Charity Spotlight: Professor Sylvia Knight, Head of Education at the Royal Meteorological Society

Understanding our climate has never been more important than it is right now. One organisation instrumental in addressing this challenge is the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS), a charity with a 170-year history in strengthening the science and raising awareness of the importance of weather and the climate.

 

In this interview, we talk to Professor Sylvia Knight, Head of Education at the Royal Meteorological Society, to learn about the meaning behind her climate literacy work, the online platform the charity has developed to support climate education in schools, and key resources for charity professionals to build their climate literacy.

 

We also gain insight on how the charity uses digital throughout its activities, with Microsoft 365 from the Charity Digital Exchange helping the RMetS team to effectively deliver its charitable aims.

 

 

Charity Digital (CD): Why is climate awareness and literacy so important right now? 

 

Sylvia Knight (SK): Climate awareness and literacy are crucial right now because the Earth’s climate is changing at an unprecedented rate due to human activity. This is leading to more frequent and extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heatwaves, tropical cyclones, and wildfires.

 

More frequent and severe weather events will have implications for human health, for example, through heat-related illnesses and changes in the way infectious diseases and pests spread. There are all sorts of social, political, environmental, and economic ramifications: increased social inequity in the face of resource scarcity; disruption to supply chains and ecosystem services; and increased insurance costs to name a few.

 

At the same time, the rapid technological development required to meet the world’s need to adapt to and mitigate climate change is opening a wide range of green or greener career opportunities – today’s school leavers need the awareness, skills, and knowledge to be able to adapt to these careers.

 

As Head of Education at the Royal Meteorological Society, I lead the charity’s climate literacy initiative.  We recognised the lack of evidence around the climate literacy of school leavers in the UK, and in 2021, started working with Ipsos and other partners to establish a baseline survey which we and others can use to evaluate the impact of interventions. This survey is being broadened and being repeated annually, so that there is a measure of what impact curriculum and other changes have on the climate literacy of our young people.

 

It’s our belief that every student should leave school with the basic climate literacy that would enable them to engage with the messages put forward by the media or politicians, and for them to be able to make informed decisions about their own opportunities and responsibilities when it comes to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

 

Again, climate literacy is vital as our education system should equip students with the knowledge and skills required to prosper within the green economy of the future.

 

You can read a full report of our Climate Literacy Survey here.

 

 

CD: What is the impact of your online ‘MetLink’ platform in supporting teaching about weather and the climate?

 

SK: MetLink is our platform serving the educational sector. It was set up originally in 2010 as a hub of high-quality weather and climate resources to support teachers and education policy makers. The website was redeveloped a few years ago to make it more user-friendly. Its ever-growing list of resources includes resources for secondary maths, physics, and geography, as well as resources for primary school teachers in the UK.

 

The impact has been positive. The MetLink website receives over 100,000 visits each year from teachers and policy makers keen to understand how climate education can be improved.  The mailing list of teachers wanting to hear about new resources and continuing professional development opportunities grows constantly. Interested persons can sign up to the MetLink mailing list at the bottom of this page.

 

Critically, all our resources are freely available without charge or other restrictions, and many are editable so that teachers can adapt them to their own teaching. To maximise the impact and relevance of our work, we often work with partner organisations such as the relevant subject organisation when developing new materials.

 

The digital platform, which also includes social media, naturally works very well for this purpose because it allows education professionals to access important knowledge in the way that suits them best.

 

 

CD: How has the charity used Microsoft 365, from the Charity Digital Exchange, in its climate education work?

 

SK: I think RMetS is a great example of tradition-meets-innovation. Although the Society has existed for 170 years, we’ve taken steps to modernise and are always looking for new solutions to help us build on this pedigree and to better meet our charitable aims.

 

We use Microsoft 365 pervasively throughout our activities. The seamless integration between the components of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem really help to improve operational efficiency. Efficiency is key for us because, as a charity, we’re trying to create maximum social value.

 

Of course, in the post-COVID-19 world, it supports us in remote working, collaboration, and flexibility – both internally and in facilitating the important relationships we’ve developed within the wider social value network.

 

So, it’s a very important piece of technology for us and we’re excited to learn more about the solution as it develops, particularly as we enter this new era of AI-enhanced productivity.

 

 

CD: What advice and resources can you share with our charity sector readers when it comes to understanding the climate and our role in how it is changing?

 

SK: Firstly, it’s easy to ignore the climate crisis in the light of other issues which can seem more immediate – whether that’s disease, war, or resource accessibility. However, it’s really worth stressing how critical what we do now – literally in the next couple of years – will be to the global climate and therefore to all of those things (disease, war, resource accessibility…) in the near future. We’ve known for a long time that preventing climate change is far cheaper than adapting to it as it happens, and that is only considering the direct economic costs without even factoring in the wider social, ethical, and environmental considerations.

 

In terms of resources, one of RMetS’ main aims is to raise awareness of the importance of weather and climate, therefore we offer a lot of resources in this regard.

 

MetMatters is our very popular blog for weather and climate enthusiasts. For example, if you want to know about how climate change is affecting our winters, the world’s hottest week on record, or simply curious about all the different kinds of lightning (there are many!), then the MetMatters blog is the place to go.

 

Our annual Weather Photographer of the Year Competition offers a great way for people around the world to help raise awareness of the impact of climate change. Now in its eighth year, the competition receives submissions from amateurs and professionals alike and attracts a vast global audience of people who share an appreciation of the beauty – and, importantly, the fragility – of our environment.

 

The competition is open to all, and you don’t have to be a lifelong professional photographer to take part or win! There’s a youth award category, a smartphone category, a public vote category, and more.

 

Anyone interested in taking part either by submitting a photo or voting on their favourite should sign up for email alerts at the bottom of this page to keep up-to-date with competition news and announcements.

 

Climate enthusiasts can also follow and get involved with the Society’s work on social media. Our Youtube channel features countless video resources offering fascinating climate science information (see an example below). We show amazing weather and climate images on Instagram, and we’re also very active on Facebook and X/Twitter.