Environmental education to continue with new funding
Our City, Our World, Brighton & Hove’s environmental education programme for schools, is to continue thanks to the support of The Living Coast UNESCO Biosphere and The Aquifer Partnership.
The council previously funded the programme with £41,000 but, due to the difficult budget situation, external partners had to be sought.
The new funding will be for £35,000 for 2024/25 which will enable the majority of the programme to continue.
Supported by schools across the city, Our City, Our World was the first environmental education strategy to be developed by schools for schools and has received national recognition for its whole city approach.
Through the programme, schools have been able to integrate environmental education into the curriculum and empower children and young people to become changemakers.
This has included training secondary school students to be climate ambassadors, organising clothes swaps, refill shops, water saving activities and opportunities to question decision-makers.
It has helped children and young people develop a close connection with nature through making wildlife areas for pollinators, creating ponds and rain gardens, and planting trees.
Schools have also developed systems to reduce emissions through activities such as installing solar power, auditing water use, using sustainable transport for trips and reducing food waste.
Working together
Since the budget announcement, the council has been working with partners to find a solution that would continue to support the high standard of climate education in Brighton & Hove’s schools.
Councillor Jacob Taylor, joint chair of the Children, Families & Schools Committee, said: “I would like to thank The Aquifer Partnership and The Living Coast Partnership for agreeing to fund the Our City, Our World programme. By working together and pooling resources, we can keep this highly regarded programme running for another year.
“We recognise the importance and success of the Our City, Our World programme and the high value our schools place on it. Learning about climate change is vital as it is giving children and young people a voice in shaping the future.
“We have had to make some incredibly hard decisions to avoid bankruptcy in what was the toughest budget the council has ever had to set. In the light of this, we were committed to looking for alternatives for Our City, Our World. We are pleased that it has resulted in a positive outcome for children, young people and schools, and we will use this year to find a longer-term funding solution.”
Supporting education through the Biosphere
Martin Harris, Chair of The Living Coast, added: “We are thrilled that we were able to find a collaborative solution to safeguard the Our City, Our World programme, together with our partners at The Aquifer Partnership. As a Biosphere designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, it is our role to support sustainability education for our young people, and to raise awareness on the importance of enjoying and protecting nature, including our precious water, for our own health & wellbeing.”
Our City, Our World already has a strong focus on water as one of the of six themes in the programme. This includes water ‘turn-off’ campaigns, grey water collection, the use of water in producing goods like food and textiles, and saving water at home, as well as learning about water quality and pollution and how communities are adapting to flooding and drought in different cultures.
Schools also explore water as part of the other themes, for example the impact of water run-off from transport on the aquifer, water use in food, energy and manufacturing, plastic pollution of the marine environment, and water as a habitat.
More information
The Living Coast UNESCO Biosphere provides local, national, and international recognition to our region’s outstanding natural environments, including the unique chalk aquifer which supplies much of our region’s freshwater.
The UNESCO Biosphere status acknowledges our region’s capacity to foster cooperation for excellence in sustainable development across conservation, economic development and education. It operates as a partnership, with Brighton & Hove City Council as the lead partner.
The Aquifer Partnership is dedicated to safeguarding water resources stored in the chalk aquifer under the Downs that provides the city’s drinking water. It is made up of Brighton & Hove City Council, South Downs National Park Authority, Southern Water, and the Environment Agency.
The partnership is already working with schools to create ‘rainscapes’ in school grounds and promote outdoor learning.
