01 SPECIAL ISSUE WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2020
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
NEWSLETTER
JUNE 5TH 2020 THIS ISSUE
Keeping yourself busy in Quarantine A Covid-19 feature Some Positive Eco News Our Recommendations
ECO SCHOOLS
Eco-schools is a new partnership formed between many schools around London in 2019. North London Collegiate School, South Hampstead High School and St Paul's Girls' School have formed a closer partnership and have been working together to produce this newsletter. The 5th of June is world environment day, a day designated to encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment, as schools we wanted to bring awareness to some environmental issues, share our passion and provide some entertainment in this difficult time. Find more information about world environment day at; https://www.worldenviro nmentday.global/
COVID-19 AND THE ENVIRONMENT
You may have seen in the news that greenhouse gas emissions have decreased as a result of Covid-19. Although this is true, with total emissions projected to be down by 8% this year, we must be clear about what these figures mean. This decrease will have absolutely no effect on slowing the rise of global temperatures. In fact, if we want to get even close to keeping global warming below two degrees, we will need a 7.5% decrease in emissions every year for the next ten years. Obviously, having the entire population paralysed in lockdown is unrealistic and has had severe impacts on the economy as well as personal wellbeing. Also, this statistic shows that behaviour change alone cannot decrease emissions enough – 8% is hardly significant for half the global population being homebound for nearly 2 months. We need a more fundamental reinvention of our core practices to achieve the required decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. In amongst the havoc of economic turndown we are being given an opportunity. We are being given a chance to rebuild from scratch, with governments currently in the process of allocating massive economic stimulus packages to re-boot their battered economies. The inclusion of green investment in these packages is absolutely crucial and we are in a race against time to get our voices heard. That is why, today, we are launching our emailing campaign: Get everyone you can, student or adult, to email their MP and demand that they support green investment, which is not only sustainable but economically advantageous. It cannot be underestimated how fundamentally important these plans are – we are talking trillions of dollars, and their effects will be felt for at least 10 years, so if investment in fossil fuel happens, there is little that can be done in the coming decade to impact our emissions trajectory. As much as individual action is important, it is undeniable that governments have the most power - they control 70% of the world’s spending on energy - so it is absolutely crucial that we exert political pressure. We are seeing glimmers of hope that change may happen. In a recent survey in China, 87% of people believed that climate change was as big a threat as Covid-19. The mayor of London, joined by mayors in cities across the world, has recently unveiled plans to increase walking and cycling, as we all know that we simply cannot return to the pre-Covid level of car use. In addition, we are seeing the capacity for collective action when it feels as if isolationism is permeating global politics. Climate change, like Covid-19, is certainly a global problem and will require partnership at the highest level to construct solutions.
GARDENING
KEEPING BUSY IN QUARANTINE
While in lockdown, things can get pretty boring! One easy and rewarding activity to do is gardening. Here are some pretty easy plants to grow (we are not responsible if they die!). Flowers: Sunflowers (plant the seeds) Fruit: Strawberries (plant the runners) Vegetables: Runner beans (plant the seeds) These 3 plants are great for the summer time, keep them on your window sill after sowing the seeds for a couple of weeks, then they will be ready to repot outside. The Runner beans will be ready to harvest in July, Strawberries in June and the Sunflowers in their full glory 80-120 days after planting the seeds.
A BROWNIE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY...
2 tbsp ground flaxseed 200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped ½ tsp coffee granules 80g vegan margarine, plus extra for greasing 125g self-raising flour 70g ground almonds 50g cocoa powder ¼ tsp baking powder 250g golden caster sugar 1½ tsp vanilla extract
-Heat oven to 170C. -Then combine the flaxseed with 6tbsp of water and set aside for at least 5 mins. -Melt 120g of chocolate, coffee and margarine with 60ml of water on a low heat and allow to cool. -Sieve the flour, cocoa, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl, then add the almonds. -Using a whisk mix the sugar into the chocolate and then stir the flaxseed mixture into that. -Add vanilla extract, the remaining chocolate (chopped) and finally mix the flour and dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. -Spoon the mixture into a tin and bake for 35-45 mins
POSITIVE ECO-NEWS! · The CEOs of 60 leading UK firms (including Iceland and Ben & Jerry’s) have called on Boris Johnson to prioritise a sustainable economic recovery from COVID-19, involving investment in green infrastructure, technology and skills, excluding companies in polluting industries that have not committed to clean up their act, restoring ecosystems, supporting sustainable farming and fishing, passing environmental protection laws and bringing global leaders together to plan for a sustainable economic recovery. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52580291 · Britain’s biggest green energy companies are on track to deliver multibillion-pound investment in windfarms across the north east of Scotland and England to help power a cleaner economic recovery: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/13/green-energyfirms-on-track-to-deliver-multi-billion-pound-wind-farms · Pakistan has re-launched their 10 Billion Trees campaign, enabled by an exemption to the social distancing laws granted by their prime minister. This has created more than 63,600 jobs for previously unemployed daylabourers! https://www.treehugger.com/environmental-policy/pakistanturns-unemployed-workers-tree-planters.html
TOP TIPS
Using felt pots or smart pots are amazing in urban gardens as they are portable, foldable and lightweight, they also prevent waterlogging issues! Re-use plastic bottles as mini greenhouses over miniature seedlings, by cutting them in half into cylinders and placing them over seedlings but make sure there are small holes so the plant is ventilated! OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
Book recommendations: · 12 Small Acts To Save Our World Ben Fogle (WWF) · The Ends of The World – Peter Brannen · When the Rivers Run Dry – Fred Pearce · Dry – Neal Shusterman· No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference – Greta Thunberg Documentary recommendations: · Our Planet – Netflix · Blue Planet I & II – Netflix, BBC Iplayer · Planet Earth I & II– Netflix, BBC Iplayer · Frozen Planet – Netflix, BBC Iplayer · David Attenborough · Cowspiracy – Netflix · Before the Flood – Youtube, Amazon Prime, Disney + · Sea of Shadows, Amazon Prime, Disney + Podcast recommendations: · Lots can be found on Spotify and Apple Music, as well as on different university websites Junior school recommendations: Books:· The Lorax – Dr Zeus · A Wild Child’s Guide to Endangered Animals – Millie Marotta · Peppa Pig : Recycling Fun · Charlie and Lola : Look After Your Planet · The Animals Of Farthing Wood – Colin Dann Movies: · The Lorax · Over the Hedge · Happy Feet · Bears · Finding Nemo · Fly Away Home
STAYING
GREEN
DURING
QUARANTINE
While it may seem that nothing much can be done during lockdown, there are actually many activities you can do that can help focus your energy on ways to help the environment and connect more to nature. Here are 12 eco-friendly activities you can try during quarantine. 1. You can make your own zero waste products such as toothpaste and soap bars. The ingredients for toothpaste are simple and easy to find at almost any store: baking soda, organic coconut oil, and organic essential oils. Not only is it fun to be creative, making your own bathroom products are better for the environment, cheaper and more natural because you know what is going in them . 2. If you have space in your back garden, you might want to start your own vegetable garden. It’s really fun and is a great way to eat fresh and healthy food while learning about where your food actually comes from. And if you don’t have much space to plant things, you can still grow herbs in pots and small containers such as old tins, glass bottles and jars. You can maybe even try vertical gardening, window gardening and even rooftop gardening.
3. There are a multitude of documentaries, books, articles and podcasts you can watch, read and listen to that will beat the boredom of lockdown. An Inconvenient Truth, The True Cost of Fashion and Before the Flood are all extremely interesting documentaries. 4. You can switch to an eco-friendly search engine such as Ecosia which helps you search the web and the company plants trees for every time you do so (which may be more often as you’re likely to conduct more online searches now that you’re spending more time at home). 5. You can also switch to a green electricity provider. I know I have put this task off but with so much more time on our hands, there are no excuses. Finding a green gas and electricity provider is as easy as doing an online search. In the UK, the energy comparison site Big Clean Switch makes it easy for households to switch to renewable power. 6. Starting a compost pile is a great way to see how some things can be recycled naturally. You can use old food scraps as fertiliser for new food in gardens. 7. You can also learn how to make recycled paper because paper waste is a huge problem. Recycling 1 ton of paper saves around 682.5 gallons of oil, 26,500 litres of water and 17 trees. By making your own recycled paper you are truly saving trees. 8. Maybe try and start a butterfly farm and learn about the life cycle of caterpillars and butterflies. You can also grow frogs or get an ant or worm farm. 9. You can paint or decorate mason jars and tin cans and create vases, pencil holders and plant pots instead of buying them. 10.You can make bird feeders using cardboard or plastic milk cartons by cutting a hole to fill with birdseed which you can decorate and hang in your garden. 11. Try heading to a local park or even around your neighbourhood and go for a walk and maybe try birdwatching or identify some bugs in the soil. 12. You can also learn to sew reusable grocery bags instead of buying plastic ones every time you go to the shops. Try mending clothing instead of throwing it away and buying new ones.