BGCI Webinar: The Declaration of Intent on Action Change Education

On 19th January 2026, BGCI invites you to the launch of our Declaration of Intent on Climate Action Education for Botanic Gardens and Arboretums. This Declaration outlines the commitment that our education network makes to address climate change challenges and provides seven key goals where we believe we can have the most impact.

This Declaration covers the period 2026-2030 and invites botanic gardens and arboretums to sign up to the Declaration, agreeing to contribute to at least one of the seven goals.

This Declaration was developed with education professionals within BGCI's network, as part of a series of workshops that took place at the 11th International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens (Seoul, June 2025).

1. Build the foundations for nature connectedness and climate learning
2. Collaborate to embed climate change education (relevant to plants, carbon and ecosystems) into school curriculums
3. Empower our visitors/audiences to take climate action
4. Influence government policies and agendas (local to international)
5. Empower the next generation of climate conscious youth and communities
6. Build the right partnerships to mobilize change and increase cooperation
7. Build high-trust relationships to increase inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility of our programming through community outreach so that no-one is left behind.

This hour long webinar will introduce the Declaration and how individuals, teams and gardens can sign up to be a part of its activities. This will be followed by some short presentations from BGCI members to illustrate some of the activities that are already in place to contribute to these key goals. Finally the webinar will announce a small grants programme (International Day of Education Grants), funded by the Korea National Arboretum, that will also be launched on the 19 of January, that BGCI member organisations can apply to for activities under this Declaration.