“Earth School” launched to keep students connected to nature in the time of COVID-19

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, UNEP launched a coalition with TED-Ed and others called “Earth School,” for providing free, educational content for students, parents and teachers who are currently at home

Initiated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and TED-Ed, Earth School takes students on a 30-day “Adventure” through the natural world.

The curated Earth School content features videos, reading materials and activities — which will be translated into 10 languages — to help students gain an understanding of the environment while considering their role within it. This is the biggest online learning initiative in UNEP’s history and is available for free on TED-Ed’s website.

According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), more than 1.5 billion learners are affected by COVID-19 school closures.

The pandemic has caused a health, economic, and education crisis; in the age of physical and social constraints, there is a strong need for global science literacy.

That is why UNEP and TED-Ed — in coordination with 30 collaborators, including National Geographic, WWF and UNESCO — came together to launch Earth School in just over two weeks. Built for children and youth ages 5-18, it spans 30 school days that run between Earth Day and World Environment Day on June 5, which this year will take place under the banner of Time for Nature.

TED-Ed creates free, video-based lessons on everything from animals and climate change to underwater farms. It is the educational arm of TED, whose library of thousands of interactive lessons — built by a network of 500,000 educators from across the world — spans all ages and subjects.

Each Adventure has been selected by a panel of expert practitioners and caters to different age groups. Each consists of a hands-on experiment and nature discovery. In addition to TED-Ed’s own content, Earth School will feature videos from notable media organizations including National Geographic, PBS LearningMedia and the BBC with the goal of empowering participating students to be caretakers of our planet.

“Billions of children are currently out of school because of COVID-19. But learning cannot stop. COVID-19 has revealed how deeply interconnected all life on this planet is,” said UNEP’s Executive Director, Inger Andersen. “I am delighted that UNEP, along with TED-Ed and other collaborators, are launching Earth School. Learning about the natural world will be critical to building a better and sustainable future for all.”

These unprecedented times highlight just how important it is for young people to connect with the natural world and understand science

Vicki Phillips, executive vice president and chief education officer at the National Geographic Society

The lessons were curated by a team of environmental education experts including Kathleen Usher Ph.D, Jessie Oliver and Juliane Voss, who worked with over 100 contributors in creating Earth School.

The initiative is in support of SDG 4.7 and the Decade of Delivery and will contribute towards the Global Education Coalition launched by UNESCO last month to convene governments, technology partners and leaders in the education field to keep pupils learning.

As part of this coalition, UNEP will be exploring how this content can be adapted and shared with children who aren’t able to access the Internet.