Recommendation 71

To increase education on biodiversity we: a) Support the establishment of a Natural History GCSE; b) Recommend the Department for Education re-evaluate the opportunities for nature visits and teaching outside, as part of its support to schools recovering from the education impacts of covid-19; c) Recommend the Department for Education and Defra work together to get school children involved in the Government’s afforestation project; d) Recommend Government emphasise its leadership in increasing knowledge and recognition of the importance and value of nature by requiring every Permanent Secretary across Government and every civil servant and Minister in the HM Treasury to undertake a basic ecology briefing as part of mandatory induction; e) Recommend the Government explore setting up a biodiversity education charter to increase knowledge of biodiversity risk within the finance sector. (Paragraph 342) Appendices Frog peeking out of watering can. Photo: Tony Bond 128 Biodiversity in the UK: bloom or bust?