Design for a better world Competition for pupils aged 11-14

New Practical Action Competition for School Students aged 11-14

Details & Teachers notes here

Design For A Better World

Design For A Better World

Design for a better world offers an exciting new global design challenge and competition for students aged 11-14 years.

The deadline for entering the competition is the 16th December 2016.

If offers students the opportunity to:

• Learn about the Global Goals for Sustainable Development
• Access a range of global contexts including Water and Sanitation, Food Security and Climate Action in which to identify a design problem
• Explore a range of  technologies that people are developing around the world to address global challenges.

All the teaching materials and student activity sheets are to download below. To order your FREE poster that supports this challenge, click here.

For display materials and other activites around the Global goals please go to our Global Goals main page

2014 International Schools Essay Competition: What does 'sustainable living' mean to you?

This is potentially of interest to school-teachers - perhaps they could do an essay on Food Security ?


2014 International Schools Essay Competition: What does 'sustainable living' mean to you?
We are pleased to announce that the theme of the 2014 International Schools Essay Competition and Debates is ... What does 'sustainable living' mean to you?

Schoolchildren around the world (age 7-17) are invited to enter the Primary and Secondary categories. Trophies will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in each category, and one overall Grand Prize winner will receive an amazing free trip for up to three people. Learn more here ...

Online registration is now open and Teacher Champions have until 10th February 2014 to submit children's essays. Schools/teachers – register here

Schools will be notified in early April 2014 and invited to attend the International Schools Debates at the Living Rainforest (UK) on 7-10 July 2014.

The 2013 International Schools Essay Competition (Who is responsible ... are we ready to take responsibility for the future of our planet? ) received 831 entries from 65 countries. Schools from 15 countries attended International Schools Debates in the UK and Seychelles, and the Grand Prize was awarded to Cho Su bin of Jeju, South Korea.

Please help us spread the word to schools!
Further info:
Karl Hansen (Director)
The Living Rainforest | Trust for Sustainable Living, Hampstead Norreys, Berkshire, RG18 0TN, UK
T: +44-(0)-1635 202444
F: +44-(0)-1635 202440
W: www.livingrainforest.org

Help protect UK trees by taking part in OPAL survey

OPAL is launching its next survey, the OPAL Tree Health Survey in May 2013.

This survey has been developed by Forest Research and the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA).

The main aim of the survey is to discover more about the general health of our trees and to provide vital information to scientists on particular trees including oak, ash and horse chestnut.

OPAL will be distributing free Tree Health Survey packs to anyone who would like to take part in the survey. As with all the other surveys, the Tree Health Survey pack includes all the information needed to complete the survey, including easy-to-follow instructions in the Field Notebook and Field Guide.

If you’d like to take part and would like to receive some free OPAL Tree Health Survey packs, then please email me stating the number of packs you need (please note that you can request up to a maximum of 10 packs) and the full postal address that you’d like the packs sent to.

Please reply by the 22 March 2013 to ensure that you receive the number of packs you need.

Thanks,

Hélène Coleman

OPAL East of England Community Scientist

OPAL East of England

Department of Human and Environmental Sciences

University of Hertfordshire

Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9AB

T: 01707 285050

M: 07973 677563

E: h.i.coleman@herts.ac.uk

I: www.OPALexplorenature.org

Free Wartime farm booklet from the Open University

Those interested in the history of War-time Britain or the topic of Food Security, may find this of interest from the OU (A free printed booklet or download as a printable PDF file):

Order your free Wartime Farm booklet

Posted under TV, Social & Economic History

How did a hungry island remain fed during a long, wearying conflict? Order your free Wartime Farm booklet to find out.

29 Aug

2012

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Order your free Wartime Farm booklet

In the booklet, you'll discover:

• the effect rationing had on hospitality during the war
• why the British government stepped in to run restaurants for war workers
• the agricultural legacy of the conflict

... and much more. Order your free copy of the Wartime Farm booklet now.
If you have any problems ordering online, you can also request a booklet by calling 0845 366 0257 (local rate).

Get closer to the Wartime Farm

OU on the BBC: Wartime Farm

Feeding a nation under fire: How did agriculture cope with the changing demands of a wartime economy? Ruth, Alex and Peter travel back to the...  Read more : OU on the BBC: Wartime Farm

Meet our new (Highland) neighbours

The University of East Anglia (UEA) have some Highland cattle on loan to crop some fields (A nice green sustainable way of doing this) near the Institute of Food Research See this story in the Eastern Evening News (A local paper.).










Update: They are also on the front cover of UEA's Broadview magazine

Make some green by going green...

Wearing my f#oodsecurity & #sustainability hat, I had to let people know about this competition:

Waste Reduction Challenge Prize

• The Challenge
• Judging Criteria
• Entry Criteria
• How to Apply
• Timetable
• Enter the Challenge

There has been significant success in reducing waste in recent years, but it remains an enormous challenge and an area which needs new solutions. 

• We throw away more than 7 million tonnes of food and drink every year from our homes - most of which could have been safely consumed.
• UK hospitality sector (hotels, pubs, restaurants and quick service restaurants) could save £724 million a year by tackling food waste.
• Our research shows doubling the number of sofas re-used, could save 52,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. At the moment, 83per cent of sofas are not re-used and are sent to landfill or recycled.
• Between now and 2020, WRAP estimates that electronic waste in the UK will total more than 12 million tonnes. A quarter of this will comprise of IT equipment, consumer electronics and display screens. This 12 million tonnes will include precious metals, which have a total estimated market value of £7 billion.
• Nearly 25 per cent of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that's taken to household waste recycling centres could be re-used, worth around £200m gross a year.
• By pursuing opportunities for re-use, the UK could reduce its reliance on raw materials by as much as 20 per cent by 2020.

Source: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP)
Nesta and the Cabinet Office see this as an opportunity to motivate people to consider the challenges facing communities and to be inspired to share their ideas. 
We want to encourage new ideas that can influence and mobilise communities of 'Givers' to make significant reductions in waste and impact behaviours for years to come.

The Challenge

We are offering a prize for the innovation that achieves the biggest measureable reduction in waste, by providing new opportunities for communities to come together to give time, skills and resources.   
People who are part of communities are best placed to understand the needs, motivations and opportunities within these communities.  We think this makes them brilliantly placed to come up with great ideas that could prove to be highly effective.
The Waste Reduction Challenge Prize is not just about ideas, although good ideas will obviously help.  It's about putting ideas into practice. 

Judging Criteria

The successful Finalist will be the one that best meets the criteria outlined below, based on impact.  Additional information is provided in the FAQs and Entry Form.
1.   Innovation
We are looking for new approaches, or ideas combined or implemented in new ways.  
2.   Waste Reduction
The winner/s will need to demonstrate significant measureable reductions in waste.  In selecting up to 25 competitors and when selecting the Finalists, we will be looking for potential to demonstrate waste.  Measureable reductions will need to be demonstrated by Finalists.
3.   Giving and engagement
The winner/s will need to demonstrate that they have created new opportunities for people to give time, skills and resources to reduce waste, including for people who are new to giving.  In selecting up to 25 competitors and when selecting the Finalists, we will be looking for potential to create new opportunities for giving.  Evidence will need to be demonstrated by Finalists.
4.   Other Social Impacts
Judges will also consider the wider social impact of the idea, for example effects on air quality, biodiversity or public safety impacts, or impact on social connections
5.   Potential for sustainability
We are looking for ideas that can be sustained to continue to have significant impact on waste reduction, beyond the life of the Prize. 
6.   Potential for scale
We are looking for ideas that have the potential to grow, be replicated or transfer to another context.   

Entry Criteria

The Prize is open to any organisation based in the UK provided that the benefits of your proposal focus primarily or significantly on England. 
We are open to ideas and proposals from all sources and sectors and all types of organisations. 
The Prize is not open to individuals, although groups and organisations do not have to be legally constituted to enter.  If an unincorporated association or group is selected, they will be supported to become constituted.  
Please ensure that you have, or can quickly put in place, the capacity within your organisation/group to develop and pilot your idea.   
The Challenge is open to for-profit, private companies; however prize funding will only be awarded for projects that have an identifiable public benefit related to the aims of the Challenge and Nesta's charitable objects and where any private benefit to individuals, companies or shareholders is incidental and not excessive.
All entrants need to demonstrate a willingness to share their experiences and learning to help establish a body of knowledge that can bring about a sustained change in the culture of giving and exchange.  Nesta intends to carry out and publish research in the insights gained through Challenge Prizes.
We cannot fund activity which is party-political in intention, use, or presentation nor to support or promote religious activity.  We will not normally fund the purchase of capital equipment. You may not enter the Challenge if you are currently being funded by Nesta's Innovation in Giving Fund.
This deadline for entries is noon 14 September 2012. 

How to apply

The application process is simple:

1. Read the FAQs and Terms and Conditions
2. Complete the online Entry Form
3. Submit the online entry form by noon 14 September 2012.

We will assess the content of the Entry Form against our entry and judging criteria to decide whether to invite you to the next stage to develop your application further.  
At the first stage we want you to capture our imagination with your innovation.  The Entry Form is designed to provide us with an overview of your idea and the limited word count reflects this.  
Please respond directly to the questions and stick to the word limits stated and use examples or evidence to back up your statements wherever possible. 

Challenge Stages and Timetable

Stage 1: Open Call
14 September 2012 - Deadline for Entries

Stage 2: Up to 25 Entries selected
8 October 2012 - Shortlisted entries will be supported to develop a detailed plan.

Stage 3: Around five finalists selected to test their ideas
Finalists selected November 2012 - Finalists will receive funding of up to £10,000 and support to set up and test their projects over a period of six months.
Testing period February - August 2013.

Winner selected and £50,000 Prize Fund awarded
September 2013 - The Finalist/s that demonstrate the biggest waste reduction by  mobilising significant community resources and stand out when assessed against the other judging criteria will win.



Selected organisations must be able to commit to the programme until September 2013, when the Prize will be awarded to the most successful innovation(s).   
Nesta intends to produce a report towards the end of 2013 outlining the insights gained as a result of the Challenge Prize. We aim to:

• Share insights about the value of, and principles for the giving of time, skills and resource at community level to support waste reduction
• Encourage the development of more impactful and cost effective approaches
• Share learning about the effectiveness of using challenge prizes to stimulate social innovation methods

Before you submit an entry, please ensure that you have carefully read the FAQs, the guidance in the Entry Form and our Terms and Conditions.
If you have any further questions or queries relating to the Challenge Prize that have not been answered in the guidance, FAQs and Terms and Conditions, please email givingchallenges@nesta.org.uk.

Enter the Challenge

You will be able to save your progress and your return to your entry at any point before the closing date. You will also receive a PDF copy of your entry after you have submitted. If you would like to view the questions before completing the online form, you can download a PDF version of the Entry Form here.



About Nesta
Nesta is the UK’s innovation foundation. We exist to help bring ideas to life. We do this by providing finance through programmes, investments and grants, and mobilising research, networks and skills. Nesta became an independent charity on 1 April 2012 (charity number 1144091).
About Office for Civil Society
The Office for Civil Society, part of the Cabinet Office, works across government departments to translate the Big Society agenda into practical policies, provides support to voluntary and community organisations and is responsible for delivering a number of key Big Society programmes.