How You Can Save the Planet

Overall Verdict: ★ ★ ★ ★

Why this book?
This book was kindly sent to me by the author Hendrikus Van Hensbergen- founder of Action For Conversation. As you can see from the image, it’s been lovingly enjoyed and referred back to multiple times already- evident from the dog-eared appearance!

Action For Conversation is a charity that I first became aware of a few years ago when we took part in their WildED programme for KS3 students. A few years later we’ve been lucky enough to run this programme multiple times, hugely benefitting from the expertise of the team and even sending one of our students off to their free summer camp! If you haven’t come across their work before, do take a look here.

Reading this book, it immediately struck me how engaging, inspiring and accessible it is, perfect for a teenage audience (or upper primary). When next asked to suggest a prize for Key Stage 3 students, this will go to the top of the list!

For students:
The book is divided into seven chapters. The first six cover a different element of environmental action (e.g. Nature, Clean Air and Food) before Chapter 7 explores tips and tricks for making a difference. Actions that students can take are broken down into tangible steps with equipment lists and safety considerations helpfully provided.

The 34 actions included in the book will not fail to inspire, particularly because the impact of each is given at the end which helps to show how seemingly small acts add up to make a significant difference!

For teachers:
A particular highlight of this book is the inspiring stories of young heroes dispersed throughout. Each chapter starts with a short story from a young person about what they’ve done, how they became inspired and the impact they’ve had. Importantly, the writers of these short pieces came across as down to earth and relatable meaning that everyone will feel empowered to take action and play their part.

The stories could make an excellent resource in the classroom. Combined with the speeches of Greta Thunberg, there is definitely scope to use these extracts for something around the concepts of scale and interdependence, linked to climate change and climate action.