Doccy B 🌿🌿🐝🌿🦔🌿
@merylbatchelder.bsky.social
Enthusiastic communicator for climate, nature & sustainability education
Former science teacher
Education Lead for TerraLigo
Coordinator for the Ministry of Eco Education
#ClimateAmbassador #STEM
Alter ego of Melody Bird
I grow stuff in my free time 🌱
Former science teacher
Education Lead for TerraLigo
Coordinator for the Ministry of Eco Education
#ClimateAmbassador #STEM
Alter ego of Melody Bird
I grow stuff in my free time 🌱
Pinned
An ‘inadequate’ national curriculum has driven me to quit the classroom
Meryl Batchelder writes about why, after 14 years teaching, she will be one of thousands of teachers leaving the classroom this July
northeastbylines.co.uk
I recently left teaching as the curriculum is failing to prepare young people for the future on our rapidly changing planet. I now work for @ministryofeco.bsky.social to support teachers to embed sustainability across subjects & key stages.
I explain more here👇🏽
northeastbylines.co.uk/news/environ...
I explain more here👇🏽
northeastbylines.co.uk/news/environ...
After decades of underfunding of the EA thank goodness we have @watershed-i.bsky.social raising the alarm of the state of the water systems in the UK. The reality may be grim but we can't fix a broken system if we don't know the scale of the problem.
8,000 illegal waste sites
13 million tons of rubbish
No controls on waste dumped sometimes near rivers + in floodplains
Burning of waste
Little or no policing
How criminal dumping of waste became the 'new narcotics'
Our latest article, out now:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
13 million tons of rubbish
No controls on waste dumped sometimes near rivers + in floodplains
Burning of waste
Little or no policing
How criminal dumping of waste became the 'new narcotics'
Our latest article, out now:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
At least 8,000 illegal waste sites in UK, research suggests
Exclusive: Concerns over impact on health and environment, as well as £1.63bn in avoided landfill tax
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:04 AM
After decades of underfunding of the EA thank goodness we have @watershed-i.bsky.social raising the alarm of the state of the water systems in the UK. The reality may be grim but we can't fix a broken system if we don't know the scale of the problem.
Education can't readily fix the lack of rain, for that we'd need to reverse climate change. However, we can teach young people how:
💧 to respect water reserves.
🚿 to conserve water.
🌊 to stay safe in floods
💦 waste water can be used.
🥬 hidden water is used in food & manufacturing.
💧 water is vital.
💧 to respect water reserves.
🚿 to conserve water.
🌊 to stay safe in floods
💦 waste water can be used.
🥬 hidden water is used in food & manufacturing.
💧 water is vital.
Water reserves drying up in face of climate change.
Our latest article, out now:
share.google/0eyMBdzbmWkA...
🧵
1/6
Our latest article, out now:
share.google/0eyMBdzbmWkA...
🧵
1/6
Revealed: Europe’s water reserves drying up due to climate breakdown
Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications
share.google
November 29, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Education can't readily fix the lack of rain, for that we'd need to reverse climate change. However, we can teach young people how:
💧 to respect water reserves.
🚿 to conserve water.
🌊 to stay safe in floods
💦 waste water can be used.
🥬 hidden water is used in food & manufacturing.
💧 water is vital.
💧 to respect water reserves.
🚿 to conserve water.
🌊 to stay safe in floods
💦 waste water can be used.
🥬 hidden water is used in food & manufacturing.
💧 water is vital.
This made me laugh out loud 4 times, and the same again on rewatch. #HopeIsHere with @zackpolanski.bsky.social and I sincerely hope he is our next PM, if not he can defo try stand-up comedy as an alternative career. The @greenparty.org.uk is getting a donation from me for Christmas 🎄
Hope is here.
Help us beat Reform in May. Donate today ⤵️
Help us beat Reform in May. Donate today ⤵️
November 28, 2025 at 8:22 AM
This made me laugh out loud 4 times, and the same again on rewatch. #HopeIsHere with @zackpolanski.bsky.social and I sincerely hope he is our next PM, if not he can defo try stand-up comedy as an alternative career. The @greenparty.org.uk is getting a donation from me for Christmas 🎄
It's all about clear communication.
Thank you @nebriefing.bsky.social🙏🏽
Thank you @nebriefing.bsky.social🙏🏽
November 27, 2025 at 9:53 PM
It's all about clear communication.
Thank you @nebriefing.bsky.social🙏🏽
Thank you @nebriefing.bsky.social🙏🏽
I'm thrilled to be presenting a live session for the #STEM #NetZero online event on 3rd December asking "Can Nature Inspire Technology?" based on the @ministryofeco.bsky.social question is "Nature the Answer?" I'll be encouraging children to use creative thinking around biomimicry.
ow.ly/SSMf50XwL32
ow.ly/SSMf50XwL32
STEM Net Zero 2025: Online Event
On the 3rd December, we are inviting UK schools to attend an online STEM Net Zero event, to learn more about the national Net Zero sector!
ow.ly
November 25, 2025 at 10:46 PM
I'm thrilled to be presenting a live session for the #STEM #NetZero online event on 3rd December asking "Can Nature Inspire Technology?" based on the @ministryofeco.bsky.social question is "Nature the Answer?" I'll be encouraging children to use creative thinking around biomimicry.
ow.ly/SSMf50XwL32
ow.ly/SSMf50XwL32
It's #NationalTreeWeek. To celebrate, we extended our apple orchard. The heritage varieties going in the ground this weekend are Allan's Everlasting, Pitmaston Pineapple, Worcester Pearmain, Tydeman's Late Orange and Laxton's Superb. 1/2 🍎
November 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM
It's #NationalTreeWeek. To celebrate, we extended our apple orchard. The heritage varieties going in the ground this weekend are Allan's Everlasting, Pitmaston Pineapple, Worcester Pearmain, Tydeman's Late Orange and Laxton's Superb. 1/2 🍎
Whose job is it to develop knowledge based on evidence? Teachers, that would be you 🫵🏽
Get the climate facts and great resources using bonefide sources such as the Royal Meteorological Society (www.metlink.org/teaching-resources) or contact @climateambassadors.bsky.social to help you #TeachTheTruth.
Get the climate facts and great resources using bonefide sources such as the Royal Meteorological Society (www.metlink.org/teaching-resources) or contact @climateambassadors.bsky.social to help you #TeachTheTruth.
November 16, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Whose job is it to develop knowledge based on evidence? Teachers, that would be you 🫵🏽
Get the climate facts and great resources using bonefide sources such as the Royal Meteorological Society (www.metlink.org/teaching-resources) or contact @climateambassadors.bsky.social to help you #TeachTheTruth.
Get the climate facts and great resources using bonefide sources such as the Royal Meteorological Society (www.metlink.org/teaching-resources) or contact @climateambassadors.bsky.social to help you #TeachTheTruth.
Doesn't everyone want to be a member of a political party whose leader tries to welcome them personally when they join?
@zackpolanski.bsky.social 💚
@zackpolanski.bsky.social 💚
November 15, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Doesn't everyone want to be a member of a political party whose leader tries to welcome them personally when they join?
@zackpolanski.bsky.social 💚
@zackpolanski.bsky.social 💚
Reposted by Doccy B 🌿🌿🐝🌿🦔🌿
“What happened here is crazy,” said Cristina Santin, a biologist from northwestern Spain who studies fire impacts. “Suddenly you get up one day and your home region is burning on a scale that is completely unprecedented.”
#Spain 🇪🇸
#ClimateEmergency
www.reuters.com/investigates...
#Spain 🇪🇸
#ClimateEmergency
www.reuters.com/investigates...
November 15, 2025 at 5:25 PM
“What happened here is crazy,” said Cristina Santin, a biologist from northwestern Spain who studies fire impacts. “Suddenly you get up one day and your home region is burning on a scale that is completely unprecedented.”
#Spain 🇪🇸
#ClimateEmergency
www.reuters.com/investigates...
#Spain 🇪🇸
#ClimateEmergency
www.reuters.com/investigates...
We are dismally failing young people. The green jobs employment gap is the shortage of workers with the necessary skills to fill new jobs created by the transition to a sustainable economy.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Half of all UK jobs shed since Labour came to power are among under-25s
Exclusive: David Blunkett warns Keir Starmer Britain’s youth are in danger of becoming ‘lost generation’ on his watch
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:09 PM
We are dismally failing young people. The green jobs employment gap is the shortage of workers with the necessary skills to fill new jobs created by the transition to a sustainable economy.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Have you written to your MP yet about the national emergency briefing on climate and nature?
I received a long but somehow noncommittal response from mine 🙄
I received a long but somehow noncommittal response from mine 🙄
I’ve just announced I’ll be leading a National Emergency Briefing on 27 November . At a time when climate is in free fall on the political agenda , it’s vital our leaders realise what is at stake if we do not accelerate a just , green transition for all .
@nebriefing.bsky.social 🇬🇧
@nebriefing.bsky.social 🇬🇧
November 14, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Have you written to your MP yet about the national emergency briefing on climate and nature?
I received a long but somehow noncommittal response from mine 🙄
I received a long but somehow noncommittal response from mine 🙄
DfE might need to do another review as the geography curriculum will be moving to the history curriculum in the near future 🤷🏽♀️
Once upon a time in the Arctic, a long long time ago, there was this magical substance called ice ...
November 10, 2025 at 9:21 PM
DfE might need to do another review as the geography curriculum will be moving to the history curriculum in the near future 🤷🏽♀️
Reposted by Doccy B 🌿🌿🐝🌿🦔🌿
I'm done with fossil fools. I'm also done with an out-of-date national curriculum for England. Time for change.
Tick tock 🔥🌍⏰
Tick tock 🔥🌍⏰
November 4, 2025 at 9:15 PM
I'm done with fossil fools. I'm also done with an out-of-date national curriculum for England. Time for change.
Tick tock 🔥🌍⏰
Tick tock 🔥🌍⏰
Want to let DfE, the Education Select Committee & Ofsted know that we need more #ClimateInEducation? In response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by @beckyfrancis.bsky.social, a cross-sector working group is calling for a long-term, ethically grounded approach to curriculum renewal 🧵
November 3, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Want to let DfE, the Education Select Committee & Ofsted know that we need more #ClimateInEducation? In response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by @beckyfrancis.bsky.social, a cross-sector working group is calling for a long-term, ethically grounded approach to curriculum renewal 🧵
Great ideas for teachers to introduce different aspects and coverage of the #ClimateCrisis to students 👇🏽
I've finally got around to curating a selection of films about the #climate crisis 🎥
There's lot of mediocre climate films out there, but for me these stand out head & shoulders above the rest 🎞️
They make excellent resources for classrooms, lecture halls, or community cinema's 🎬
Thread:🧵Plz RT
There's lot of mediocre climate films out there, but for me these stand out head & shoulders above the rest 🎞️
They make excellent resources for classrooms, lecture halls, or community cinema's 🎬
Thread:🧵Plz RT
November 1, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Great ideas for teachers to introduce different aspects and coverage of the #ClimateCrisis to students 👇🏽
Putting profit over people or planet should be illegal. It's not. So, I've now started doing workshops with young people on "Who's got the Power?". Individual action is required, but widespread collective action is essential for systems to change. Together we're stronger & there's much work to do 💪🏽
Remember, the people profiting most from doing this to our world are building bunkers.
October 27, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Putting profit over people or planet should be illegal. It's not. So, I've now started doing workshops with young people on "Who's got the Power?". Individual action is required, but widespread collective action is essential for systems to change. Together we're stronger & there's much work to do 💪🏽
Just heard the haunting cries of a Tawny Owl. They're rare with an amber conservation status according to @rspb.bsky.social. Feeling incredibly blessed to live somewhere where nature is still surviving... we have so much work to do to make sure it returns to thriving.
www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wi...
www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wi...
October 22, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Just heard the haunting cries of a Tawny Owl. They're rare with an amber conservation status according to @rspb.bsky.social. Feeling incredibly blessed to live somewhere where nature is still surviving... we have so much work to do to make sure it returns to thriving.
www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wi...
www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wi...
My political life 🙈
1987 🗳️🟥
1992 🗳️🟥
1997 🗳️🟥
2001 🗳️🟥
2005 🗳️🟥
2010 🗳️🟨
Joined Labour Party
2015 🗳️🟥
2017 🗳️🟥
Left Labour Party
Joined Greens
2019 🗳️🟥
Left Greens
2024 🗳️🟥
2025 Re-joined Greens because @zackpolanski.bsky.social brings humanity back into politics. I think I've found my forever home 💚🙏🏼
1987 🗳️🟥
1992 🗳️🟥
1997 🗳️🟥
2001 🗳️🟥
2005 🗳️🟥
2010 🗳️🟨
Joined Labour Party
2015 🗳️🟥
2017 🗳️🟥
Left Labour Party
Joined Greens
2019 🗳️🟥
Left Greens
2024 🗳️🟥
2025 Re-joined Greens because @zackpolanski.bsky.social brings humanity back into politics. I think I've found my forever home 💚🙏🏼
October 22, 2025 at 2:44 PM
My political life 🙈
1987 🗳️🟥
1992 🗳️🟥
1997 🗳️🟥
2001 🗳️🟥
2005 🗳️🟥
2010 🗳️🟨
Joined Labour Party
2015 🗳️🟥
2017 🗳️🟥
Left Labour Party
Joined Greens
2019 🗳️🟥
Left Greens
2024 🗳️🟥
2025 Re-joined Greens because @zackpolanski.bsky.social brings humanity back into politics. I think I've found my forever home 💚🙏🏼
1987 🗳️🟥
1992 🗳️🟥
1997 🗳️🟥
2001 🗳️🟥
2005 🗳️🟥
2010 🗳️🟨
Joined Labour Party
2015 🗳️🟥
2017 🗳️🟥
Left Labour Party
Joined Greens
2019 🗳️🟥
Left Greens
2024 🗳️🟥
2025 Re-joined Greens because @zackpolanski.bsky.social brings humanity back into politics. I think I've found my forever home 💚🙏🏼
In the #ClimateCrisis placed-based learning becomes even more critical as climate impacts will affect regions and landscapes in different ways. I loved talking to Beth Garrett for this edition of Ask an Expert for @ministryofeco.bsky.social 👇🏼
The Morecombe Bay Curriculum is a great example of curriculum innovation with a focus on place based learning and sustainability
We interviewed Dr Bethan Garrett @lancasteruni.bsky.social to explore more
Inspired by the @edenproject.bsky.social
youtu.be/TPQFGS0coRo
We interviewed Dr Bethan Garrett @lancasteruni.bsky.social to explore more
Inspired by the @edenproject.bsky.social
youtu.be/TPQFGS0coRo
Dr Bethan Garrett - Morecombe Bay Curriculum - Ask an Expert
YouTube video by Ministry of Eco Education | sustainable schools
youtu.be
October 21, 2025 at 4:51 PM
In the #ClimateCrisis placed-based learning becomes even more critical as climate impacts will affect regions and landscapes in different ways. I loved talking to Beth Garrett for this edition of Ask an Expert for @ministryofeco.bsky.social 👇🏼
One of our @ministryofeco.bsky.social BIG questions is "Should #Ecocide be the law?" for KS3 English. Students to examine ecocide and the human-nature relationship through the context of language, literature and the emotional context using the ‘power of words’.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
Should we treat environmental crime more like murder?
Serial killers and violent criminals dominate the headlines. What if we covered ecocide and pollution in the same way?
www.theguardian.com
October 19, 2025 at 4:27 PM
One of our @ministryofeco.bsky.social BIG questions is "Should #Ecocide be the law?" for KS3 English. Students to examine ecocide and the human-nature relationship through the context of language, literature and the emotional context using the ‘power of words’.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
If there is no monitoring to provide evidence then nothing bad is happening, right 🤔
Why is the EA overlooking “a giant chunk of toxic material” linked to harm to sexual function, fertility + child development when investigating forever chemicals pollution near a chemical plant in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire?
Our new article, out now:
share.google/vSRfIoHkjM3p...
Our new article, out now:
share.google/vSRfIoHkjM3p...
Regulators overlooking toxic Pfas found around Lancashire chemicals plant
Exclusive: Environment Agency not testing for ‘forever chemical’ made by factory despite evidence of emissions
share.google
October 19, 2025 at 8:02 AM
If there is no monitoring to provide evidence then nothing bad is happening, right 🤔
Not all apples are created equal.
🍏 On the left is fruit from the only known tree of Chollerton Lady, grown true rather than grafted with cooking apples of ~500g.
🍎 On the right are standard-sized Dabinets, great for juicing & cider.
They're both apples, they are just different. Which is fine.
🍏 On the left is fruit from the only known tree of Chollerton Lady, grown true rather than grafted with cooking apples of ~500g.
🍎 On the right are standard-sized Dabinets, great for juicing & cider.
They're both apples, they are just different. Which is fine.
October 18, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Not all apples are created equal.
🍏 On the left is fruit from the only known tree of Chollerton Lady, grown true rather than grafted with cooking apples of ~500g.
🍎 On the right are standard-sized Dabinets, great for juicing & cider.
They're both apples, they are just different. Which is fine.
🍏 On the left is fruit from the only known tree of Chollerton Lady, grown true rather than grafted with cooking apples of ~500g.
🍎 On the right are standard-sized Dabinets, great for juicing & cider.
They're both apples, they are just different. Which is fine.