Discussing a greener global future: insights from the Festival of Education
09 September 2025
Ruth Carter, Cambridge OCR Stakeholder Relationships Manager
With the recent Department for Education announcement introducing the go-ahead for a new GCSE in Natural History, Cambridge OCR was delighted to have the opportunity to discuss the importance of nature and climate education at this year’s Festival of Education in July.
In this blog I’ll share the main discussion points and the key responses made by our panellists.
“On your doorstep: building skills for a greener global future”
The 2025 Festival of Education in July featured over 450 speakers and attracted over 5,500 attendees from the education community. We had a lively and enthusiastic audience for our panel discussion, “On your doorstep: building skills for a greener global future” which explored how education can support young people to foster a relationship with nature, develop relevant skills, and become climate literate through exploration of their local environment.
The panel was moderated by Steven Evans, Director of Product Development and Support at Cambridge OCR.
Panellists were:
Left to right: Freddie, Jo, Steve, Jo Anna and Jess
Curriculum and Assessment Review outcomes
With Becky Francis’s Curriculum and Assessment Review due in the autumn, what outcomes are you hoping for to support climate and nature education?
Jess: Becky Francis mentioned climate science and sustainability at the ASCL conference in March. We need to recognise the importance of climate and nature in the curriculum so that it becomes mainstream, expected and everyone’s responsibility. Nature and climate is not a nice to have – it is essential. It also brings many benefits including physical and mental health, air quality and equity. It improves school sites, cohesion and can reduce current or future costs.
Jo: I’m hoping for a coherent way of weaving climate science, sustainability, nature connection and environmental understanding across all key stages and subjects. GCSE geography students doing a river study is not enough. We need to ensure the value of outdoor learning, and make sure sustainability, green skills and climate science are inherent in all students’ learning experiences.
Freddie: The new Natural History GCSE is a fantastic opportunity for nature education, but we need to complement this by embedding climate and nature across the curriculum, so that all students, regardless of their background, interests and school have the opportunity to engage with these topics throughout their education. With an interdisciplinary, solutions-focused approach, we can empower all young people to make a difference.
Jo Anna: Interdisciplinary thinking with climate education embedded throughout all subjects. Outdoor learning as part of every child’s education. Project based learning is key.
Skills for a sustainable world
What knowledge or skills do you consider key for students preparing for a future of sustainable, clean tech jobs and a rapidly shifting economy and society?
Freddie: Every job can and needs to be a green job, just as every skill can be harnessed as a green skill. The nature and climate crises will affect every sector of society in some way, so the solution, too, needs to be intersectional. So I don’t think it’s just about teaching specific green skills, but rather a wider green mindset, by which all young people feel able and motivated to use their skills and interests to make a difference throughout their lives and future careers.
Jess: All students, whatever their interest, studies or career path, need to be thinking about sustainability issues, opportunities and challenges in everything they do. Also, it’s not just about jobs but everyday lives and decisions as citizens. Lots of other areas of learning and activities in schools can contribute valuable skills such as building compassion, empathy and digital skills.
Jo Anna: The science is vital but it’s equally important that students know where to find the right science. They need to be critical and not just accept facts at face value. They need to have the skills to think in a critical way, problem solve, dilemma flip and approach things from an action perspective. This development of competencies around systems thinking will enable to respond in a changing world, but also help them meet the needs of a future green tech economy.
Issues for current students
Where do you see the biggest gap for current students? For example, is it curriculum, resources, support, career advice or something else?
Jo Anna: There is a gap in what students know. So they need to have a curriculum that enable them to understand these things. Their teachers need to know where to access resources and support and have the confidence to use them inside and outside the classroom. Careers advice should link back to the real world, drawing on examples and bringing businesses and other organisations into schools.
Freddie: I think it’s both the curriculum and careers advice. Many young people still view environmental issues as somewhat niche. In the curriculum we need to mainstream these issues so young people can see them as a tangible part of their lives and futures. In careers advice we need more encouragement of non-traditional career paths, and more interdisciplinary thinking so that young people see the value of nature and the climate in every career.
Jo: Many students we speak to are either a) overwhelmed as they don’t see solutions as realistic or they don’t have agency over solutions, or b) they don’t care about the environment as they have no positive, immersive experiences of it. They need solution-driven learning, inspirational teachers who care and have ideas about what students can do, and the opportunities to see green skills and careers in action across all jobs.
Green approaches vs technology
What are your thoughts on the tension that exists between “growing greener” and the advent of a tech-bound generation?
Jess: It’s how tech is used, not the tech itself. I get a lot of pleasure using apps like Merlin or Seek when out and about, and even people who weren’t particularly into nature are enjoying them. Our Nature Park Hidden Nature Challenge and Habitat Heroes digital activities invite students to explore their surroundings with prompts to take photos, notice, think about emotions and be creative.
Jo: We can use tech to enhance our experiences of the outdoor world. Identification apps, Augmented Reality (AR) experiences that help us understand the world around us, and wellbeing and nature connection apps like Go Jauntly can augment and encourage experiences. The solutions to the climate crisis will and must include technological innovation, so we should not shy away from connecting the two worlds.
Freddie: We need to make sure that young people are able to balance time spent with technology with the ability to develop a personal and emotional connection to nature - and that’s where place-based learning comes in. Giving young people the opportunity to connect with nature whilst seeing their learnings about biology or geography, the arts or maths can allow them to see the tangible impact of their learning through real-world examples. As David Attenborough says, “No-one will protect what they don’t love, and no-one will love what they’ve never experienced."
Inspiring initiatives
We were asked by an audience member to give some examples of initiatives that are working well currently. What are your suggestions?
Jess: The National Education Nature Park is all about getting young people and staff from schools, colleges and nurseries exploring their site, deciding how they can improve it for people and planet. In doing so they are improving health and wellbeing, developing skills, and embedding climate and nature into the curriculum.
Jo: I’d suggest organisations like Learning through Landscapes and the Royal Meterological (RMet) Society.
Freddie: The Harmony School is doing lots of work to integrate climate and nature across their curriculum, as well as to ground so much of their teaching in place-based learning. While they admit they do not have all the solutions and are still learning how best to do this, it is inspiring to hear more about the work they are doing.
Jo Anna: Initiatives such as National Education Nature Parks, climate ambassadors, eco-schools, green schools but also localised projects that get others involved through a collaborative approach. The University of Reading is leading some of the work around climate change education, with a framework for embedding climate and sustainability education across the initial teacher education curriculum.
Key learnings
What was your main takeaway from the session?
Jess: The DfE sustainability and climate team are making progress, as shown by the DfE Sustainability and climate change strategy and associated funded programmes – National Education Nature Park, Climate Ambassadors, Sustainability Support for Education and Net Zero Accelerator. DfE need evidence and support to continue and add to these programmes and to bring their colleagues on board.
Jo: It’s always inspiring in sessions such as this to hear about people who are working hard to increase green skills and nature connection, but we are preaching to the converted. How do we get people who disagree or are apathetic about the environment and climate change to attend and engage with talks and sessions such as these? How do we convince busy teachers to change, how do we convince the curriculum review to make the right decisions?
Freddie: My biggest takeaway was just how hopeful and solutions-focused the conversation felt. We know there’s still a long way to go, but seeing educators, institutions and young people come together to talk about embedding nature into the curriculum gave me a lot of optimism. By working together, we can reshape education in a way that engages young people with these crises and empowers them to be a part of the solution.
Jo Anna: There were some great examples from the audience who were able to share what they are doing. I think also that we don’t have to do everything ‘right’ – we just have to keep trying out different approaches to see what works in our contexts and remember that many small actions add up to a very big action.
Closing thoughts
Commenting on the Cambridge OCR Natural History GCSE and climate education more broadly, Steve said:
“Every time we talk to anyone about the Natural History GCSE, they’re really enthusiastic about it. I’ve worked for years on lots of different qualifications, and I’ve never seen this level of enthusiasm for other qualifications – in particular from young people.
“Young people want opportunities to learn about nature. They want the tools to help solve the problems that we’re all experiencing. And they want to move away from eco-anxiety, and towards solutions.”
A huge thank you to our excellent panel members and everyone who joined us on the day and contributed to the conversation. Together, we’re shaping a more inclusive, empowering future for all students.
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About the author
Ruth Carter is Stakeholder Relationships Manager in the Policy Team at Cambridge OCR. Ruth has a wide-ranging experience in education, curriculum, assessment and qualifications. She engages with organisations, professional bodies and key stakeholders to ensure that Cambridge OCR products are representative and have the appropriate levels of recognition and support. Her current work involves liaising with stakeholders to gain insight for Cambridge OCR’s proposed GCSE in Natural History.