What if school surroundings became classrooms
The launch of Land Action Labs also marked the first global public discussion of the role of schools in combating desertification and restoring degraded land.
What if the land surrounding every school became a classroom where young people learn not only about environmental challenges but also how to solve them?
That question framed the first global public discussion about the engagement of schoolteachers and students in the global efforts to combat desertification through land restoration.
The session, organized in August 2026 by the G20 Global Land Initiative at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, provided an opportunity for educators, researchers, restoration practitioners, students and government representatives to explore how practical environmental education can advance land restoration, biodiversity protection and climate action.
The conversation highlighted a simple but powerful proposition: schools can help to create the next generation of land stewards by giving students the knowledge, confidence and practical experience to care for their environment.
During the 90-minute session titled, Education for Land: Synergizing the Rio Conventions, many speakers emphasized that connecting classrooms to nature helps students understand environmental challenges through firsthand experience.
Studying soil, monitoring biodiversity, restoring green spaces and managing waste can turn abstract scientific concepts into practical skills.
Mongolian student Ariunzaya Radnaa shared how student-led projects at her school have encouraged creativity, collaboration and problem-solving, even with limited resources.
Shinetsetseg Erdenebayar, CEO, Foundation for Environmental Education Mongolia, stressed the need to connect education with practical environmental action.
Amanda Abrom, Director of the Global Schools Program at Sustainable Development Solutions Network introduced the discussion on Land Action Labs, a collaboration between the G20 Global Land Initiative and SDSN’s Global Schools Program.
Land Action Labs aims to help schools become centres of environmental action by supporting students and educators to develop locally relevant projects in land restoration, ecosystem protection and nature-based solutions.
Abrom explained that the programme would provide resources and training for students to engage directly in restoring nature such that “schools become the hubs of land restoration and action.”
An important focus of the discussion was the support educators need to bring environmental action into everyday teaching.
Bethany Walder, Executive Director of the Society for Ecological Restoration, highlighted another essential requirement, access to scientific knowledge.
“How are we gonna do good restoration,” she posed, pointing to the importance of helping educators and restoration practitioners understand the science behind effective restoration.
of teachers and schools at an event organized by the G20 Global Land Initiative at the at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP17 in Ulaanbaatar.
Watch the full discussion on UN Web to hear firsthand from the educators, students and environmental experts helping turn this vision into action.
Learn More about the programme
Submit an Expression of Interest for the November Information Session to join the pilot project.
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