A new set of resources produced by the GA in association with DEFRA is now available.
It's good to see that the GA and the DEFRA are still working together. One of the many jobs I had when I was with the GA was to attend meetings of a group of organisations, brought together by, and hosted at DEFRA HQ along from Tate Bankside
Here's a description of the resources for you.
It's good to see that the GA and the DEFRA are still working together. One of the many jobs I had when I was with the GA was to attend meetings of a group of organisations, brought together by, and hosted at DEFRA HQ along from Tate Bankside
Here's a description of the resources for you.
Our natural environment is something we often take for granted, and its intrinsic and subtle values are often overlooked. The way we treat our environment has become a ‘hot topic’, especially amongst young people, who are rising up to have their voices heard and take action to secure the environment’s future protection. To improve the natural environment at scale, many more people need to understand it and help protect it. As such, it is critical that the natural environment, and the way that humans interact with it, is studied across all key stages.
Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan (25YEP), published in January 2018, sets out the ambition to hand over our environment to the next generation in a better condition than when we inherited it. The 25YEP announced 2019 as a Year of Green Action to make it easier for people to get involved in improving the natural world and spread the word about environmental issues. This is providing a focal point for organisations, individuals, communities and businesses to learn more about their environmental impact and take action to reduce it. The Year of Green Action is ‘an opportunity for everyone to get involved and enthused about restoring nature…with all having a part to play’.
The 25YEP put children and young people at the heart of the Year of Green Action, to help them play an active part in decision-making for their future. The #iwill campaign, of which government is a partner is encouraging more young people to take social action for the environment.
Schools and geography teaching play a vital role in engaging children and young people with the natural environment. At Key Stages 1-3, students are expected to make observations and experience fieldwork in human and physical environments in order to understand features, and how human activity is both reliant upon natural systems and influences these systems, processes and resources. Each of the reformed GCSE specifications have an expectation that students consider environmental services and ecosystem functioning, how resources are consumed, how humans change ecosystems, and sustainability. At Key Stage 5, students are required to understand how human activity influences landforms over time, changing places, environmental management, geopolitics of resources and global governance, and how natural cycles influence resource security.
The Resources
These GA resources, produced with support from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), aim to encourage young people to explore, understand and spend time in the natural environment, both locally and further afield.
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