It is particularly important that children have a clear understanding and appreciation of the importance of our environment and that they consider themselves as part of it. Children must therefore be provided with evidence-informed learning activities to enable them to understand how they are intrinsically part of the local and global environment,…

Polymathy may be defined as the productive pursuit of multiple endeavors, simultaneously or serially, across a lifetime. As such, polymathic breadth of interest across knowledge domains characterizes Nobel laureates in the sciences, literature, economics, and peace, though interest patterns vary between groups. Economics laureates, like science…

Popular demand for school-based outdoor learning is growing throughout the world, but there is relatively little use of international comparisons to inform the development and support of this growth. Motivations for providing outdoor learning may vary within and across countries/areas. Through understanding how different purposes are being…

In recent years, many schools have taken up food gardening. This is a welcome trend, but it has had to be conducted as an extracurricular activity, often with the help of, or run by, parents and grandparents. Growing vegetables and fruit, if it is to be done well, is a complex activity. The potential good outcomes for health, learning, and…

Botanic gardens have been evolving, responding to the changing needs of society, from their outset as medicinal gardens of monasteries and university gardens to more recently as organizations that contribute to the conservation of plant genetic resources. Considering that social and environmental issues are deeply intertwined and cannot be tackled…

The STEM team at the University of Worcester support STEM activities in schools in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Part of this help includes suggesting activities for STEM clubs. As the biologist on the team author, Sue Howarth was asked by teachers for ideas to use in biology clubs. This article was prompted by feedback that these ideas might…

It may be quite daunting to put together a proposal for an award, especially something as prestigious as the Rolls-Royce Science Prize! But this is exactly what the author did as soon as she was appointed head of juniors at La Sagesse School in Newcastle upon Tyne. After a consultation with staff, governors, the school council and the…

At its Wakehurst Place garden in West Sussex, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has established the UK home of one of the world's largest conservation projects, the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) partnership, a global project to conserve biodiversity by collecting and preserving seeds. This article describes what the MSB partnership does, how seeds are…

This article seeks to provide an outline of the basic ideas and approaches used by the Incredible Edible programme, a community enterprise that is based in the United Kingdom. To do this the author briefly (1) defines the context for the programme, (2) defines the concepts that inform the programme, (3) and illustrates some of the action of the…

This study summarises the findings based on two case study sensory gardens in the United Kingdom, in terms of the educational development and social interaction of children with special needs and the staff who care for them. The aim was to observe and record the users' behaviour when engaging with features in the sensory garden. The data…

In many cultures, elders are revered within the extended family as a source of wisdom gained from long experience. In Western societies, this role has been marginalised by changes in family structure, and grandparents' significant contribution to children's upbringing often goes unacknowledged. A research study with families of three- to…

In this paper, we explore greening initiatives in school grounds as sites where ecological, pedagogical, and social transformation might be promoted and take place. Reflecting on our evaluations of school ground greening initiatives in Canada and England, we note that these initiatives are often at the margins of young peoples' experiences in…

This article explores the factors that contributed to personal learning and development as a result of being a member of a collaborative action research project group. The project took place in a university School of Education, and involved five lecturers and the students they were supervising for their dissertations. Data were collected by…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2016, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 30 of April to 2 of May, 2016. Psychology, nowadays, offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and…

The Volume 1 Commissioner of Education's introduction discusses school and college enrollment and presents state common-school statistics on enrollment, average daily attendance, teachers and salaries, revenues and expenditures, and expenditures in Southern states by race. Report chapters address education in Great Britain and Ireland,…