than 96 per cent of children are not eating enough fruit and vegetables and that children in schools that grow food eat more than one and a half more of their five a day than other school children. DEFRA’s launched a task force to identify the barriers stopping the other schools (primary and secondary) joining in, to report in September 2012.
See Garden Organic website. The School Report, produced in 2012, is inspiring!
More than half of secondary schools do not offer students the chance to grow food. Apart from the lessons possible – science, nutrition, geography, maths, even enterprise (eg selling produce), environmental awareness and community spirit (links with the wider community – even donating food to hospices, etc.) – they food growing schoolchildren also eat healthier. Research shows that more than 96 per cent of children are not eating enough fruit and vegetables and that children in schools that grow food eat more than one and a half more of their five a day than other school children. DEFRA’s launched a task force to identify the barriers stopping the other schools (primary and secondary) joining in, to report in September 2012.
See Garden Organic website. The School Report, produced in 2012, is inspiring!
The Oxfam website has a teachers' page, resources include:
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School Food Waste
On average, primary schools' rubbish is 46% food waste, and secondary schools’ waste is 31% food waste. That's 20kg per primary school pupil annually, and 6.5kg per secondary school pupil. Some lessons can be learnt:
On average, primary schools' rubbish is 46% food waste, and secondary schools’ waste is 31% food waste. That's 20kg per primary school pupil annually, and 6.5kg per secondary school pupil. Some lessons can be learnt:
- It helps if free fruit for infants is cut into chunks to reduce full pieces being discarded, the remainder is either offered to older children or returned the next day;
- Survey the pupils for what they'd like to see for lunchtime, and adjust the menu with regard to nutritional values;
- Offer an incentive for clear plates, eg squares of chocolate, stickers;
- Don’t mix cooked and uncooked food waste if you can compost the uncooked. It doesn't avoid food waste, but it avoids that element of the waste bill, associated methane emissions, and contributes to the garden.
Learning Through Landscapes
Learning through Landscapes (LTL), focuses on play in school grounds, celebrating what is already good and looking at the challenges schools face in making the most of playtime for all pupils.
While still predominantly working in the education sector, their expertise has now been applied to a number of different fields including: dementia care; working with young homeless people; and species conservation.
Visit Learning through Landscapes at http://www.ltl.org.uk
Learning through Landscapes (LTL), focuses on play in school grounds, celebrating what is already good and looking at the challenges schools face in making the most of playtime for all pupils.
While still predominantly working in the education sector, their expertise has now been applied to a number of different fields including: dementia care; working with young homeless people; and species conservation.
Visit Learning through Landscapes at http://www.ltl.org.uk
ActionAid
Have a range of curriculum-linked teaching resources and activities for the classroom.Their free schools resources cover a range of topics including climate change, Fairtrade, food, health, human rights, refugees, water and more. They’re all linked to national curriculum subjects including citizenship, English, geography, literacy, maths, PHSE, and science - from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 5.
See ActionAid website.
Have a range of curriculum-linked teaching resources and activities for the classroom.Their free schools resources cover a range of topics including climate change, Fairtrade, food, health, human rights, refugees, water and more. They’re all linked to national curriculum subjects including citizenship, English, geography, literacy, maths, PHSE, and science - from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 5.
See ActionAid website.
Expert Energy Advice
UK schools could save around £70 million per year by reducing their energy costs. This would also reduce CO2 emissions by up to 300,000 tonnes. Simple and cheap measures could allow schools of all sizes to use less energy, save money on their energy bills and also reduce their carbon emissions. Visit the Carbon Trust website. The school energy report is here.
UK schools could save around £70 million per year by reducing their energy costs. This would also reduce CO2 emissions by up to 300,000 tonnes. Simple and cheap measures could allow schools of all sizes to use less energy, save money on their energy bills and also reduce their carbon emissions. Visit the Carbon Trust website. The school energy report is here.
Language of Landscape
Digimap for Schools provides curriculum support, mapping and tools to help pupils learn and use maps. See the Ordnance Survey website. A booklet entitled The Language of Landscape, written by Geography teacher Alan Parkinson (his blog), also created with help from the Geographical Association, was distributed to teachers in England and featured practical lesson ideas and tips on further incorporating map work into the curriculum. More ideas on using maps on a slideshow by Alan Parkinson here.
More info on the archived Natural England website, where there are some downloadable resources.
Digimap for Schools provides curriculum support, mapping and tools to help pupils learn and use maps. See the Ordnance Survey website. A booklet entitled The Language of Landscape, written by Geography teacher Alan Parkinson (his blog), also created with help from the Geographical Association, was distributed to teachers in England and featured practical lesson ideas and tips on further incorporating map work into the curriculum. More ideas on using maps on a slideshow by Alan Parkinson here.
More info on the archived Natural England website, where there are some downloadable resources.
One Million Children Outdoors
Natural England worked on a range of projects to encourage an interest in and understanding of the natural environment amongst school children. They wanted children to have the opportunity to enjoy nature and the natural environment. Look out for:
the Bumper Book of Nature, conservation volunteering, farm visits, Big Wildlife Garden - here.
Natural England worked on a range of projects to encourage an interest in and understanding of the natural environment amongst school children. They wanted children to have the opportunity to enjoy nature and the natural environment. Look out for:
the Bumper Book of Nature, conservation volunteering, farm visits, Big Wildlife Garden - here.