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!
- The “Myths and Maps: Ecological Storytelling” workshop – led by Sophie Strand – explores myth as a form of ecological knowledge communication, urging us to re-root stories in their ecosystems to uncover their original wisdom. Sophie’s concept of “composting the uprooted myths of domination and human supremacy” challenges dominant narratives, encouraging participants to create their own mythic maps. Sophie emphasises the origins of storytelling as a form of education and survival. Drawing on these origins the writer says that we have entered the time of the “emergency of storytelling” – where the author desperately tries to keep themselves alive by their stories. “I am compost”— a quote from Sophie that shows her holistic thinking and denial of the dualism between humans and nature. The writer has an incurable genetic condition and takes inspiration from her healing. Sophie compares her “contaminated” body which scientific medicine tries to “purify”, with the complexity and richness of “compost” that is full of bacteria but still lively. This month, try to apply for her workshop and develop your skills of storytelling. Or you can join SEEd in exploring Sophie’s lectures and talks on similar topics by delving into her ideas online.
- International Day of Action with Plastic Clever Schools – Join 1,067 schools registered internationally in an initiative guiding schools to tackle single-use plastics. Students will learn, find inspiration, and take guided action eliminating plastic waste in their school. On the day, schools can participate in assemblies, workshops, and fun activities to tackle plastic pollution. On the agenda is a talk by Marine Biologist and Wildlife Filmmaker Inka Cresswell who highlights the impact of plastic pollution on our oceans. As a collaborative activity, an audit tool will be introduced to schools that helps investigate and identify single-use plastics and swap them out. At the end of the day, students will be asked to reflect on their learning and the difference they can make. Learn more about the International Day of Action and Plastic Clever Schools.
- Participate in the Muslim Climate Action Week – Islamic Relief UK is organising Muslim Climate Action Week from 4-10 November, a campaign dedicated to raising awareness about the escalating climate crisis and encouraging Muslim communities to take positive action. This week-long initiative seeks to inspire collective efforts for environmental stewardship, highlighting how individuals and groups can contribute to tackling climate change. Muslim Climate Action Week encourages participants to use the hashtag #MuslimClimateActionWeek and spread the word. One can also find the events and activities happening throughout the week on Islamic Relief UK’s website. Additionally, people are invited to host events underscoring the urgency of climate action, fostering conversations and activities around sustainable living, reducing carbon footprints, and protecting the environment. Learn more how you can take part as a participant or organiser.
- Join UNESCO’s #GreeningEducation Campaign and share your initiative for sustainable, green education in the lead-up to COP29. Schools and other educational institutions from around the world are invited to create a 2-minute video or take a photo that highlights a problem statement, actions taken, the benefits or challenges of action, and future plans. The visual content is to help illustrate global efforts to promote sustainability in education. As a commitment for the month, contribute to this important movement to share stories with decision-makers for a greener future. We accept that the deadline is tight, but you might be able to submit your initiatives by the 31st October and be part of the global conversation.
- Discuss genetic health within your family – The Kavli Centre has launched a film encouraging families, particularly historically marginalised Black and Minority communities, to discuss genetic health over a game of dominoes. The initiative promotes openness about health disparities and the challenges these communities face in accessing appropriate healthcare. Drawing on the Caribbean concept of “liming” – spending time with close community – the film shows how genetic health conversations can be integrated into informal gatherings to reduce stigma. Distrust in medical science is common (one third of Britain is sceptical about genetics-based treatments) so the game of dominoes includes questions to guide these discussions, making health information accessible without relying on complex scientific terms. Only Human is the name of the overarching campaign tackling taboo around medical science. It recognizes that it’s human to ask questions, to be sceptical, but also to hope for cures, promoting both dialogue and understanding across communities.
Photo from: Plastic Clever Schools – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgfkCojFwwo
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.
- Requiem for a Dream – an American psychological drama based on the 1978 novel of the same name. The focus of the film is on addiction, with the cinematography designed so you feel, and see, the story as if under the influence of drugs. There are several interpretations of addiction when exploring the different storylines and the relationships of the characters. The widow Sarah Goldfarb pictures the disparateness of loneliness. The character has a dream to appear on television. But does she want fame and attention, or is she rather a silly old lady with dreams? Or is it actually about something entirely different – like love? The story is complex and tackles: issues of anti-social behaviour, social ideals, addiction causing relationship problems or relationship problems causing addiction. And of course, it is all about dreams. Dreams that make one want to live and dreams that chase one to a dark place. To me the film is amazingly detailed, hurtfully gross and a shockingly memorable experience. And how does that all connect to sustainability? How not!? The film explores human desires, decisions and the outcomes of those. To create a sustainable future would we not need to dig into our desires, reflect on our decisions and evaluate the outcome? You can watch the film here.
- Arts & Culture – Exploring Guggenheim Bilbao – In case you would like to gain a deeper understanding about art and artworks, I would recommend Google’s Arts&Culture app. You can find different forms of works of art from fine art to fashion. You can also find online games to “play with art” and do virtual museum tours. What’s better? The app is free of charge! What I came across this month is “Exploring the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao”. You can explore the art, architecture, some highlights of its art collection and even gain insights through the eyes of an artist. However, what might be even more interesting is how the museum discovers the several realms of art. In this online version the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Google partnered up to provide a digital experience about art and emotions. ARTETIK is the name of the project that is both online and in the physical museum that gives people the opportunity to express what feelings specific artwork induces. As people interact about their emotions, a graph that maps these emotions is constantly generated. In the online version one has the opportunity to explore the collection through the emotions of previous visitors of the museum. Try to play with and feel art to see how modern technology can promote inclusiveness in art. You can download the app for iPhone here, or visit the website here.
- Board games around sustainability – There are two board games recommended by MIT Technology Review, for those interested in building sustainable strategies and tackling sustainability related issues in a playful way. Daybreak is a cooperative game where players must work together to cut emissions and survive disasters. The players win collectively if they achieve NetZero or lose if global temperatures rise above 2°C. The game features detailed rules and realistic strategies, where players deploy technologies or enact policies to reduce pollution. Another popular game, Settlers of Catan, now has a climate-focused edition called New Energies. In this version, players construct power plants and choose between fossil fuels or renewables to generate energy. Fossil fuels are cheaper and enable faster expansion, but they also increase pollution, threatening societies and potentially ending the game early. The first player to earn 10 points wins, but if collective pollution exceeds safe levels, the game ends, and the player with the cleanest energy supply is declared the winner.
- Ten years after – In the following, you will read the English version of the lyrics of one of my favourite Hungarian Romani songs. The song was originally written and sung by two Hungarian musicians. The lyrics have been re-interpreted by the Hungarian Romani folklore ensemble Ando Drom. This version was sung at the 52nd birthday of the original singer who is considered as a recognised Hungarian singer. Pulling together a well known song in Hungarian with the anthem of the Hungarian Beás Romani and also singing in their own language creates an incredible atmosphere of dissimilarity and togetherness. A song that truly shows intersectionality and breaks the barriers and stigma between cultures and people. To get more out of the experience of listening to the song, read about the historical background and exclusion of Romani people in Hungary. Listen to the song here. And now the lyrics – the Romani anthem is written in bold:
In a laundry room
I made a good guess
That
What would happen,
Downstairs, the rooftops are damp,
ten years ago.
In a laundry room
– in an emergency flat –
It was night, dark,
I got the light from the street,
but I could see it clearly,
everything was illuminated.
I saw myself ten years later here,
I heard this, the sound of this song,
and I was afraid that it would be like this,
but ten years from now, don’t let this song remain!
And I feared: lest it be like this,
that in ten years, don’t let this song remain!
In a laundry room
I already knew
That
What would happen.
I asked the Future,
That whatever they want,
Don’t, don’t let this song remain!
From a laundry room
Out to the world,
No matter what happens
It doesn’t matter what it’s gonna be
Just don’t let this song remain.
Beyond, beyond the years.
I saw myself in ten years here,
I heard this, the sound of this song,
And I was afraid it would remain
In ten years, don’t let this song remain!
And I feared: don’t let that happen,
In ten years, don’t let this song remain!
The woods are green, the hill is also green
Fortune comes and goes
The knife of worry cuts into our flash
The world became hypocrite
(Refrain)
In ten years, don’t let this song remain!
In ten years, don’t let this song remain!
In twenty years, don’t let this song remain!
In a hundred years, don’t let this song remain!
The whole world is our enemy
We live like ridden thieves
We haven’t stolen anything but a single nail
From the bleeding palm of Christ
(Refrain)
God, have mercy on us
Let our people not to suffer any more
You cursed us, you struck us
You made us outcast forever
(Refrain)
Singing in Romani
(Refrain)
…Photo from: https://www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en/itineraire/art-fun-for-families
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?
- New Book for Primary Schools: Climate For Change – edited by author and broadcaster Konnie Huq, is an inspiring book designed to encourage children to take action for the environment. Featuring contributions from well-known figures such as Chris Packham and Jamie Oliver, the book educates young readers about the causes and effects of climate change with a positive and empowering message. The book will be available for free for all primary schools from November 4th. The initial aim with the book is to motivate children to adopt sustainable practices and values. It includes climate-related topics that are integrated into the Key Stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum, making it a useful educational resource in the formal setting as well. Climate For Change focuses on providing children with accessible, actionable steps to protect the environment, encouraging them to develop a mindset that prioritises sustainability. By engaging young readers with clear and relatable advice, the book seeks to inspire a new generation to care for and protect the planet.
- The Climate Action Accelerator Program – in line with SEEd’s approach, empowers schools in Canada and the US to plan and implement whole-school sustainability action plans. Over a three-year commitment, schools collaborate in a multidisciplinary, intergenerational team to create a strategic plan that addresses climate action and sustainability. Canadian and American who are NEW to the program can apply to join by December 13th 2024. The initiative fosters collaboration between participating schools and encourages a whole-school approach to sustainability, with a focus on understanding the services used and the needs of their students. On the website of the charity DoorNumberOne, cases of schools and their initiatives can be explored. A notable example and my favourite one is that when schools stated their sustainability goals according to their vision for their school, the first goal for one of the schools says: “To honour Indigenous ways of knowing and applying the Seventh Generation principle to decision-making and actions”. This clearly shows a sustainable mindset, emphasising epistemology and principles of co-existing prior to action and Net Zero implementation. Experiences and findings coming from the Climate Action Acceleration Program as well as other case studies can be read about in a new and accessible book called Whole School Approaches to Sustainability – Education Renewal in Times of Distress.
- National Education Nature Park – Across all UK regions, more than 1 in 8 schools have joined a transformative programme designed to put nature at the heart of education. Led by children, 2 million square metres of habitat have been mapped, helping both children, educators and scientists learn how nature can recover. By transforming grey areas in schools, institutions in need of nature are granted the tools to create vibrant, green spaces. This initiative empowers educators to foster young people’s connection to nature while developing critical green, digital, and communication skills. Children can collaborate with scientists by creating and observing habitats, studying ecological changes, and contributing valuable data. The programme is flexible and adaptable to formal school settings, supporting the development of six key green skills across subject areas. These skills include identification and ecology, data recording and interpretation, creative thinking, decision-making, environmental stewardship, and horticulture, ensuring students build a strong bond with nature. Read the report here.
- Panto Online – is an innovative and accessible way for schools to engage with pantomime. Founded by SEEd’s Ambassador Peter Duncan, the project provides an easy guide to learning and performing pantomime in an inclusive, user-friendly format. Schools can choose from three different acts, each designed to be simple to follow and also captured on camera for easy rehearsal and performance. To make the process even smoother, schools receive a “Panto in a Box” package, which includes all necessary assets—videos, scripts, and an activity pack with everything children need to bring their chosen act to life. This all-in-one approach simplifies the process, making pantomime accessible to students of all ages and abilities. With Panto Online, educators can create a fun, educational opportunity that supports creativity and performance skills, bringing the joy of pantomime to schools across the UK.
