Join the SEEd Sustainability Journey
I will if you will… is an exercise we use with participants on our SEEd Changemaker programmes and many of our events and workshops. Participants make small or large commitments to help them make changes towards sustainability. The underlying idea is that we are all connected and responsible for each other, therefore changing the world and making it more sustainable requires us to work together. Now, the SEEd team has integrated the exercise into our newsletter and we invite you, as a member of our community, to join us on this journey of Commitment, Joy & Impact.
We are here to help each other, so we designed a journey that is easy to follow, where you have the possibility of choice, can feel and exercise what change is like, and most importantly, feel happy instead of anxious about your actions. Believe me, making a change can be fun!
All we ask of you during this upcoming month is to choose one COMMITMENT from the list below that you are eager to try out; one JOY that helps you relax and keep your journey fun; and one IMPACT idea that you find interesting enough to then spread the word to friends, colleagues, family members, or anyone you encounter. Easy, isn’t it? But more importantly, by following the steps you can change your lifestyle, your mindset, and empower others to follow suit. Like a real change maker.
Please do share your actions and commitments with us by email or on social media.
Commitment
Choose a commitment from the list below and see which one the SEEd team has picked!
- 10 tips for bringing climate change solutions into the classroom
COP29 may have brought little in the way of climate solutions, with much less finance being offered by developed countries to support poorer nations in tackling and coping with climate change, but that doesn’t mean we should stop taking action! Project Drawdown, a resource of climate solutions, has compiled a list of 10 ways you can bring climate change solutions into your classroom. From finding ways to integrate climate change across subjects and identifying local solutions that make the problem relatable to using simulations or games and engaging local councils and governments (PACTS, anyone?), you can find 10 simple ideas to get you started. Give the article, written by Elizabeth Bagley, PhD, a read to find out how you and your students can get moving in the fight against the climate crisis (even if our governments are being slow to do so themselves…).
- Small steps to less waste
Living sustainably can often feel as if we have to give things up. This book written and compiled by Claudi Williams is an inspiration in how living sustainably can add value, enjoyment and connection to our lives whilst also taking small but meaningful steps towards sustainable living. It draws together stories from people who have been moved to act, mainly to reduce plastic waste.Claudi and her family lived for a year without plastic, and her account demonstrates surprising and positive outcomes once they had made this commitment. In fact, the changes they made were deep and enduring. Each of the individuals featured tells their story and has a guide to practical recipes, tips and further reading that will fulfil and delight. From making toothpaste (surprisingly easy) to food wraps and sanitary towels, this is a great guide. So consider adding this book to the Christmas stocking of someone who you care about that might need some inspiration, a shot of hope and a sense of agency, but most importantly remember to treat yourself to a copy as well. Buy the book here. - Get your daily dose of nature at school with WWF’s free classroom pack
Connecting with nature has been proven time and time again to work wonders for our wellbeing. At school, nature connections can help boost children’s moods, improve focus and help them to feel less stressed and anxious. But busy school lives mean that making time for nature can be tricky…WWF thinks everyone deserves time in nature. So they are launching a Daily Dose of Nature classroom pack! Use WWF’s FREE poster and stickers with your class to facilitate quick and simple daily doses of nature and record how much time you and your pupils spend connecting with our amazing natural world throughout the autumn and winter months.You can also find lots of simple nature activities in the teacher activity guide, watch their mindful classroom videos with your pupils, check out the nature reading list and share their nature and wellbeing teacher explainer video with your colleagues.Register here for your WWF classroom pack! - Whole grain switch
We all know that wholewheat bread is better for us than refined wheat flour breads, and it turns out that it is much better for the environment as well. Land use is a hot topic at the moment. Shorter food chains are obviously more sustainable and here in the UK we produce more wheat than any other grain. By committing to whole grain rather than refined we contribute to improved soil quality, the crops are often drought resistant and thus strengthening the food chain, and significantly one bushel of wheat can yield 60 loaves of whole grain bread, but only 42 of white. Added to that the increase in fibre intake from wholegrains significantly improves our gut health, and satiates our appetite quicker reducing the amount of food we want to eat.By committing to the wholegrain challenge you can explore a new world of interesting and tasty ancient and nutritious grains. It has a catalogue of mouth watering recipes too. - Learning From Strangers – A learning society
How do we think about learning? It’s not just something that happens in a classroom or when we’re actively trying to pick up a skill. Learning is everywhere, all the time. A very wise person once told me: never walk with your head down in the streets, because everyone has something to offer you. It might be a piece of knowledge, a moment of kindness, or just a spark of inspiration. But you’ll miss it if you’re not paying attention. Have you ever had a meaningful conversation with a stranger? Not in a setting where learning was the goal, but in those unplanned, everyday encounters—a quick chat at the bus stop, someone asking for directions, or even just a shared smile. Those moments often teach us more about the world and ourselves than formal lessons ever could. Watching someone look thoughtfully out of a window, seeing someone take another’s hand, or witnessing a random act of kindness—these are the informal contexts where real learning happens. They show us humanity at its core.This kind of learning is tied to the idea of a “learning society,” where everyone is both a student and a teacher. What Positive News highlights, and as Seneca said, “Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness.” And in those moments of kindness, we often learn life’s most important lessons. Maybe that’s why, apart from love, the encounters with strangers are some of the most powerful learning experiences we can ever have.
Photo from: actionplastic.org
Joy
This element helps you stick to your commitment with its small rewards. And secondly, it helps you exercise a sustainability mindset through art. Believe it or not, you will start to gradually see the world through the lens of sustainability, experience it differently, and reinvent the self and its habits accordingly.
- Education Represented In Music
Can any government truly reshape education? Can it transform social ideas and myths on how we learn and teach? It’s a huge question, especially when schools often seem so disconnected from their communities. Children go off to school, parents head to work, and these two key institutions—school and “society”—seem to drift further apart. Yet, no matter how separate they may seem, schools are still deeply tied to society, and society plays a crucial role in shaping education.Look at music, for example. Songs and culture often reflect how we view education and schooling. You can hear the influence of schooling in the stories of artists and public figures, shaped by their experiences in classrooms. It’s a reminder that the link between society and education is always there, even if it feels fragile.This connection is why anyone aiming to reform education—ministries, leaders, or changemakers—needs to understand not just educational theories but the pulse of the culture. They need to know what’s trending on TikTok, what songs influence the thinking of a society, and what stories resonate with these communities. These cultural touch points should not be forgotten regarding how parents, teachers, and students shape and experience formal education.Education is never just about what happens in classrooms. It’s about the systems that influence and reflect one another—schools, communities, and culture. So, if we want meaningful change, we need to see education where it lives: in the hearts and minds of students, shaped by the world around them. Music, literature, trends, and culture are part of these real keys to transformation. Listen to our playlist with music around education here. - The Hours – Film
The film The Hours, based on Michael Cunningham’s novel and directed by Stephen Daldry, weaves together the lives of three women across different eras, all connected by Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. Taking place over the course of a single day, the film explores themes across time through its intertwining stories: depression, happiness, love, marriage, and the sometimes suffocating superficiality of life. The film makes you question the linearity, but also the narrow span of time when it comes to making the most of it and creating deep and meaningful connections. How do we connect with ourselves and others in such a limited span? As for how this links to sustainability, that’s up to your interpretation. At least to me, it is a deeply personal film that invites you to find your own answers. You can watch the film here. - Depression, the secret we share – Ted Talk
Depression is a strange, often contradictory part of human life. It’s not rational, and yet it feels deeply fundamental, like something that shapes us in ways we don’t fully understand. How does it connect to losing vitality? To that feeling of just being low? And what’s the relationship between being well, wanting to be well, and wanting to do well? It’s ironic, isn’t it? We live in a world designed for welfare—technically, everything should be fine—but somehow, depression still finds a way to creep in. Depression isn’t just about the brain; it’s about courage, survival, and the messy experience of being human. And what about understanding? Do we really see the people around us who are struggling? Can we even understand ourselves when we’re in that place? Depression is isolating, but it also asks us to connect—to feel, even when it hurts, and to see the humanity in others who are doing their best to keep going. It’s not easy, but maybe it’s necessary. Can depression enable joy? Watch the Ted video here. - Radical art, radical communities, and radical dreams: Guillermo Gómez-Peña at TEDxCalArts
Guillermo Gómez-Peña’s performance is a thought-provoking ride into what we call art—and why we even make it. What do people do in the name of art? What does art even mean? And when it comes down to it, is art worth anything? Does it serve a purpose, especially when everything around us—the planet, lives, even entire worlds—seems to be falling apart and disappearing? Through his use of gestures and the body, Gómez-Peña pushes us to think about how we communicate, how meaning is made beyond words, and how art can create an imaginative space where different realities collide. But what happens to art when the world ends, or at least feels like it’s ending? Which world are we even talking about? Watch the performance here.
Photo from: krscinematek.no
Impact
Sometimes, solutions and great ideas are not waiting to be invented but are already out there. Somewhere. Which of these impactful solutions will you choose to spread the word about to your students, colleagues, friends and family?
- Hybrid Nature Crafts
In today’s rapidly changing world, the need to reconnect with nature and rethink our human-centered view of the environment has never been more important. The Hybrid Nature Crafts project provides an opportunity for educators to engage students in meaningful, hands-on learning that blends nature, technology, and sustainability.The project combines natural materials with electronic paper circuits, allowing students to explore creative crafting techniques while developing practical skills in science and technology. The project has proven to be an effective way to cultivate both scientific curiosity and artistic expression. Students gained valuable skills in electronics and circuit-building, while also honing their craft techniques. The introduction of digital light elements in the crafts provided a captivating, transcendental aesthetic experience, highlighting the potential of hybrid practices to create new forms of beauty and meaning.By bringing nature, art, and technology together, Hybrid Nature Crafts offers an innovative way to inspire the next generation of environmentally conscious and creative thinkers. - USEd – Progressive Vision In the US
“A Progressive Vision for Education in the 21st Century” – that’s a mouthful! Essentially, this new report from the Center for American Progress is a comprehensive vision for transforming American education, advocating for a more inclusive and modern education system that prepares students for the future.The report may be American-focused, but there are certainly things we in the UK can learn from it and take on board. Take relevance and innovation, for example. The report calls for educational content to be updated to better prepare students for the challenges of the 21st Century by expanding STEM education and incorporating fields like climate science whilst offering career paths in these areas. Or, we could foster an education system that equips students with the critical thinking and engagement skills they need for the future (much like Young Changemakers does now) and supports them in actively participating in democracy.Whether you’re based here in the UK, or in the USA, or anywhere else, there’s ideas in this report that you could implement in school, or advocate for, so why not give it a quick skim-read?
- Gaming to Protect The Planet? How Minecraft and the Climate are linked
How can a game about mining, building, zombies and ender dragons possibly have any link to climate action? Apparently in quite a big way! World’s Largest Lesson (partnering with UNESCO and Unicef) have launched “DataExplorers” – a learning experience that uses Minecraft Education to help students develop data skills to protect the Earth.That pesky dragon has kidnapped some of the world’s cleverest minds and only the students can save them, and the world. As a Clued-Up-Scientist-Gandalf wizard person, students must develop data analysis skills to travel through the realms of Minecraft, fight monsters and recover key knowledge to save Earth from climate change.Feel like this would fit well with your classroom (I mean, what kid doesn’t love video games!)? Download the teacher’s guide to DataExplorers and get stuck in! - Quote of the Month
The following quotation should be read by all artists. Meaning – all humans:
