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Key learning objectives are to:

Understand the concept of "terraforming" and apply it to human changes on Earth, particularly those driven by economic motives.

Explore individual stories or case studies of how humans transformed environments.

Identify the connections between these case studies, recognizing the role of the imperial enterprise and economic drivers in transforming landscapes.

Understand key concepts in environmental history, which examines the interaction between human cultures and the environment, rejecting the idea that human history is separate from natural consequences.

Reflect on the scale of human history compared to Earth's history to contextualize the impact.

Consider how understanding these historical processes of transformation can help us think about and potentially address the current climate crisis.

The main second order concepts are significance and similarities and differences.

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Books:

Hawkey, K. (2023), History and the Climate Crisis: Environmental History in the Classroom, London UCL Press. (free online: History and the Climate Crisis | UCL Press)

Ghosh, A. (2016), The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable, Chicago and London Chicago University Press.

Wall Kimmerer, R. (2013), Braiding the Sweetgrass, London Penguin.

The book has also been adapted and illustrated for your adults offering more opportunities to be used in the classroom.

Wall Kimmerer, R; Gray Smith, M.; Neidhardt, N. (2022), Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Zest Books TM.

Moore, J. (2009), Madeira, Sugar, and the Conquest of Nature in the "First" Sixteenth Century: Part I: From "Island of Timber" to Sugar Revolution, 1420–1506, in Review (Fernand Braudel Center), Vol. 32, No. 4 (2009),

Moore, J. (2010), Madeira, Sugar, and the Conquest of Nature in the "First" Sixteenth Century, Part II: From Regional Crisis to Commodity Frontier, 1506—1530 in Review (Fernand Braudel Center)

Ghosh, A. (2022),The Nutmeg's Curse Parables for a Planet in Crisis, London John Muray.

Shrubsole, G. (2022), The Lost Rainforests of Britain, London HarperCollins Publishers.

Monbiot, G. (2014),  Feral: Rewilding the Land, Sea and Human Life, London Penguins.

Monbiot, G. (2017), Out of the Wreckage:A New Politics for an Age of Crisis, London Versus.

Articles:

Abulafia, D. (2019), Virgin Islands of the Atlantic, in History Today Volume 69 Issue 11.

Trapani, B. (2024), How including histories of trees can connect the past with the present and the future, in Teaching History, issue 194.

https://www.history.org.uk/publications/resource/10892/how-including-histories-of-trees-can-connect-the-p

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Barbara Trapani, published 28th March 2024

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How including histories of trees can connect the past with the present and the future

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Barbara Trapani’s article sprung from, and is written in, hope. Through introducing the history of, specifically, Europeans’ relationships with trees in Madeira, the Banda Islands and Britain, Trapani enabled her Year 8 pupils to appreciate the ways in which exploitative nations have used irreplaceable resources and profoundly altered ecosystems and landscapes…

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Upload or link to the planning for this unit

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How does the content link with one or more of the Principles?

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How does the content link with one or more of the Principles?

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Ethical principle 4 - ENCOURAGE CHILDREN TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

This enquiry explicitly links events of the past to the current planetary crisis.

Colonisation and exploitation of natural resources are shown to have long-term environmental consequences.

Topics like European imperialism, the pursuit of profit, and treating nature and people as resources are explored. These forces are shown as drivers behind environmental destruction and violence. The case studies show how colonisation, farming, and control of trade routes changed landscapes and ecosystems.

Case studies (Madeira, Banda Islands, England) show how landscapes and societies were transformed by human actions.

Local changes are placed in a global context, showing how exploration and empire connected places like Madeira and the Banda Islands to worldwide economic and political systems.

The pursuit of resources brought violence, enslavement, and displacement, especially in places like the Banda Islands, where the Dutch control led to massacres and is now seen as a case of genocide.

This history is connected to today’s "resource curse", where resource-rich regions suffer from inequality and conflict.

Ethical principle 5 - GIVE CHILDREN AGENCY TO RESPOND TO PRESENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES,

WHICH ARE ROOTED IN THE PAST

The enquiry concludes with a reflection on the role of history and understanding the historical root causes of the current planetary crisis to imagine solutions and responses.

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How do the pedagogical choices link with one or more of the Principles?

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How do the pedagogical choices link with one or more of the Principles?

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5. GIVE CHILDREN AGENCY TO RESPOND TO PRESENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES, WHICH ARE ROOTED IN THE PAST

This enquiry directly addresses the ethical principle of giving children agency to respond to present and future challenges rooted in the past by focusing on how humans have historically transformed the Earth and linking these past actions to contemporary issues like the climate and planetary crisis.

Throughout the enquiry pupils are encouraged to consider and discuss the significance of the stories and histories of the colonisation of Madeira and the Banda islands as well as the exploitation and conservation of the British rainforest. Pupils consistently engage with the opportunity to discuss how understanding the roots of the climate and planetary crisis might inform actions to address it today.

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How do the outcomes / pupil responses link with one or more of the Principles?

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How do the outcomes / pupil responses link with one or more of the Principles?

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As I have taught this enquiry twice at the beginning of the Autumn, coinciding with the preparations for COP 28 and 29, the outcome task encouraged pupils to write a speech for COP's participants offering historical perspectives on the current planetary crisis and responses.

This outcome task relates to ethical principles 4 and 5, encouraging pupils to see the relevance of the history they investigated and relating it to current debates and potential choices.

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This is a copy of the SHP Curriculum PATHS Ethical Principles to help guide you in your responses in this section.

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2025 - Curriculum PATHS Principles - Approved

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Individual lessons plans, objectives and activities.

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Individual lessons plans, objectives and activities.

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Year 7_8 - Environmental History - Early Modern - What can trees reveal about how humans terraformed the Earth

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Examples of lessons' resources and material  