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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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