World Environment Day
The UN day with a different theme every year - and a class that can see it.
- Dates
- 5 June
- Key stages
- EYFS - KS2
- Session length
- 45 - 60 minutes
- Formats
- Up to 6 sessions a day
About this date
World Environment Day is the United Nations day for environmental action, held on 5 June since 1973. Unlike Earth Day in April, it carries a different official theme each year - plastic pollution, air quality, land restoration - set by the UN and hosted by a different country.
That yearly theme is what makes it useful to a school: it gives the summer term a specific environmental question to answer, rather than a general one. We build the session around whichever theme has been announced.
What pupils will learn
The science they take away
A date on the calendar is the hook. These are the curriculum outcomes the day is built to deliver.
- 01Pupils examine one environmental problem closely rather than covering several at a distance, which is what the day's annual theme is designed to do.
- 02Classes compare an ecosystem under pressure with their own school grounds, and describe what is different and why.
- 03Pupils use the language of environmental science - habitat, biodiversity, pollution, sustainability - about something they have just watched happen.
- 04Each class agrees actions their school could realistically take before the end of the summer term, while there is still time to do them.
What's included
One price, nothing to arrange
Everything below is part of a standard booking. Your school provides a large indoor space, a parking space to unload and a member of staff in each session.
- A DBS-checked facilitator on site for the whole day, from set-up before school to pack-down.
- A fully networked class set of VR headsets running our own environmental content, with cleaning kit used between classes.
- Risk assessment, public liability insurance certificate and DBS details sent to your office on booking.
- Follow-up activities and an action-planning sheet your eco committee can keep working from - useful evidence towards an eco award.
Workshops for this date
What we can run on the day
Pick one for the whole school, or run two alongside each other in separate spaces.
Key dates
When it falls, when to book
World Environment Day is always 5 June. It lands in the summer term, which is the quietest part of our calendar, so it is one of the easier days to secure at shorter notice than the spring events.
Questions schools ask
Before you book
How is this different from an Earth Day booking?
Earth Day in April is the broad environmental day and suits a school setting up an eco committee or launching a topic. World Environment Day carries a specific UN theme each year, so the session focuses on one question in depth - and it falls in the summer term, when your eco group has already been running for months.
How far ahead should we book?
Four to six weeks is often enough. The summer term is the quietest part of our year, so early-June dates are usually available at shorter notice than March.
Can it cover the whole school?
Yes - typically six sessions in a day, covering Reception to Year 6 in a one-form-entry school, with the environmental message pitched to each age group.
What if our hall is booked for sports day practice?
Common in June. Send us the hall diary when you enquire and we will fit the sessions into the slots you have, or set up in another large indoor space.