@merylbatchelder
Enthusiastic communicator for climate, nature & sustainability education Former science teacher Education Lead for TerraLigo Coordinator for the Ministry of Eco Education #ClimateAmbassador #STEM Alter ego of Melody Bird I grow stuff in my free time 🌱
The work we do at the @ministryofeco.bsky.social isn't radical. We're part of a collaboration to support teachers & help move the Overton Window. The education system takes time to change, time we just don't have. The NEB for Teachers is suitable for all educational settings.
@nebriefing.bsky.social
I'm busy reading Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver. The care and patience of the entomologists monitoring the monarch butterflies is both beautiful and tragic. H/T to @thierryaaron.bsky.social for his recommended book list 📚
The Monster Raving Looney Party.
That reply deserves a follow!
It's all nonsense. At least I'm smiling 😁💚
Wildlife suffers horribly, not only from large oil spills but also from regular, smaller spills of oil & chemicals from drilling operations in UK waters. You can read more about the harms fossil fuel extraction causes wildlife in @oceanauk.bsky.social's report 👇
uk.oceana.org/reports/sea-...
Yup. I'm now divorced from Labour due to a conflict of interests about how best to respond to the climate & nature crises.
I've joined the Green Party for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.
This time I'm serious 💚
You recently nurtured 3 PhD students 🤩
I think you deserve a refill!
That is really incredibly impressive! Enjoy the fizz, it's very well deserved 🥂
Hubster crushed by small tree
The rural idyll?
Smallholding is far from relaxing. Here's a pic of Hubster being crushed by a young apple tree (#35). Don't ask who was taking the photo whilst he was struggling 🫣😂
#Gorton
#Denton
#ByElection
#VoteGreen 💚
#Gorton
#Denton
#Byelection
#VoteGreen 💚
I alluded to this in my related LinkedIn post 😁
www.linkedin.com/posts/meryl-...
'health harms now linked with drilling, fracking...include cancers...respiratory distress...heart problems, & mental health problems...studies of pregnant women living near fracking operations...show impairments to infant health...birth defects, preterm birth, & low birth weight.'
Who am I kidding?
I'm well and truly grounded. Earth is my home and I'm going to fight on to keep our life support systems safe.
#PlanetOverProfit.
💚🌍💙
Meryl in space
I'm giving up on Earth.
See y'all later 👋🏽
❗Panel Announcement ❗
CLIMATE & NATURE EDUCATION FESTIVAL for a just transition
Grab your free ticket here buytickets.at/ministryofec...
Torn gold paper crown in a muddy puddle
A picture which is a suitable metaphor for the reputation of the royal family in the UK 👑💩
#EpsteinFiles
Schools can make fantastic community hubs too 🌱
Me and Rupert
Sustainable Haltwhistle sign
SAFER Report
Rupert Read talking about the Ecosystem Collapse and National security report that the government is obfuscating.
On a rainy, cold February evening it was great to see so many folk turning up in Haltwhistle Community Centre to hear @rupertread.bsky.social, of the @climatemajority.bsky.social project, talking about strategic adaptation & resilient communities 🌱
The Road by Cormac McCarthy left a raw, indelible tattoo on my soul. A small relief that my own children are now at least older than the traumatised boy in the book 😥
So important I tagged the @dpcarrington.bsky.social article twice 🥵
Your regular reminder that the term #ClimateChange" is not in the national curriculum for England prior to KS4 when students are 15+ years old. At this rate we'll have have passed the #TippingPoint to hothouse Earth before children even learn about the basics 🙄
Why? Because Penny and those 28 other girls who entered my competition? They're exactly the environmental leaders we need 💚 /end
On #InternationalDayOfWomenAndGirlsInScience, I am making a renewed commit to:
✅ Keeping that curiosity alive through secondary school
✅ Showing girls real role models
✅ Creating space for questions, not just answers
✅ Valuing the care and connection that many women bring to scientific work 8/9
Something happens in secondary school that discourages that creative thinking. The awe and wonder dims so the hands stop going up. And we lose potential environmental champions before they even get started. 7/9
But here's what troubles me: these curious, confident primary school children asking fearless questions about our planet? As Sir Ken Robinson so perfectly put it: "We don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it." 6/9
🔗 Interdisciplinary Nature
Environmental science blends biology, chemistry, social science, policy, and communication. It rewards diverse thinking rather than narrow specialisation, potentially making it feel more accessible and relevant. 5/9
🌍 Regenerative Possibilities
Environmental science isn't just about preventing damage, it's about actively healing and restoring; ecosystems bouncing back, species returning, soil regenerating. The focus on renewal and restoration, rather than just problem-solving. 4/9
Why might environmental science attract women than other #STEM fields? 3 theories:
💚 Connection to Care - Environmental science directly addresses caring for living things, communities, & future generations, work that's been shown to resonate strongly with many women's values & experiences. 3/9