Bridget’s Blog: Sustainability in the sector

A few months ago, one of the team attended a discussion day about climate and the curriculum. They reported back that one of the leaders of the day was surprised to have someone representing the music curriculum in attendance. The inference was that combining music and the topic of climate change was not really possible.   

Of course, they weren’t to know that they were saying this to the founder of a campaign on that very topic!  

If I’m honest though, I was a little nervous when we prepared to launch This Is Not A Rehearsal. I guess I was also wondering how we would link the climate crisis to our work as a membership and subject association for music education. But it quickly became clear that we had lots to say, share and do, as did our membership! 

I’m hoping that This Is Not A Rehearsal has inspired everyone to think about the connection with what we do and its impact on the environment. Not only resulting in further consideration around how we reduce our carbon footprint, but also how we can support others to think about this topic, and in particular to support young people, who we know want us to hear their concerns.  

One of the many elements of the work we have undertaken as part of the campaign was to commission some research from University College London (UCL). The final report was slightly delayed, but we are delighted to have been able to publish it last week. It provides some real food for thought, and there are useful recommendations for Music Mark to consider as next steps, and next steps for our members and the wider sector too.   

Many of the recommendations outlined in the report are linked to the development of ‘practical resources such as toolkits, training programmes and policy templates’, and these are things we are looking at developing. However, there is also a real emphasis on youth involvement – of ‘young people shaping policy and leading creative projects.’   

That ‘leading creative projects’ is why the climate conference organiser shouldn’t have been surprised to meet a representative from the music curriculum. Indeed, many of the findings in the UCL report and the examples of good practice given highlight the ‘Creative, environmentally-themed teaching and learning activities…’ stating that they ‘were the most common form of sustainability engagement in evidence… Concerts, composition projects and the use of recycled instruments’. 

The report is incredibly inspiring, and I’m hopeful it will have a real impact on music education management and practice. Watch this space for some of those toolkits, training programmes and policy templates (although we have some available of each already!), but why not dip into the report and read a few of the case studies provided throughout? 

Don’t forget to visit the This Is Not A Rehearsal webpage to explore more news, training & events, resources and research to support you on your sustainability journey. If you’d like to stay up to date with training and resources related to the climate crisis within the music education sector, click here to sign up for our ‘This Is Not A Rehearsal’ monthly newsletter.