Climate and Nature Action in Education

Our education system and the nurseries, schools and colleges within it play a critical role in driving action to address climate change and nature decline.

By working together, the education system can lead the way in reducing our collective carbon footprint, preparing our nurseries, schools and colleges for extreme weather events and helping children and young people connect with nature and develop the green skills the need for their future. 

As part of the Department for Education sustainability and climate change strategy, all education settings are expected to have a climate action plan and a sustainability lead in place by the end of 2025. Developing a climate action plan will help you work out how you work out how your organisation can make work on nature and climate fit within your existing improvement plans. 

To help you do this, during this academic year our organisations will be working together to offer you a wide range of free support:

• The National Education Nature Park
• The Sustainability Support for Education service 
• The Climate Ambassador Programme 
• Let’s Go Zero Climate Action Advisors 

Over the week beginning the 23 September, as part of Climate and Nature Action in Education, our organisations are working with education leaders and sustainability leads at nine different events in the nine education regions of England. With the support of the Association of School and College Leaders, the UK Schools Sustainability Network and the Early Years Alliance, these events are supporting the first group of education leaders to work with us and work together to make their climate action plans. We hope that at the end of the week, more than 200 education settings large and small will have started their plans. For those who can’t join us, please join the free Climate Ambassadors webinar for more information.

We know we can’t stop there though, and we need your support to make real change happen. If you are a nursery, school or college leader why not take your first climate and sustainability action today by:

• Getting to know your outdoor space with the National Education Nature Park
• Setting yourself up for climate action planning success with Sustainability Support for Education
• Inviting a volunteer Climate Ambassador to inspire your action planning
• Booking an appointment with a Climate Action Advisor to audit school sustainability and develop a climate action plan
• Sharing your progress with colleagues at trust or group meetings 
• Talking to your education community about your pledge to climate and nature action and your progress through social media, websites and newsletters

These are only a small set of the actions you can take with the support of our services. Help us to inspire and support others in your community to take action by sharing one of the downloadable action cards. You can share these via your website, social media or newsletter and tell us about it by using the hashtag #ClimateNatureEd. Ask us for free advice and support using the same hashtag.

We can’t wait to see the action you are taking and to make 2024/25 a new start for climate and nature action in education.