You are currently browsing the monthly Archive for March, 2012.
WWF’s Earth Hour is a simple idea that’s quickly turned into a global phenomenon. Hundreds of millions of people turning off their lights for one hour, on the same night, all across the planet. It’s about appreciating the brilliant world we all share – and how we need to protect it. Not just for an hour a year, but every day.
Earth Hour – Our World Is Brilliant from WWF-UK on Vimeo.
8.30pm 31 March
Get Involved
Whether you want to play scrabble by candlelight, have a dinner party for friends, go for an exhilarating night cycle-ride or go along to one of the Earth Hour events happening across the country, you’ll be an important part of WWF’s global event…
Sign up and switch off
At 8:30 pm on Saturday 31 March 2012 switch off all non-essential lights and be a part of something HUGE. Connect with 1.8billion people around the world. Once signed up you can share your plans for the night on our UK event map.
Spread the word
Why not send our lovely Earth Hour eCards to everyone you know to let them know about this phenomenal event? Get a badge for your twitter profile to show you’ll be taking part and encourage your friends to do the same.
Plan a night to remember
Celebrate our brilliant world, by getting together with friends and family! Get some inspiration from our candle-lit dinner party menus from celebrity chefs and our brilliant dinner party guide download. There’s loads of other things you can do in the dark, just have a look.
See what others are doing
Take a look at what other individuals, businesses and even some of the nation’s best known landmarks are planning for Earth Hour. Rumour has it someone is having an Earth Hour wedding! You can plan something amazing and join our Community Competition to lead the switch off!
Beyond the hour…
WWF’s Earth Hour is not about an hour of darkness. It’s about a brighter future for our planet. And that goes beyond the hour to the way we live our lives – year around. Start to reduce your impact by reducing your energy consumption, recycling, cooking your own food and so much more. Have a look at some practical tips here.
Help save 1 billion trees in the Amazon Rainforest
As well as turning off your lights for an hour to show you care about our brilliant planet, you can support our work to help protect it.
For the second year, money raised through Earth Hour will help to protect the Amazon rainforest with Sky Rainforest Rescue.
Free Music Instrument lessons for the Public
Music for All, the charity of the UK musical instrument industry is proud to announce the first, annual, National Learn to Play Day taking place on March 31st, 2012.
On this day, the UK’s musical instrument shops will open their doors and offer free instrument “taster” lessons to the general public.
There are 15 million people in the UK that either want to play an instrument or used to play one. The Day is designed to welcome people into music shops and to inspire them to get playing. People are often surprised to discover that they ARE musical and simply need a musical “experience” to get them inspired to start playing.
The Day will offer free lessons on a variety of instruments, supported by music teachers and additional guidance on getting started learning to play music. The UK’s instrument manufacturers will also be supporting the event with staff, instruments and special offers!
Participating stores in Edinburgh include Red Dog Music (1 Grassmarket) and Rae Macintosh (6 Queensferry Street).
World TB Day, falling on March 24th each year, is designed to build public awareness that tuberculosis today remains an epidemic in much of the world, causing the deaths of several million people each year, mostly in developing countries.
It commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch astounded the scientific community by announcing that he had discovered the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus. At the time of Koch’s announcement in Berlin, TB was raging through Europe and the Americas, causing the death of one out of every seven people. Koch’s discovery opened the way towards diagnosing and curing TB.
Tell the world what you want to see in your lifetime
Progress in the global fight against TB cannot wait. For the World TB Day Campaign 2012, you can make an individual call to stop TB in your lifetime.
Do you want to see zero deaths from TB, faster treatment, an effective vaccine?
Visit www.mystoptb.org to make your own poster or upload a video with a personal message.
The World TB Day Campaign 2012 will allow people all over the world to make an individual call to stop TB in their lifetimes.
In their lifetimes, today’s children should expect to see a world where no one gets sick with TB.
In their lifetimes, women and men should expect to see a world where no one dies from TB.
People of different ages and living in different countries could have these hopes for stopping TB in their lifetimes:
- Zero deaths from TB
- Faster treatment
- A quick, cheap, low-tech test
- An effective vaccine
- A world free of TB.
International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.
The theme for 2012 is Water and Food Security.
Download and print out these materials for your World Water Day event or classroom and learn more about this years topic of ‘Water and Food Security’!
Water for Food Wallchart – 3 x A3 >>
How much water Download Game >>
Download Poster
216 x 85 cm >>
Racism, xenophobia and intolerance are problems prevalent in all societies. Each and every one of us plays a role in either contributing to or breaking down racial prejudice and intolerant attitudes.
Send a message that racism is unacceptable. Download a postcard and send it to your friends.
Share this page with your social networks and ask what others are doing to fight racism.
Get involved
Tell us what you are doing to combat racism on the Let’s Fight Racism Facebook page or via Twitter using #FightRacism.
See what actions others are taking on the Let’s Fight Racism Storify page.
Take a stand against racism in your community. Join a group advocating for the rights of racial or other minorities in your own community and volunteer to help, including through online volunteering.
Learn more
Seek different perspectives through reading the writings of authors of other races or ethnicity. Read real life stories about overcoming racial discrimination.
Take this quiz to test your knowledge on human rights and discrimination and to celebrate the human rights defenders who have fought for the rights of others.
Check out the UN’s global action plan to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Click on a thumbnail above to share an image with your friends. Ask them what they see – is there more than meets the eye?
East Lothian
The East Lothian Diversity Network brings together individuals, community organisations and groups that are interested in equality and diversity issues. Everyone is welcome to join and take part in our events!
Key focuses of the Diversity Network
- Celebration: celebrating East Lothian’s rich diversity
- Policy: helping to shape our services and practices
- Information: gathering information about the needs and ambitions of minority groups
- Campaigns: improving the understanding of equality and diversity amongst the residents of East Lothian
Become a member
You can become a member of the Network. Here are some of the benefits of signing up:
- you get to take part in a variety of events to celebrate East Lothian’s diversity
- you will learn more about equality and diversity
- you can raise issues that are of concern to you
- you can help to shape public services by sharing your experiences with policymakers
Best of all, it’s free to join!
Email equalities@eastlothian.gov.uk to register
In December 2011, the General Assembly declared 21 March as World Down Syndrome Day (A/RES/66/149).
Down Syndrome is a type of mental disability caused by extra genetic material in chromosome 21. The cause is not known.
The estimated incidence of Down Syndrome is 1 in 1,000 births worldwide. Each year approximately 3,000 to 5,000 children are born with this chromosome disorder.
The following publications from Down’s Syndrome Scotland, are aimed at new parents and relatives although they will also be of interest to students and professionals.
When a baby has Down’s syndrome (370kb) – Information booklet for parents and relatives
Getting to know a baby with Down’s syndrome (147kb) – Information for parents and relatives
What is Down’s syndrome (456kb) – Booklet giving more detailed information
A Little Book About Babies (3521kb)– Booklet for parents and relatives includes inspirational stories and photos
Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is crucial to sustaining our lives. It produces air for us to breathe, food to eat, water to drink and even medicines to cure our ills. It also provides value to us through activities such as walking or birdwatching and inspiration for art. We need it for our overall health, wealth and wellbeing.
With these thoughts in mind, the theme for Scottish Biodiversity Week (19-27 March 2012) is “Biodiversity is Life – Biodiversity is Our Life” in order to emphasise the critical links between us and our amazing, complex world.
Scotland’s precious wildlife and landscapes are dear to us and Scottish Biodiversity Week is a great opportunity to get out and about and experience them!
East Lothian’s Biodiversity
East Lothian Council Biodiversity Officer – can give presentations to schools or classes on biodiversity or related topics. The Biodiversity Officer will also help to develop school grounds, particularly through the Grounds for Awareness award. This award is launched annually in September and can offer up to £1000 for a wildlife, gardening or landscaping project within school grounds. Tel: 01620 827242
East Lothian Countryside Ranger Service – can visit schools or help with longer term studies such as rivers or rock pooling. They can also work closely with related initiatives such as the John Muir Award and Forest Schools. ranger@eastlothian.gov.uk.
www.www.edubuzz.org/blogs/rangerservice
East Lothian Outdoor Learning Service – often working closely with the Ranger Service. They can provide environmental education, linking this with adventurous activities such as canoeing, gorge walking or coasteering. 0131 653 5217
www.www.edubuzz.org/outdoorlearning
East Lothian Council have produced a teachers guide about wildlife and the natural world. The 16 page download includes classroom projects,useful websites, pictures and ideas. The Guide suggests good locations close to schools and how to prepare for a visit. Download your Biodiversity Education Guide here
The word Ides comes from the Latin word “Idus” and means “half division” especially in relation to a month. It is a word that was used widely in the Roman calendar indicating the approximate day that was the middle of the month. The term ides was used for the 15th day of the months of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th day of the other months. The Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars and a military parade was usually held.
In modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date on which Julius Caesar was killed in 44 B.C. Caesar was stabbed (23 times) to death in the Roman Senate by a group of conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus.
According to Plutarch, a seer had foreseen that Caesar would be harmed not later than the Ides of March and on his way to the Theatre of Pompey (where he would be assassinated), Caesar met that seer and joked, “The Ides of March have come”, meaning to say that the prophecy had not been fulfilled, to which the seer replied “Aye, Caesar; but not gone.” This meeting is famously dramatized in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, when Caesar is warned by the soothsayer to “beware the Ides of March.”
John Rennie and Andrew Meikle are familiar names to people interested in engineering or East Lothian’s industrial heritage. However, few have heard of James Howden.
James Howden, Marine Engineer and Inventor, was one of Prestonpans most illustrious sons, yet no monument or memorial exists in his home town.
He was born on 29th February(!), 1832 and lived with his parents James and Catherine and his four younger siblings in a property in the town’s High Street.
By 1851, James had moved to Glasgow to begin his apprenticeship and where he was later to perfect the forced-draught system for boilers.
He went on to found Howden – now a worldwide engineering company.
For all things to Science and Engineering, take a look at National Science & Engineering Week website.
No Smoking Day takes place on 14 March 2012. On the day more than a million smokers are expected to make a quit attempt.
Over the last quarter of a century we’ve grown into the UK’s leading public health event, helping over a million smokers to quit for good.
With No Smoking Day, there’s no pressure. When smokers are ready to stop, we’re here and ready to help, directing people to the support that’s right for them, when and where they want it.
Take the Leap with No Smoking Day
We know that most smokers would really like to stop, but find it hard to. So this year we are encouraging smokers to Take the Leap and give it a go. The theme recognises that giving up is tough, but the positive image and slogan speaks strongly to smokers helping them to aspire to a smokefree future
‘Take the Leap’ and its energetic accompanying image aim to echo the UK’s focus on the Olympics, asking smokers to think about their physical health. The campaign also coincides with a leap year – leap day will be an excellent opportunity to help smokers prepare to Take the Leap two weeks later on 14 March.
The ‘Take the Leap’ theme was developed with smokers themselves and reflects the positive messaging of the charity, we are here for smokers who want to quit and will help them take a leap towards a healthier, wealthier future.
No Smoking Day is part of the British Heart Foundation and offers year round resources to help people who want to quit. These include WeQuit.co.uk our dedicated quitters’ website, our online community forum which is host to 36,000 quitters and a suite of resources and tips and advice for smokers.
For more information about No Smoking Day visit our about section.
East Lothian residents wishing to seek advice can call 0131 537 9914
Pi, Greek letter (
), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by maths enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535…
With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal. Pi is an irrational and transcendental number meaning it will continue infinitely without repeating. The symbol for pi was first used in 1706 by William Jones, but was popular after it was adopted by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in 1737.
Learn About Pi
The Number Pi
Pi represents the relationship between a circle’s diameter (its width) and its circumference (the distance around the circle).
Equations that use Pi
The area of a circle is calculated using Pi and the radius of the circle. This formula inspired the joke “Pies aren’t square, they’re round!”
To find the volume of a rectangular prism you calculate length × width × height. In that case, length × width is the area of one side, which is then multiplied by the height of the prism. Similarly, to find the volume of a cylinder, you multiply the area of the base (the area of the circle, which is pi × r²), then multiply that by the height of the cylinder.
Click here to send a Happy Pi Day e-card
Wear your daffodil this March and help us continue caring for people with terminal cancer and other illnesses
Each March, the Great Daffodil Appeal aims to get everyone to wear a daffodil in support of our Marie Curie Nurses and raise money to help us provide more free care to people with terminal cancer and other illnesses.
But for those who have been touched by the work of Marie Curie, wearing the daffodil has a special and personal meaning.
Order a box of daffodils at – https://secure.mariecurie.org.uk/registe…
Spring your school into action to support the Great Daffodil Appeal
Brighten up your school and get pupils, teachers and school staff wearing yellow to raise money for the Great Daffodil Appeal 2012.
The money raised will help our Marie Curie Nurses provide more free care to people with terminal cancer and other illnesses, in their own homes.
How it works
March 2, 2012 is the official Wear Something Yellow to School day, but feel free to choose any day in March that suits your school.
Wear something yellow to school
Wear a yellow hat, tights, wig or pair of shoes – anything goes as long as it’s yellow.
Collect donations
Ask eveyone to donate £2 to dress up in yellow for the day.
Too cool to wear yellow to school?
Don’t worry, there are lots of other fundraising activities to get
everyone involved in supporting the Great Daffodil Appeal 2012.
Register
Register today and we’ll send you fundraising pack including
top tips for fundraising, posters, bunting,
a box of daffodils and much more.
Activity sheet
Download file
Quiz
Download file
Lesson plans
Download file
Wear Something Yellow to School poster
Download file
Yellow tie
Download file
Bunting
Download file
2 Billion People, 54 Countries. One Very Special Celebration. Join us for Commonwealth Day 2012.
Every year on the second Monday in March, 54 countries join together in celebration of the links they share as members of one diverse and dynamic global family – the modern Commonwealth.
In the UK, one way in which this special day is celebrated is with a unique event in London’s Westminster Abbey. The UK’s largest multi-faith celebration, the Commonwealth Day Observance is attended by Her Majesty The Queen, the Prime Minister, High Commissioners, up to 200 other VIPs and more than 1,000 schoolchildren.
The Commonwealth Day Observance takes a different theme each year. And in 2012 we will be ‘Connecting Cultures.’ Through a thrilling mix of world music, dance and personal testimonies, the event will explore the golden threads that tie together people from every continent, faith and ethnicity.
2012 will be a special year for the Observance as it will also be kicking off the Commonwealth’s celebrations for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee – marking both 60 years as the UK Monarch and 60 years as Head of the Commonwealth.
If you’re from a school, have a look at the schools page here for suggestions on how to get involved and incorporate Commonwealth Day in your class room.
Visit www.commonwealththeme.org for more information on Commonwealth Day, and how you can get involved in celebrating the 2012 theme, Connecting Cultures.
There have been over 4,000 visitors to Observe since it started in November. Visitors have come from:
United Kingdom, United States, India, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, France, Pakistan, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Russian Federation, Singapore, Croatia, Nigeria, Thailand, Mexico, Poland, Bangladesh, Qatar, Turkey, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Denmark, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Romania, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritius, Nepal, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Switzerland, Egypt, Sweden, Bahrain, Kuwait, Colombia, Czech Republic, Jamaica, Norway, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Kenya, Botswana, Cyprus, Macedonia, Oman, Finland, Jersey, Malta, Estonia, Bahamas, Venezuela, Burma, Jordan, Namibia, Vietnam, Uganda, Ecuador, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Togo, Slovakia, Austria, Albania, Cote D’Ivoire, Azerbaijan, Argentina, Chile, Cayman Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Guatemala, Fiji, Ghana, Hungary, Suriname, Reunion, Zimbabwe, Lithuania, Maldives, Guernsey, Seychelles, Brunei Darussalam, Belarus, Costa Rica, Republic of Korea, Yemen, China, Armenia, Gibraltar, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Macau, Syrian Arab Republic, Saint Lucia, Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Guyana, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Montenegro, Kazakstan & Cameroon.
Wherever you hail from, thank you for visiting, please leave a comment and…
…afio mai, susu mai ma maliu mai, akwaba, ani kié, bel bonjou, bem-vindo, benvenguts, bienvéni, bon bini, boyeyi bolamu, croeso, dalal ak diam, degemer mad, dobro došli, e komo mai, eguahé porá, fáilte, gabitê, haere mai, härzliche wöikomme, hosgeldiniz, hush kelibsiz, i bisimila, karibu, laipni lūdzam, malo e lelei, marsha vog’iyla, merħba, miawezon, mikouabô, mirë se vini, mishto-avilian tú, murakaza neza, ne y waoongo, nodé, ongi etorri, rahim itegez, selamat datang, soo dhawaw, sveiki atvykę, tere, tulemast, tonga soa, üdvözlet, ulihelisdi, vælkomin, vítejte, welcome, zupinje z te videtite, Καλός ήλθατε, добре дошъл, Тавтай морилогтун, Шчыра запрашаем, أهلا وسهلا, مرحبا !
Climate Week is a supercharged national campaign to inspire a new wave of action on climate change. It culminates with thousands of events and activities taking place throughout the week of 12 to 18 March 2012, planned by organisations from every part of society. Showcasing real, practical ways to combat climate change, the campaign aims to renew our ambition to create a more sustainable, low-carbon future.
The window of opportunity for action on climate change is rapidly closing. The UK is far from where it needs to be, but in every sector solutions are being pioneered, adopted and refined. The campaign aims to accelerate and enhance this process by inspiring more action through real examples – both the small improvements and the big innovations.
Climate Week is backed by every part of society – from the Prime Minister to Paul McCartney, the NHS to the Met Office, the TUC to the CBI, Girlguiding UK to the National Association of Head Teachers. It is supported by a Headline Partner Tesco, and four Supporting Partners: EDF Energy, H&M, Nissan and SodaStream. During the first Climate Week in 2011 over 3,000 events were attended by half a million people across the UK.
Climate Week’s Headline Partner is Tesco, which aims to become a zero-carbon business by 2050 – without purchasing offsets. In addition it has committed to work with its suppliers to reduce emissions from products in its supply chain by 30% by 2020, and to find ways to help its customers halve their own carbon footprints by 2020. Climate Week’s Supporting Partners are EDF Energy, H&M, Nissan and SodaStream. EDF Energy is Britain’s largest producer of low-carbon electricity, H&M is for a more sustainable fashion future, the 100% electric Nissan LEAF is driving change for a sustainable future, and SodaStream is the smarter way to enjoy sparkling drinks.
You can register now for the Climate Week Challenge, judged by celebrities including Kate Humble, Bruce Parry, and Liz Bonnin. The Climate Week Challenge in 2011 was Britain’s biggest ever environmental competition, with over 145,000 people participating in the one day and one-hour versions. This year teams from schools, workplaces, and community groups will again be challenged to come up with creative solutions to a problem that is only revealed on the Monday morning Climate Week.
The prestigious Climate Week Awards recognise the most inspirational and impressive actions taking place in every sector of society. The judging panel contains figures such as the human rights activist, Bianca Jagger, the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, and the Bishop of London. Winners from 2011 included a community-run hydroelectric project in Settle, North Yorkshire, a virtually waterless new washing machine that uses polymer beads to clean clothes, and a schools project in the North East of England that has resulted in over 18,000 hours of pupil-led activities.
Climate Week Cuisine is a new part of the campaign for 2012, encouraging people to make the food that they eat a part of the solution to climate change. They can do this by joining in the call to action of eating a low carbon meal during Climate Week. This can be done easily by eating less meat or dairy, eating local, seasonal ingredients, or eating leftovers. Inspiration and ideas are being provided by a number of celebrity chefs including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Angela Hartnett, and Levi Roots.
There are a number of other elements to the campaign. The Climate Week Pub Quiz will be run in hundreds of pubs and workplaces. The Climate Week Play in a Day at the Arcola Theatre in London features award-winning writers and celebrity performers putting together five 15 minute plays in just 24 hours.
There were over 1,000 pieces of media coverage about the last Climate Week, with national articles ranging from the business pages of The Telegraph to the fashion pages of the Daily Mail. Television coverage included a feature on BBC Breakfast, an entire episode of children’s show Blue Peter, and comedian Marcus Brigstocke discussing the campaign on the One Show.
Organisations can get involved right now by starting to plan an event for Climate Week. This provides a unique opportunity to profile their own initiatives and innovations to stakeholders and staff, customers and the community, members and the media. They can also spread the word in advance, so that others find out about Climate Week in time to plan their own activities.
Individuals can help right now by asking the organisations they know – such as their workplace or local school – to plan an event or activity for Climate Week. They can also register to take part in the Climate Week Cuisine call to action and plan to eat a low carbon meal during Climate Week.
To find out more about Climate Week, or to register your event, go to www.climateweek.com, email info@climateweek.com or telephone on 020 3397 2601.
For specific reources for school teachers, please visit our Teacher Resources section of the website.
Every October, the Campaign’s flagship programme brings communities together in creative ways. Launched as a one-day celebration in 2000, The Big Draw is now an annual month-long festival of over one thousand events across the UK. National and regional museums, galleries and heritage sites, local libraries, schools and community centres participate.
The Big Draw is an open invitation to people of all ages to discover how drawing can connect them with their surroundings and the wider community, and offer enjoyment. Over 20 countries join the UK annually in organising events.
The Big Draw 2012
To organise an event you need to register. We believe that there should be as few barriers as possible preventing people from organising or taking part in communal art or drawing activities. We therefore make registration free to everybody.
The Big Draw is coordinated by a small arts education charity and receives no statutory funding. We therefore ask for a donation, however small, in lieu of a registration fee. We recommend £25 per event organiser, which covers the administration costs of running Big Draw.
Every year we issue a theme to help you plan your Big Draw and perhaps go on to win one of our Drawing Inspiration Awards.
To make sure your event goes smoothly, we offer
Once registered you will receive regular Big Draw newsletters.
We also have a help page, with information about the registration process, how your details are stored and what to do if you need to change your registration details.
Key Dates
| 16 Dec | Drawing Inspiration Award submission deadline |
| April 2012 | Drawing Inspiration Award Ceremony |
| 1 Oct 2012 | Big Draw starts |
| 6 Oct 2012 | Big Draw day |
| 31 Oct 2012 | Big Draw ends |
Holi is known as the Hindu festival of colours. It is a joyful celebration filled with fun and good humour.
People celebrate the festival by throwing handfuls of paint and coloured powder at each other – even complete strangers!
(read about its origins here)
EMPOWER RURAL WOMEN –
END HUNGER AND POVERTY.
“Invest in rural women. Eliminate discrimination against them in law and in practice. Ensure that policies respond to their needs. Give them equal access to resources. Provide rural women with a role in decision-making.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world on 8th March each year. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.
Recognizing the critical role and contribution of rural women, the theme of International Women’s Day 2012 is Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty.
Key contributors to global economies, rural women play a critical role in both developed and developing nations — they enhance agricultural and rural development, improve food security and can help reduce poverty levels in their communities. In some parts of the world, women represent 70 percent of the agricultural workforce, comprising 43 percent of agricultural workers worldwide.
Estimates reveal that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20–30 percent, lifting 100-150 million out of hunger.
Healthcare, education, gender inequality and limited access to credit, however, have posed a number of challenges for rural women. Further, the global food and economic crisis and climate change have aggravated the situation. It is estimated that 60 percent of chronically hungry people are women and girls. Yet, the Food and Agriculture Organization estimates reveal that productivity gains from ensuring equal access to fertilizers, seeds and tools for women could reduce the number of hungry people by between 100 million and 150 million.
World Maths Day on 7 March is Day 2 of the World Education Games – an exciting event for ALL schools and students around the world running from 6-8 March, involving 5.5million students from over 200 countries and territories.
Practice opens on 1 February. This is the global challenge to get ALL students (4-18 years of age) excited about learning, and to give the top students in each school an opportunity to see how they measure up against the best.
The format is:
1 February – The Games open for Practice
6 March – World Spelling Day
7 March – World Maths Day
8 March – World Science Day
23 March – Award Presentations at School Assemblies
Click on the pictures to download these handy resources.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
World Spelling Day on 6 March is Day 1 of the World Education Games – an exciting event for ALL schools and students around the world running from 6-8 March, involving 5.5million students from over 200 countries and territories.
Practice opens on 1 February. This is the global challenge to get ALL students (4-18 years of age) excited about learning, and to give the top students in each school an opportunity to see how they measure up against the best.
The format is:
1 February – The Games open for Practice
6 March – World Spelling Day
7 March – World Maths Day
8 March – World Science Day
23 March – Award Presentations at School Assemblies
Click on the pictures to download these handy resources.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The theme of this year’s National Science & Engineering Week is “our world in motion” and it runs from 9 – 18 March 2012
National Science & Engineering Week shines the spotlight each March on how the sciences and engineering relate to our everyday lives and helps to inspire the next generation of scientists with fun and participative activities.
With over 4,500 events and activities attended by 1.7 million people in 2011, this is the UK’s widest grassroots celebration of all things science and engineering. Each year, the British Science Association produces a series of new free resources and activities for event organisers and schools to help them run a science, engineering or technology event..
Dunbar Science Festival
Following last year’s successful inaugural event, Dunbar’s second Science Festival will be held on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th March. The venue will be packed with a diverse mix of exciting science activities – shows, drop-in sessions, workshops, storytelling and talks. See dunbarscifest.org.uk website nearer the time for more info.
Edinburgh International Science Festival runs from 30 March – 15 April 2012
East Lothian’s forgotten engineer:
James Howden, Marine Engineer and Inventor, was one of Prestonpans most illustrious sons, yet no monument or memorial exists in his home town.
He was born on 29th February(!), 1832 and lived with his parents James and Catherine and his four younger siblings in a property in the town’s High Street.
By 1851, James had moved to Glasgow to begin his apprenticeship and where he was later to perfect the forced-draught system for boilers.
He went on to found Howden – now a worldwide engineering organisation.
- White Star Line was the company that built RMS Titanic. RMS stands for Royal Mail Steamer.
- In 1912, skilled shipyard workers who built Titanic earned £2 per week. Unskilled workers earned £1 or less per week.
- The Titanic was launched on 31st May 1911. It took 62 seconds to complete the launch.
- The cost to build Titanic in 1912 was $7.5million. The cost today is $400million.
- Titanic was 882ft 9in in length, 92 ft in width, 175 ft in height and it weighed 46,328 tonnes.
- Approximately 3 million rivets were used to build Titanic.
- Titanic left Belfast on 2nd April 1912.
- Titanic departed Southampton on 10th April 1912.
- Titanic hit the Iceberg on Sunday 14th April 1912 approx 11.40pm.
- The Titanic sank at 2.20am on Monday 15th April – 2hr 40mins after hitting the iceberg.
- There were 2,223 people on board. 1232were passengers and 991 were crew members.
- Dr Robert Ballard of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute found the wreck in September 1985.
- The Titanic lies approx. 12,460ft at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean (approx 2.5 miles).
Registration for Keep Scotland Beautiful’s 2012 National Spring Clean has now opened!
In 2011, 100,000 Scots joined the campaign to make Scotland cleaner and greener. We now need your help to meet our ambitious target of 200,000 volunteers in 2012. Please sign up now – and together we can make a difference.
If you want a fun day out, between 1 April – 31 May with family, friends, work colleagues or school mates, you’re only a step away – click on the “Register” button to get started or, if you have taken part before, login to your National Spring Clean account and start planning your event now!
Through National Spring Clean, Keep Scotland Beautifulencourages people to get together and help pick up litter from their neighbourhood each spring: a time of year when Scots traditionally give their homes a clean sweep and starting spending more time outdoors again after a long winter.National Spring Clean was re-launched as a month-long campaign in April 2007 after a six year break and has grown from year to year. Now, due to popular demand, the participation dates have been to include litter picks taking place over a two month period: 1st April – 31st May 2012, to make it more accessible to a wider number of participants.
Many groups take part in voluntary clean ups or litter picks throughout the year but National Spring Clean enables them to unite in a common cause and make a concerted effort to clean up the whole of Scotland as part of a bigger, coordinated campaign. To help groups get started KSB provides group organisers with a free Clean Up Kit to help them get started and they can request additional assistance from their local council.
Since 2007, thousands of public gardens, school grounds, woodlands, nature reserves, river banks, loch-sides, beaches, coastal paths, country parks, villages, city centres and road verges, have all benefited from a real spring clean – just in time for the summer.
Timeline
National Spring Clean 2007
- In 2007 more than 11,500 volunteers took part in 273 clean up events as part of National Spring Clean during the month of April.
- The average quantity of litter collected per person was one and a half black bags each – that is enough, if tipped out, to cover the grass of Hamden Stadium with at least half a metre of litter.
National Spring Clean 2008
- In 2008 more than 366 clean up events were registered with Keep Scotland Beautiful, with 20,503 volunteers taking part during the month of April.
- Enough black sacks of litter to line the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, from the castle esplanade to the Scottish Parliament, 12 times over, were collected as part of National Spring Clean 2008 across Scotland.
National Spring Clean 2009
- In 2009 more than 57,639 volunteers took part in 1,082 clean up events as part of National Spring Clean during the month of April.
- The average quantity of litter collected per person across Scotland was one and a half black bags – that is enough to fill 28,819 standard wheelie bins.
National Spring Clean 2010
- In 2010, 83,668 volunteers took action to spring clean their neighbourhoods, at 1,406 clean up events. That is more than seven times as many participants as in 2007: 1.6% of the Scottish population.
- Between them, they collected enough litter to line full bin bags end to end from Edinburgh to Ayr – or to fill 42,000 standard domestic wheelie bins.
National Spring Clean 2011
- Almost 100,000 volunteers came out to participate in 1,538 clean up events across Scotland.
- Between them, they cleared enough litter to fill almost 150,000 street litter bins.
Bike Week (16-24 June 2012) is an annual opportunity to promote cycling, and show how cycling can easily be part of everyday life by encouraging ‘everyday cycling for everyone’. Demonstrating the social, health and environmental benefits of cycling, the week aims to get people to give cycling a go all over the UK, whether this be for fun, as a means of getting around to the local shops, school, the library or just to visit friends.
As the biggest nationwide cycling event in the UK, Bike Week encourage over half a million people to join in events, rethink their everyday journeys and switch to cycling as the most convenient way to get around.
Event Organisers
Become an organiser and take advantage of free support and advice to help you make your event a success, and be part of a nationwide event. Registration for Bike Week 2012 is now open. Register here.
The World Education Games is the exciting event for ALL schools and students around the world. It runs from 6-8 March, involving 5.5million students from over 200 countries and territories.
Practice opens on 1 February. This is the global challenge to get ALL students (4-18 years of age) excited about learning, and to give the top students in each school an opportunity to see how they measure up against the best.
The format is:
1 February – The Games open for Practice
6 March – World Spelling Day
7 March – World Maths Day
8 March – World Science Day
23 March – Award Presentations at School Assemblies
Click on the pictures to download these handy resources.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The World Education Games is the exciting event for ALL schools and students around the world. It runs from 6-8 March, involving 5.5million students from over 200 countries and territories.
Practice opens on 1 February. This is the global challenge to get ALL students (4-18 years of age) excited about learning, and to give the top students in each school an opportunity to see how they measure up against the best.
The format is:
1 February – The Games open for Practice
6 March – World Spelling Day
7 March – World Maths Day
8 March – World Science Day
23 March – Award Presentations at School Assemblies
Click on the pictures to download these handy resources.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe.
To mark the day, school children are entitled to receive a World Book Day £1 Book
Token which can be exchanged for one of eight specially published World Book Day £1 Books, or is redeemable against any book or audio book of their choice costing £2.99 or more at a participating bookshop or book club. The World Book Day £1 Book Token will be valid from 27th February to 25th March 2012.
The full list of World Book Day £1 books for 2012 is:
* The What the Ladybird Heard Song, Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks (Macmillan)
* Winnie Flies Again, Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul (Oxford University Press)
* Where’s Wally Now?, Martin Handford (Walker Books)
* Magic Molly: The Clever Little Kitten, Holly Webb (Scholastic)
* Roald Dahl’s Fantabulous Facts, Roald Dahl (Puffin)
* How to Train Your Dragon: The Day of the Dreader, Cressida Cowell (Hodder Children’s Books)
* Big Day Out, Jacqueline Wilson, Illustrated by Nick Sharratt (Random House)
* Skulduggery Pleasant: The End of the World, Derek Landy (HarperCollins)
The World Book Day site has lots of Cool Stuff & Games featuring some favourite characters and competitions too.
