Today (22nd April 2025) is international Earth Day 2025, a day which helps to educate, inform and support greener practices throughout the globe. As some education teams in the UK return to school today, we thought we would share some information and the free Education tool kit from the team at Earth Day.
Download the free guide for teachers here: Earth Day 2025 Official Teacher guide
Education can help alleviate climate anxiety* for your pupils and students, enhancing understanding, aiding the development of critical thinking and encouraging pro-environmental behaviours. With the focus this year on renewable energy, there are plenty of opportunities to introduce activities, lessons and practical experiments.
Here are some tips for setting up your lesson plans:
- Start with the “Why”: Connect renewable energy to the broader context of climate change, environmental protection, and energy security to make it relevant.
- Use Visual Aids: Incorporate diagrams, videos, and infographics to help students visualize complex concepts.
- Make it Local: Explore renewable energy initiatives in your local area to make the topic more tangible.
- Invite Guest Speakers: If possible, invite professionals working in the renewable energy sector to share their experiences.
- Encourage Questions and Discussion: Create a classroom environment where students feel comfortable asking questions and sharing their ideas.
- Connect to Other Subjects: Integrate renewable energy concepts into science, geography, social studies, and even math lessons.
- Tailor content for individual classes: Ensure that content and delivery suits the class you are teaching.
The renewable energy sector is experiencing rapid growth, but faces challenges which need to be addressed for a successful transition to a sustainable energy system, discussing these challenges within your lessons is a great way to get them thinking of how we can overcome and move forward to renewables in the future as a society. Teaching and discussing renewable energy and sustainability will have a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of the pupils and students in your setting. It fosters hope, connection, purpose, and a greater appreciation for the environment, all of which are beneficial for mental health.
Hear from Earth Day 2025:
“Earth Day’s 2025 theme is OUR POWER, OUR PLANET, calling for everyone to unite around renewable energy so we can triple clean electricity by 2030.
How can you help? Join us for Earth Action Day by educating, advocating, and mobilizing your communities. Create or find an Earth Action event on our map, and get out the word on social media. Below you’ll find resources (organizing tools, quizzes and more) to help you take action this Earth Day, April 22nd, and every day.”
Visit the resources page via this link to access the Earth Day 2025 Toolkits:
References:
Hoppe, Brendalynn O., et al. ““It’s Hard to Give Hope Sometimes”: Climate Change, Mental Health, and the Challenges for Mental Health Professionals.” Ecopsychology 15.1 (2023): 13-25.
Crandon, Tara J., et al. “The clinical implications of climate change for mental health.” Nature Human Behaviour 6.11 (2022): 1474-1481.
Gray, Christina, Gabrielle Wilcox, and David Nordstokke. “Teacher mental health, school climate, inclusive education and student learning: A review.” Canadian Psychology/psychologie canadienne 58.3 (2017): 203.
Seritan, Andreea L., John Coverdale, and Adam M. Brenner. “Climate change and mental health curricula: addressing barriers to teaching.” Academic Psychiatry 46.5 (2022): 551-555.
Ellabban, Omar, Haitham Abu-Rub, and Frede Blaabjerg. “Renewable energy resources: Current status, future prospects and their enabling technology.” Renewable and sustainable energy reviews 39 (2014): 748-764.
Balakrishnan, P., et al. “Current status and future prospects of renewable energy: A case study.” Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects 42.21 (2020): 2698-2703.
*Categorised as a state of heightened anxiousness, climate anxiety is often described with terms like guilt, grief, and desperation as an overwhelming sense of doom about the state of the environment arises. (Earth Day 2025)