World Environment Day

From United Nations Environment Programme

Resource type: Event

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5

Region(s): All of UK

World Environment Day takes place annually on June 5^th. First celebrated in 1973, World Environment Day is run by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as a global platform to encourage action to protect and restore our planet. The focus for World Environment Day 2024 is land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.

Cost: Free

About UNEP: The United Nations Environment Programme was set up to serve as a global advocate for the environment, providing leadership and encouraging partnership amongst member states of the United Nations. Its mission is to raise awareness and advocate for effective environmental action.

Further resources:

Schools can sign up for the Earth School Programme from TED-Ed and UNEP with quizzes and videos that explore how our planet works and the action needed to protect it.
Find curriculum linked resources and real-world activities that explore environmental issues for KS2 and KS3 pupils on the WWF website.
Oxfam provides a range of free teaching resources covering environmental issues for ages 7-14. Explore them here.
Explore the different resources available from The Regenerators initiative from BBC Bitesize.
Ensure your pupils can keep up to date with environmental issues by taking out a school subscription to a junior newspaper or nature magazine. Find a selection here.
Register for Build the Change Tuesday, a free, weekly sustainability news worksheet from The Day and the LEGO Group that provides a news story and ready-to-go activities to prompt classroom debate and inspire young people aged 8-13 to create innovative solutions to the problems affecting our planet.
Topical Talk provides free resources to encourage and stimulate discussion about current affairs and the news for KS2 and KS3 pupils. Find a selection of their climate-related resources here.
Talk for Writing have a selection of English units with an environmental theme available to download for free from their website.
Discover Usborne’s Quicklinks to carefully selected websites with tips on how you and your pupils can help wildlife and planet Earth.
The Climate Fiction Writers League is a group of writers from around the world whose work aims to raise awareness of climate change. Their books include pictures books, middle grade and young adult fiction. You can find them here.
Listen to recordings of authors Vashti Hardy, Gill Lewis and Hannah Gold talking about their environmentally-themed books in the ReadingZone Bookclub archive.
Books for Topics have an Awesome Planet Earth booklist as well as recommendations to cover environmental sustainability and plastic pollution.
Book review site Toppsta have put together a World Environment Day list of recommended reads for children of all ages.
Find a selection of author videos, recommended booklists and activities themed around the environment from Scottish Book Trust.