Responding to the climate and environmental crisis through history and geography

Partnership CPD from the Historical Association and Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Photo taken at the Global Climate Strike in London on Friday 15th March 2019. Garry Knight, CC-0, Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/8176740@N05/47334838002

Thursday 9 October, 9.30am–4pm | London

(Registration is via Cademy which opens in a new window/tab. Please read the HA CPD terms and conditions before registering)

In recent years, the climate crisis has become increasingly urgent and apparent. The Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education was founded at UCL in 2022. Their 2024 report highlights the responsibility of all curriculum subjects to educate our young people about climate change, but how do we fit this into an already crowded curriculum? How do we make this teaching meaningful and impactful without becoming just another thing to do? How do we ensure that what we are teaching will support our future generations to build a more sustainable future?

This one-day partnership event from the Historical Association and the Royal Geographical Society will support history and geography teachers to develop your understanding and confidence to weave climate education effectively into the taught curriculum. The day will be full of practical ideas to take away.

Who is the event aimed at?

The event is aimed at history and geography teachers and subject leaders in secondary schools. The event will share ideas that can be adapted to support students across Key Stages 3, 4 and 5.
What are the learning outcomes?
This event will:
- • support you to better understand how history and geography can feed into the responsibility of every curriculum subject to educate our young people about the climate crisis and sustainable futures
  • provide practical examples of how history and geography can work together to support teaching about climate and environment
- • support you to effectively weave climate and environment into your history and geography curricula
- • provide support for enriching your whole school approach to both volunteering and climate education
Why should I attend this event?

There has never been a more important time to focus attention on the climate and nature crisis: leading climate scientists are warning that many of Earth’s ‘vital signs’ have hit record extremes, and a high number of students are concerned about climate change and the future. A recent report from UCL on the role of subjects in climate change and sustainability education recommended that high quality professional development about climate change and sustainability education is urgently needed for all teachers, tailored by subject and age phase and focused on subject knowledge and appropriate pedagogies. It emphasised that subject associations are particularly important role to this and highlighted the benefit of fostering communities of practice such as these as a way of building teacher capacity.

University College London (2024). The role of subjects and subject associations in climate change and sustainability education in England.
What does it cost?

The event is charged at £150 for HA and RGS members and £195 for non-members (inclusive of VAT). Payment by invoice will be available until 30 days before the event, after which it will be card only.

There are a small number of concessionary tickets available for teachers who may face barriers in attending this CPD event. If you would otherwise be unable to attend this event without a concessionary ticket, please contact us at events@history.org.uk for more information.

To access the member price please provide your membership number when prompted. You must have a valid HA or RGS membership at the time of booking and attending the course. Find out more about Secondary membership with the HA.
How do I take part?

The event is taking place in person at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Book your place now (Registration is via Cademy which opens in a new window)

For any enquiries, please contact events@history.org.uk. Please read the HA CPD terms and conditions before registering.

Programme

09.30–09.45	Welcome and introduction
09.45–10.30	Keynote: Living Cities (Michael Riley and David Mitchell, UCL Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education) Read more The future of our towns and cities is one the most pressing issues of our time. David and Michael's presentation will consider the potential of an interdisciplinary history and geography enquiry to educate young people about the past, present and future of nature in the urban environment. Show less
10.45–12.15	Session 1: History workshop: The poppy and the mulberry – the most powerful agent and the survivor: nature’s role in the classroom (Barbara Trapani, Orleans High School) Read more In his last book, Smoke and Ashes, Amitav Ghosh put forward the hypothesis that the opium poppy might be an agent of history much more powerful than humans. In this session, we will explore the importance of supporting pupils in our classrooms to recognise the role of nature in human history across different key stages. Learning outcomes: to share the learning from an extra-curricular club for Key Stage 3 on the history of mulberry trees in London to explore the outcome of starting the teaching of the British Empire in Key Stage 5 with the history of the trade of opium to reflect together on how the agency of nature manifests itself in the history that we teach and learn and the importance of understanding it to build a fuller narrative of history Show less Geography workshop: Navigating net zero education in the geography classroom (Grace Healy, Education Director (Secondary) at the David Ross Education Trust, and Steve Puttick, Associate Professor of Teacher Education at University of Oxford) Read more This workshop will allow teachers to explore insights from an ongoing NERC-funded research project (NetZeroED Agile Sprint) into climate change education, with a particular focus on net zero futures and the role of schools in preparing young people for a changing world. Drawing on emerging findings from a scoping review, classroom observations and interviews with teachers, and analysis by interdisciplinary climate researchers of net zero education, we will share and discuss key insights relevant to schools. Together, we will reflect on how these insights resonate with teachers' experiences, priorities, and classroom realities. Learning outcomes: Develop a clearer understanding of key ideas and current research relating to net zero and climate futures in education Reflect on how these insights could inform curriculum design, subject leadership, and teaching practice. Show less
12.15–13.15	Lunch, networking and exhibition
13.15–14.45	Session 2: History workshop: Teaching the colonial impact on the environment (Sharon Aninakwa, Nini Visscher and Nebiat Michael, St Claudine's Catholic School for Girls) Read more As the urgency of climate change grips our attention through various aspects of our life, so too does the need to educate our students for a future of tackling it. Thus, we created an enquiry to invite the conversation into our history classrooms. The enquiry, which stemmed from our 'Teaching colonial environmental histories’ working group, examined the environmental impact of various colonial enterprises. Through the enquiry, students evaluated the impact on New Zealand’s land ownership, consequently leading to deforestation and animal extinction, alteration of India’s farming practices due to the increased demand for opium, and Kenya’s cultivation of maize to feed British soldiers. These changes to the centuries of agriculture practices had a lasting impact on the land and the culture of the indigenous population. Learning outcomes: to gain an insight into how to engage students with the history of environmental destruction by bridging a seemingly recent climate problem with centuries of human intervention Show less Geography workshop: Climate justice and fieldwork: teaching the human geographies of climate change (Liam Saddington, University of Cambridge) Read more During this session, Liam will introduce a scheme of work focusing on climate change, human geography and climate justice designed for Year 9 pupils. These materials have been co-developed between the University of Cambridge and two schools in Peterborough and Stevenage. These materials are designed to introduce students to ideas of climate justice and develop fieldwork skills in an accessible and low-cost way. The scheme of work brings contemporary research and debates in human geography into the classroom. This session will provide an overview of the scheme of work, talk through the fieldwork and discuss opportunities to adapt these materials. Learning outcomes: To understand how to support students in their quest to become more aware of the impacts of climate change. To embed climate education into the practical geography curriculum beyond the classroom. Show less
15.00–16.00	Session 3: Building an impactful climate action plan (Lochlann Atack, Regional Hub Manager (London), Climate Ambassadors Programme) Read more Quite often a member of teaching staff is a school's sustainability lead and may struggle to get support and buy-in from colleagues and leaders. Hence, much of the Climate Ambassadors Programme support for schools focusses on how to align climate action plans with existing school priorities (e.g. how it can link to curriculum improvements) and equip staff members to constructively engage their SLT. Lochlan will cover the 'basics' of climate action plans, some strategies for engaging SLT, and ideas on how this can be embedded into both geography and history. Learning outcomes Raising awareness of Climate Action Plans and how a whole-school approach can be encouraged. Explore the ways in which Climate Ambassadors can support your teaching of the climate crisis. Show less

Thursday 9 October, 9.30am–4pm | London

Who is the event aimed at?

What are the learning outcomes?

Why should I attend this event?

What does it cost?

How do I take part?

Programme

Learning outcomes:

Learning outcomes:

Learning outcomes:

Learning outcomes:

Learning outcomes