On Thursday 2nd October 2025, the ESDF Conference took place at Lough Neagh Discovery Centre, Oxford Island, bringing together 50 attendees from a range of organisations who are interested or working in education for sustainable development. 

The day began with a warm welcome over tea, coffee, ESDF anniversary cupcakes and networking, setting a positive tone for what proved to be an informative and engaging event. Anne Cahill (RSPB) opened the conference with a Vice Chairs welcome, followed by Beth Frazer’s update on ESDF’s recent activities and future plans. Highlights included the launch of the myEARTH website and summer competition, multiple training days in digital and outdoor learning, and new work with organisations such as NICCY and Belfast Learning Festival. The presentation explained the forum expanded its reach through events with Northern Ireland Museum Council and the Natural History Museum and introduced initiatives like the Summer Spotlight and planned Youth Membership. The presentations also served as the Forum’s annual report and emphasised ESDF’s commitment to impactful education for sustainable development.  

Guest speakers included Caitlin Quinn, Biodiversity Education Assistant at Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, who presented on her work the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre. Her reflections provided valuable context for the venue and highlighted the impact of education while reflecting on her role as a young person recently starting work in the sector. Dr Karen Kerr, Senior Lecturer (Education) PGCE Science co-ordinator at the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work in Queen’s University Belfast then introduced the “Big Ideas in Sustainability” framework, from CCEA. Her knowledge in ESD and her work at QUB were great insights into the subject from a wider perspective for educators, teachers and students. Beth followed with a reflection on ESDF’s 30-year journey, celebrating the legacy and ongoing relevance. To follow up, Maia Taylor (DAERA) gave a personal reflection of the 30 years she had been involved in Education and ESDF and noted many of the Indvidual’s who have contributed over the years to the success of ESDF today.  

A Q&A session chaired by Alexey Janes (Ulster Wildlife) allowed for deeper exploration of the morning’s themes, with thoughtful questions helping to engage the attendees and the conversation. 

After a vegetarian lunch supplied by the cafe at Lough Neagh Discovery Centre, Alexey welcomed everyone back for the afternoon sessions. Beth provided an informative overview of the Northern Ireland Curriculum review, outlining ESD highlights and the opportunities and challenges ahead. This was followed by a workshop led by Josh Watts (Innovate Social), whose facilitation encouraged collaboration, creativity and strategic thinking among participants. There was a great energy in the room and a range of ideas that have been gathered about the What? How? and Why?. These will be developed for the future of ESDF and on the theme and actions we want to put forward for curriculum review.  

The day ended with a brief AGM led by Vice Chair Anne Cahill. Details of the AGM can be found on the ESDF website. With the room still buzzing with individual conversations until around 4pm, it was clear that the conference had created a sense of network, purpose and energy. We hope that attendees left feeling inspired and optimistic about the potential for positive change in education for sustainable development and support the continued work of ESDF. 

The 2025 Annual Report can be found in the Resource section of the website.