Website – UKSSN Operations Group

LinkedIn – (3) UK Schools Sustainability Network Operations Group | Groups | LinkedIn

Earlier this week BBC News reported that eight miles of Amazon rainforest are being cleared to build a new four-lane highway ahead of the COP30 climate talks in Belém later this year.


Brazil’s federal government is also investing more than $81m (£62m) to expand Belem airport capacity from 7 to 14 million passengers. A new 500,000 sqm city park is under construction. It will include green spaces, restaurants, a sports complex and other facilities for the public to use afterwards.

Felling trees and expanding airports for a climate conference is a blatant contradiction. Yet the BBC/Times article omits one crucial point. The UK has spent the last two centuries clearing away our forests to support industrialisation and the creation of wealth. In fact, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. The UK government also very recently agreed airport expansion plans to support their growth agenda. Meanwhile the EU is responsible for about 10 per cent of global deforestation, primarily due to imports of palm oil (34 per cent) and soy (32.8 per cent), followed by wood, cocoa, coffee, rubber, and maize.

I would suggest we need to look closer to home and get our own house in order first before taking aim at a developing country with a GDP-per-capita about one fifth of our own.

This week from UKSSN Ops Group –

  • Nature: National Education Nature Park update
  • Funding: Survey (final call for information)
  • UKSSN Network Meeting: Fundraising, culture and social value
  • Communication: Capacity Building
  • Wellbeing: Allergy awareness
  • Energy Sparks programmes
  • CPD Offers
  • Celebrating sustainability: Sustainability Awards 🥳
  • And finally…Earth Day
  • Plus: Advice and Support

 

🦋Nature: National Education Nature Park🦋
Talking of nature, the number of schools working with the National Education Nature Park continues to grow. Earlier today I has the privilege of leading a workshop alongside Dr. Jess Tipton, Head of the National Education Nature Park, at the ASCL Annual Conference. We want all schools to sign up to the Nature Park and get actively involved in enhancing biodiversity and supporting outdoor learning. On Wednesday 26 March (16.00-16.30) you can join Nature Park for another end of term round-up and find out what they have been up to.

 

💰Funding: Survey💰
https://forms.office.com/e/RGhGMERPiy
We are keen to understand the proportion of schools and Trusts who are successfully applying for funding to support sustainability. We recognise that for some aspects of climate action there is a financial cost and with so much pressure on school budgets we need to find new sources of revenue to achieve our ambitions. We would be grateful if you could take a couple of minutes to complete our survey. We will anonymise all responses and share the results with the network and colleagues at DfE later in March. Closing date: Thursday 20th March.

 

🎓UKSSN Network Meeting – Thursday 20th March, 16.00🎓
The next UKSSN Ops Group network meeting is fast approaching. Our next network meeting we will be joined by Ryan Green and Justin Smith. We will be discussing climate, culture, social value and fundraising for sustainability initiatives.

Microsoft Teams – Join the meeting now

 

📢Communication: Capacity Building📢
“I think it’s much easier to make a big statement about getting to net-zero than it is to really concentrate on some of the fundamental details such as developing the mechanism and also the capacity building you need to deliver a supporting framework.” (Sarah Mukherjee, CEO IEMA)
Capacity building for sustainability in schools demands building a workforce equipped with sustainability competencies. We can take lessons from experts, business and industry to help accelerate us on the journey –

  • Sustainability upskilling: Cultivate a workforce that prioritizes sustainability by providing training and development opportunities focused on environmental practices.
  • Simplify communication: Use clear and straightforward language to enhance the understanding and adoption of green skills and practices, making sustainability concepts more accessible to everyone.
  • Sustainability in every interaction: Ensure sustainability is part of the day-to-day conversation that you have with senior leaders, policymakers; when you are leading meetings; when you are giving talks; when you are talking to your supply chain.
  • Engage and inspire pupils: Advocate for green knowledge and skills. Actively empower and motivate young people to pursue careers in green sectors, one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK.

Implementing these types of strategies enables schools (and businesses) to play a pivotal role in developing a workforce that is prepared to meet the sustainability challenges that lie ahead.

 

🩺Wellbeing: Allergy awareness🩺
Climate change is lengthening the duration and intensity of the allergy season, bad news for the 10-30% of people who suffer from allergies around the world: and for many, these allergies are getting worse.

Higher carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere help plants like ragweed produce more pollen—and the pollen they produce is more allergenic. In many northern latitudes the freeze-free growing season is getting longer. Plants like ragweed and grass now have longer growing seasons. They are producing higher amounts of pollen and are spreading to new locations.

In Europe, ragweed is an invasive species that is spreading in a warming world. By 2060, some 77 million people in the EU will become sensitizedto ragweed, up from 33 million today. Another study found that the amount of grass pollen has jumped 19 percent since the 1980s and birch pollen by 35 percent. Potential impacts on schools:

  • Reduced attendance, concentration and academic performance
  • Exacerbated symptoms for asthma and other respiratory conditions; reduced physical activity.
  • Increased risk of sinusitis, conjunctivitis and eczema
  • Sleep disruption and fatigue
  • Reduced staff productivity, particularly for staff working outside (e.g. Estates staff, PE teachers)

Ideas to help cope with worsening allergies – How to cope with worsening allergy seasons – Harvard Health

 

⚡Energy: Energy Sparks programmes⚡
Two of the biggest heating issues for are optimising the temperature and heating coming on too early. Energy Sparks has two programmes – alongside a lot’s more advice and guidance – that can really help.

  1. Smart schools stay at 18 degrees helps pupils to identify if their heating is set too high by measuring temperatures and working with the caretaker or estates team to reduce the temperature.
  2. Give your heating a lie-in, helps schools tackle this issue. The programme shows you how to use Energy Sparks to identify if your heating isn’t doing what you expect.

 

🎓CPD Offers🎓
DfE/ISBL Local Support Offer for Sustainability
Develop your skills across the board with our comprehensive ISBL-aligned training — ISBL
The DfE are funding in-person, practical training sessions focused on technical skills and knowledge, career development and pathways, soft skills and capacity building. One of the eight sessions currently available is focussed on Sustainability. The sessions run for up to 3 hours and are available for up to 30 attendees per session.  The training is available to trusts and regional network groups who are interested in facilitating a session for solely their own SBPs and/or colleagues within their region. This is a great opportunity to upskill and engage a group of school business leaders, estates, finance and operations professionals on sustainability and climate action.

If you are interested in finding out more information please email: training@isbl.org.uk

🥳Let’s Go Zero Carbon Literacy🥳
Free Carbon Literacy training from Let’s Go Zero
Congratulations to our friends at Let’s Go Zero for winning NGO of the Year at this year’s edie awards. The edie Awards recognise and reward the incredible people, projects and partnerships that are transforming business, for good.  If you haven’t already signed up to meet with your local Climate Advisor I would urge you to make that the next step in your Climate Action Plan.

Waterwise Water Literacy
Water Literacy | Accredited Learning Experience
Despite the UK’s rain drenched reputation, demand for fresh water increasingly outstrips supply. This creates a state of water scarcity, which has damaging environmental impacts. Despite this, water remains an undervalued, regularly wasted resource. We need a wave of change, and this course will empower you to be a part of it. Water Literacy is a learning experience to inspire, motivate and educate professionals to play their part in addressing the environmental impact of water scarcity in the UK. It’s an informative, accessible and action-orientated course. Through a single day of learning, participants are empowered to embed change at their organisations, at home, and in their communities.

People and Planet – Climate Action Plans – The Easy Way!
Select tickets – CLIMATE ACTION PLANS – The Easy Way! – Google Meet
An hour-long twilight session on 31st March at 16.00 offering all of the tools you need to create your school’s Climate Action Plan.

Regional and National events
Conferences and events for climate and nature are great for CPD and building your network. We promote training on the website where all Members have facility to add local or regional events. Here are just a few more to look forward to –

🥳Celebrating Sustainability: Sustainability Awards🥳
The Department for Education Sustainability Award is now open for applications (closing date 24th April). The award recognises institutions that have taken innovative, measurable, and impactful steps to embed sustainability within their operations, curriculum, and community. The winning school or college will receive a £2,500 award to further support sustainability initiatives. Awards for sustainability are great for showing other schools and Trusts what can be achieved.

And finally….Earth Day
You are invited to join Giki for a 30-minute live quiz on Tuesday 22nd April at 4pm (BST) to celebrate Earth Day.

Earth Day has become one of the most important environmental dates in the calendar, where over 1 billion people across the world come together, to raise awareness and protect the planet. This year the theme is renewable energy – making smart energy choices at home to create a healthier world, discovering the incredible potential of clean power all around us, and finding positive ways we can all help speed up the switch to a cleaner future. Join the fun 30-minute quiz to learn more about renewable energy and be inspired with fresh ideas to help our planet. You can register here and get involved! bit.ly/3CC1JI8

Have a great weekend 💚

Arctic sea ice had reached its lowest monthly extent for February, at 8% below average marking the third consecutive month in which the sea ice extent has set a record for the corresponding month. 

Sources of advice and support

  1. DfE sustainability hub: Sustainability Support for Education (with updated features for 2025 and updates in LinkedIn
  2. UKSSN: UKSSN Operations Group
  3. Education Nature Park: Home | Education Nature Park
  4. Climate Ambassadors: Climate Ambassadors:
Turning Climate Ambition into Climate Action in Education | Climate Ambassadors
  5. Let’s Go Zero: UK Climate Change • Let’s Go Zero
  6. EAUC: The Platform – Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges, EAUC – United Kingdom
  7. FED: FED | Climate Change
  8. Good Estate Management for Schools – Good estate management for schools – Guidance – GOV.UK
  9. Sustainable Drainage (SUDS) – Susdrain – The community for sustainable drainage 
  10. The Trust Network (TTN) – The Trust Network supporting good school estates & facilities management

References
HM Government Net Zero Strategy (October 2021, page 29)
‘Government is leading the way – embedding climate into our policy and spending decisions, increasing the transparency of our progress on climate goals, and providing funding to drive ambitious emissions reductions in schools and hospitals.’
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6194dfa4d3bf7f0555071b1b/net-zero-strategy-beis.pdf

Department for Education Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy (April 2022)
Sustainability and climate change strategy – GOV.UK

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)
Environmental reporting guidelines: including Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting requirements – GOV.UK

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Personal Data Consent

The information you submit using this form will be approved by staff before publication. If you are aged 13 or under, you will need parent/ guardian permission. For help and more details on how this data is used, please see our privacy policy.