Go Green
Why go Green?
There are hundreds of reasons to make your lifestyle more sustainable. "Green Issues" and "The Environment" have become buzz words in today's society as the damage we have been doing to our environment, unchecked, becomes increasingly apparent. The world's population in expanding at a mind-boggling rate, yet we only have a fixed amount of natural resources, some of which are already grossly depleted. So as population growth greatly strains our finite resources, there are fewer resources available. If we intend to leave our children and grandchildren with the same standard of living we have enjoyed, we must preserve the foundation of that standard of living. People open savings accounts to pay for university, weddings and other things to secure a happy future for their children. What about saving the planet and providing them with clean air, reliable fuel sources and protected wildlife as well?
Going Green will help to protect our planet for future generations. And if you get involved and make small changes to your lifestyle (changes you probably won't even notice!) it may even improve your quality of life and save you money too!
The Learning Revolution White Paper
The Association believes the launch of the White Paper ‘The Learning Revolution’ must be responded to positively in terms of setting an agenda for sustainability in adult learning organisations and to help communities cope with global environmental challenges. To learn more about the White Paper go to www.e-c-a.ac.uk/news/55/
World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development - Moving into the Second Half of the UN Decade
From 31 March to 2 April 2009 the "World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development - Moving into the Second Half of the UN Decade" was held in Bonn, Germany. Organisers of the conference were UNESCO and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, in cooperation with the German Commission for UNESCO. Five years into the Decade, the conference followed four objectives: to highlight the relevance of ESD to all of education; to promote international exchange on ESD, especially between the North and the South; to carry out a stock-taking of the implementation of the UN Decade and to develop strategies for the way ahead.
To find out more about the conference please click here
Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning
The Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning(IFLL), sponsored by NIACE, called for evidence on lifelong learning and sustainable development and is expected to report in June 2009.
With a Board of Commissioners chaired by Sir David Watson, the IFLL was launched in September 2007. Experts from government, business, academia, trade unions, public service, providers and the voluntary and community sector, as well as learners, were asked to identify a broad consensus for the future direction of adult learning policy in the UK. (For detail see www.lifelonglearninginquiry.org.uk)
The Inquiry looks at the critical issues that face our society in coming decades, and identifies how adult learning can equip us to meet these challenges. The ECA's response can be found here.
Involved in Education? Want to go Green? Then get SORTED!
Involved in Education and looking to take your first steps into Sustainability? Then you need to get SORTED. SORTED is the Sustainability Online Resource and Toolkit for Education. SORTED is open to all and aimed at those working in the FE sector, wanting to take their first steps towards sustainability.
Get Active!
Want to get involved with your local environment, or simply want to learn more about the environmental issues covered here? Then click here to visit our Every Action Counts page where you will find a comprehensive list of upcoming environmental events.
GREEN SCHEMES
Let Our Gardens Live - A Manifesto for Gardens, People and Nature
The Forum for Gardening with Wildlife in Mind has produced the Let Our Gardens Live - A Manifesto for Gardens, People and Nature.
The manifesto has several aims:
- It draws public attention to the importance of gardens for wildlife, for people and for the urban environment generally and to the threats that gardens currently face, especially from paving and development.
- It sets out an agreed agenda for future action.
- It acts as a rallying flag under which many different and disparate organisations can gather.
The ECA has pledged its support to the manifesto and is one of the 48 organisations that have signed the manifesto and in so doing pledged to encourage what it seeks to achieve.
To pledge your support or find out more, click here.
Wildlife Gardening Day, 21st June 2008
Saturday 21st June saw the Wildlife Gardening day event being held at London Zoo and Regents Park. ECA's Environmental Projects Officer Susie White attended the event. Here she reports: "After an early start from Norwich I arrived at the Zoological Society conference centre at 10am ready for a day full of wildlife gardening lectures and potential networking opportunities. Natural history writer and broadcaster Steven Moss opened the event by launching the new Gardening with Wildlife in Mind CD-Rom , which is excellent and has more features than the successful earlier model. He also revealed he is releasing a new book of his own in April 2009 entitled The Bumper Book of Naturewhich will be accessible to families of all ages. Other interesting speakers were Chris Baines, who explored the concept that how we use pesticides in our gardens can have effects so wide-reaching they effect polar bears, and Ken Thomson, author of No Nettles Required. During our lengthy networking-friendly lunch break we were given the opportunity to mingle with other delegates and to visit London Zoo. Here I saw a wide range of wildlife including a sloth, a pack of African hunting dogs, meercats, and even a zookeeper attempting to recapture an escaped monkey! Overall the day was a huge success. I travelled home with a bag full of interesting resources that will be very useful in future projects and with a much greater knowledge of the importance of the role of wildlife in our gardens."