Learning About Our Environment Isn’t Just For Schools, It’s For Communities, Workplaces And For the Good Of Future Generations. Growing Your Knowledge Grows Your Impact.
Learning isn’t just for school, it’s something we carry through life. From new skills to global issues like climate change, it’s never too late to learn more and inspire others.
Climate change is happening, and the need for education is increasingly important, especially with the growing trend of misinformation, which is being spread through all areas of media, that shadows the real science and facts and hides the impacts that we face.
Climate education is becoming more common practice and whilst it does not directly reduce emissions, it makes us think more about the small actions we do, what we can do to protect and conserve our environment, and what others across the globe are doing too.
Why is it important?
Climate education helps us understand what’s changing in our local environment and the risks that come with it. It encourages more thoughtful choices and behaviours at home, at work, and in our communities, and gives us the knowledge to take action that protects people around us and our environment.
Green Skills
Green education is not just extended to just knowing enough about climate change, it also is embedded in green skills. Green skills is an umbrella term for skills, knowledge and behaviours that are used to tackle climate change and help grow climate relevance in our careers.
These skills involve understanding and addressing environmental challenges, such as climate change, energy, technology and sustainable development, across different industries. They come with many benefits to our environment, your daily life, and even your career.
You can read more about green skills and all of the benefits that come with them in a previous article: Small Steps, Big Impact: How green skills Can Shape Your Future
Learn more from home
Learning about climate change doesn’t have to be costly or involve taking up time doing a course. Simply doing research using search engines, books, following other people’s examples of sustainable and environmentally friendly living, can help bring your attention to the topics that are important.
Our website, Climate County Durham, is a resource that we are proud of with many articles on different topics, our Climate Emergency Response Plan that addresses different themes, and resources that address any questions you might have. Our Durham County Council corporate pages are also a very useful resource.
Not to forget about the unlimited resources available from all across the web that shares information from all areas of the world. Some websites include:
But don’t forget, everyone learns in different ways, make sure to do your own research and find tools and resources that work for you.
What is Durham doing?
We are proud to support schools with environmental, sustainability and climate projects. Did you know that County Durham was one of the first areas to support the Eco-Schools programme, which launched in 1995?
In our Climate Emergency Response Plan(CERP) we include a specific education theme ‘Communications, Engagement and Education’ which details the actions we are taking to support climate literacy and action. Alongside this, many projects are going on to continuously support schools in reducing their energy costs and environmental impact.
We also work on the ECO2 Smart Schools programme, which over 200 schools are part of, promoting sustainability across the region. We also are involved with planning the annual International Schools COP Conference, alongside Durham University and OASES, bringing students across the world together to discuss climate solutions.
Besides schools, we also detail actions in our ‘Business, green economy and skills’ theme that directly supports green skills. We also have a corporate mandated climate change course for all members of staff. Our commitment to sharing information and myth-busting the misinformation is shown in our articles, social media, and in our CERP actions.
Share the Knowledge
Education is not only about teaching yourself, but also about sharing your knowledge with those around you. This could be your neighbours, your friends, your family or your children, take the time to spread the word about climate change and green education.
Understanding climate change and your impact on the environment is a lifelong journey. The more we learn, the more we can do, for our communities, our environment and to the benefit of future generations.
We would love to hear from you
Share your stories, experiences, and photos of nature, and send us a few lines on how you are helping protect our environment in County Durham. Whether it is something you do personally, a community project you may be involved in, a business change or action, or even a great photo of nature. We want to celebrate and share your efforts and views.
Send us your stories or photos (with a short explanation) by emailing climatecountydurham@durham.gov.uk or by filling in our Get in Touch form and help inspire others across our beautiful county to take action. And do not forget to sign up to our Climate Change and Carbon Reduction Pledge.
