Approaching your School – What do you Say?

Background

•  The world has now exceeded the upper limit of carbon that scientists say is safe for our atmosphere.  That limit is 350ppm.  We are at 388ppm and rising fast.
•  If we can’t reduce the carbon in our atmosphere quickly, it will become very difficult or impossible to reverse the effects of it on our planet.  Plants and animals, including humans, are all at risk.
•  The only way to reduce carbon emissions fast enough is for the world to come to a global agreement on legally binding carbon reduction targets.   
•  In November this year, in Copenhagen, the world will negotiate a new global agreement on carbon emissions.  The agreement will cover the next 5 years, which are crucial.  
• People from all over the world are joining together in a day of global action on October 24^th.  The day is about small, local community events to support the global target of 350ppm.

 

What we want our school to do

• Schools around the world are joining in this day of action.  Many schools in Australia – we hope at least 350 – are going to participate. The nominated day for Australian schools is Friday 23^rd October.
• We would like our school to participate.  This would an activity or event at the school that shows our support for the global target of 350ppm.  It could be a human sign, a big poster, or any other idea the students/ staff have.
• All we need to do is organise a fun, simple activity that students can participate in and send a photo of the activity to the ‘350’ global team who are collating actions from all over the world.

 

Why our school should participate

• The outcome of the meeting in Copenhagen will affect young people the most.  The 23^rd October provides an opportunity for our students to participate in the lead-up to a vitally important meeting.
• The activity or event will be fun for students and should reinforce other environmental initiatives or parts of the curriculum that already exist in the school.
• Students will feel part of a global activity.  They can look on the 350 website and see what other schools around the world are planning to do.  They can even communicate with schools in other countries about their plans.

 

More information

• www.350schools.com is the site for Australian schools.  You can read about some example actions or events on this site.  We can also register our school’s action from a link on this site.
• www.350.org is the global 350 site.  This gives more extensive information about the day and more examples of planned activities/ events.  This site also has 2 very engaging animations that could be used in assembly to introduce the day and generate some enthusiasm amongst students.  They are at www.350.org/animation.  These are YouTube clips.  Many schools block YouTube, so we are currently working on a way around this.