Climate change digital education resource launched by Sir Ben Ainslie's Great Britain SailGP Team
by GBR SailGP Team 8 Jun 2021 11:47 BST
8 June 2021
As the #RaceForTheFuture Purpose Partner of the Great Britain SailGP Team, the STEM Crew logo is visible on the wing of the Great Britain SailGP F50 throughout Season 2 of SailGP © Thomas Lovelock for SailGP
A recent study by Teach the Future found that 7 out of 10 teachers want to teach climate change, but do not have the necessary lessons plans that fit within the curriculum.
- STEM Crew, the #RaceForTheFuture Purpose Partner of the Great Britain SailGP Team, is a schools digital education hub that applies the science behind high performance sport to deliver free world-class STEM education resources.
- First environmental science resource delivered on World Oceans Day focusses on ocean acidification and the role our oceans play in carbon capture.
- 70% of teachers want to teach climate change but do not have the lesson plans that fit the curriculum.
- STEM Crew is currently taught by teachers in nearly 50% of UK secondary schools.
This alarming stat led the Great Britain SailGP Team, led by Olympic gold medallist and America's Cup winner Ben Ainslie, to offer a solution.
STEM Crew, which recently partnered with the Great Britain SailGP Team, is a free to school's education platform, used and taught by teachers in nearly 50% of UK secondary schools. The aim being to level the education playing field globally, inspiring the innovators and problem solvers of the future into STEM careers, through sport.
Created as part of SailGP's Race for the Future commitment to champion a world powered by nature, the Great Britain SailGP Team and STEM Crew have today launched the first in a series of free education resources designed to educate young people on STEM subjects through the lens of climate change.
Download the first STEM Crew and Great Britain SailGP education resource here now
This first environmental science STEM Crew resource launched on World Oceans Day in collaboration with Plymouth-based charity the Ocean Conservation Trust (OCT), ahead of the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix taking place in Plymouth on 17-18 July, focusses on ocean acidification and the important role our oceans and plants like seagrass play in tackling climate change by capturing carbon dioxide alongside the world's rainforests.
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To mark the launch of the educational resource, a live lesson will be held at the Sir John Hunt Community Sports College in Plymouth on World Oceans Day, the first time the brand-new resource will be used in action. Paul Goodison, Olympic gold medallist and interim driver of the Great Britain SailGP Team will dial into the lesson via video conferencing from his home in Italy and engage in a live Q&A with the Plymouth children.
Speaking about the need to provide young people with the facts on climate change Great Britain SailGP Team CEO Ben Ainslie said:
"SailGP's ambition is to be the world's most sustainable and purpose-driven global sports and entertainment platform, which in turn will inspire the future generations who will help solve the complex problems the world is facing today, particularly with regards to the environment.
"Sport and education combined are a powerful force. We believe these free digital education STEM Crew resources, focussed around environmental science, will help begin to level the global education playing field and inspire young people to help solve the problems we as a global community are facing."
Ben Cartledge, CEO of the 1851 Trust, the charity which delivers the STEM Crew programme added:
"STEM skills are increasingly important as societies look to innovate and tackle the huge existential issues like climate change and as nations strive to realise the UN's sustainable development goals in a post-COVID world. We are delighted to have partnered with the Ben Ainslie and his Great Britain SailGP Team to produce the first in a series of environmental science resources."
Alongside these environmental resources, the Great Britain SailGP Team, STEM Crew and the Plymouth County Council are planning a series of STEM inspired events in the week leading up to the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix on 17-18 July in Plymouth, Britain's Ocean City. Further details on these activities, and how the public can get involved, will be shared in due course.
The Great Britain Sail Grand Prix takes place in Plymouth on 17 - 18 July. A limited number of tickets are still available at SailGP.com/GreatBritain. Additional tickets will be released in line with the Government Covid updates.