Kim Polgreen, February 2022

I was honoured to contribute to a schools sustainability conference on 12th February 2022, organised by the XXI Century Integration International School, an IB school in Moscow. 30 IB schools from around the world attended. The students, and teachers, had some really interesting observations and questions.

My topic was Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land. As a starting point for explaining it I used this: SDG Resources for Educators - Life On Land (unesco.org)

I started my presentation talking about some of the work at Wytham Woods where I run education projects. I used the lovely badger video as it illustrates how research helps us understand ecosystems and the complex interactions between humans and the rest of life on earth.

I talked about all the wonderful things we get from our planet - our life support system, our food, materials, and importantly, joy. I then talked about what is going wrong - we are using resources faster than the planet can provide, and faster than it can absorb and process our wastes. I looked at some of the consequences such as plastic in the oceans and deforestation. I looked at the impacts on wildlife, and on people.

But then I switched and talked about successes in human interventions, and successes in rewilding, when humans step back. I used these two fantastic videos to illustrate these concepts, which the students really liked.

Finally I talked about the green careers that are opening up as we solve our problems, and about what all of us can do now to help.

The feedback was great so I hope I’ve encouraged a few more young people to learn more about our world and work hard to protect it.