Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Let us know what you think at [email protected].
Force of nature
For more than a decade, campaigners in the U.K. have been calling for the creation of a General Certificate of Secondary Education (academic qualifications taken by teenagers) in natural history. Now, according to a Guardian story shared by RTBC Audience Engagement Manager Sophie Pitt, it’s finally happening. Education Minister Catherine McKinnell said in an announcement that the aim is for young people “to understand and respect the natural world and contribute to the protection and conservation of the environment locally, nationally and internationally.”
Sophie says:
Great news for the next generation in the U.K., making climate and nature part of the curriculum. I would have loved to study this at school!
Green goals
With the U.S. government shifting its priorities away from green energy projects meant to improve transit and bicycle infrastructure, states are picking up the slack. As the Associated Press reports in an article shared by Editorial Director Rebecca Worby, California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania have banded together to create the Clean Rides Network to advance environmentally friendly transportation initiatives.
Becca says:
One of many examples of states working to take on projects that the Trump administration will no longer fund.
What else we’re reading
🧑💻 Iceland Embraced a 4-Day Workweek in 2019 – Now, Nearly Six Years On, All Gen Z Forecasts Have Materialized — shared by Contributing Editor Michaela Haas from WECB
🛠️ Organizmo! The Colombian architects overturning colonialist ‘sustainability’ ideas — shared by Rebecca Worby from the Guardian
❤️🩹 Native American Suicide Rates Drop 43% in New Mexico — shared by Michaela Haas from Native News Online
From our readers…
This week, we received a story recommendation from reader Aixe Djelal, who hails from Portland, Oregon. “I thought of RTBC this morning because I read a BBC article about Kenyan farmers using beehive fences to keep elephants away — turns out elephants hate bees!” Aixe writes. “A peaceful solution that seems like a great reason to be cheerful.”
