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It's the time of year when we all start thinking about getting our trees out of the loft for Christmas and how we're going to decorate them (well, I certainly am). But this year, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's Breathing Places campaign is looking to make sure that a tree is for life, with their Tree o' Clock project.

The idea is to set the world record for the most trees ever planted in one hour - and Tree o' Clock is at noon on Saturday, 5th December.

The website is crammed full of tips about planting, and how you can go about joining in the campaign:

Follow the record attempt on , and perhaps set about planting a tree yourself? (Lights and baubles not required!)

Our recent programmes on Food Stuff are now available for viewing on iPlayer, with the second bunch to follow on Friday! The first selection of programmes look at for the Stornoway Black Pudding, the growth of organic soft fruits in Angus, and a Greek family who have been introducing Glaswegians to their cuisine and culture since the 1970s.

The films provide opportunities for activities and discussion about the production of food; about healthy choices and also about the locality of food and the part that eating and tasting food has in any community. Food is one of the most obvious 'themes' that could be developed into a cross-curricular project, as it links so immediately to several curriculum areas. I blogged previously on the other set of films we made, with Merrylee Primary School. Their work shows how some schools have taken the lead in growing produce, encouraging teamwork and integrating this practice into their classroom lessons - not every school is lucky enough to have allotment space, but a window box or small veg patch could encourage children to think about growing, and cooking food in a healthy and sustainable way. The L.A.B. films will be available on the L.A.B. website, on iPlayer, and on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2 on 4th December at 11.40.

The second batch of Food Stuff will hit your screens this Friday, 27 November at 11.40 on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2, and will be available, as with all our content, on iPlayer for a week and in the Learning Zone thereafter. Tom Kitchin, a Michelin-starred chef, appears talking about his passion for Scottish seasonal ingredients; the Orkney fishing fleet discuss their catch and Fraser Doherty, the creator of Super Jam, gives an insight into how his family baking tradition became a lucrative business. Let us know if you enjoyed them and how you used them, we hope that they inspire many vibrant lessons!

Children in Need has come round again and will be hitting our screens on Friday night. It's one of the few occasions when the whole country can rally round as one big community and it can have a positive effect all round.

For schools, it's an opportunity to all work together on projects to raise some money for those less fortunate. But whether primary kids are parading to school in pyjamas or secondary students and staff are facing off on the football pitch, it won't just be the children and organisations helped by Children in Need grants who benefit. Fundraising can tick a whole heap of Curriculum for Excellence boxes too.

With so many individual nuggets of experience and outcome for teachers to get their heads round, it can be easy to overlook the big picture of what is about. Click to the page (go on - stick it in your favourites) on the and you'll see as much weight given to the importance of a positive school community and pupils' personal development as for learning in specific subjects. School should aim to be about the people pupils are and the society they build as much as what they know.

This is highlighted in the priority given to promoting across the curriculum. Importance is given to bringing positive change, building confidence and feeling valued. Like the rest of us, children want to feel that they can contribute, make a difference, make their mark in some way on the world around them. Helping others can be an effective way of doing this. Some research suggests that even the very act of giving can have a beneficial effect on how we view ourselves. While a suggests that giving money can bring happiness, giving thought, time and effort must surely have an equal or greater effect.

Aside from improving feelings of self worth, a fundraising project can also be harnessed to assist with learning. Stretching beyond the classroom and with a specific goal that reaches beyond the academic, a fundraising project can draw pupils in, involving them in accomplishing something: everyone can do their bit, using complementary skills - organising, numeracy, communication...even sporting prowess - to work together and (they might not even notice) learn together.

A good example comes from Broughton High School in Edinburgh. The school has taken on the Children in Need - Catch Me If You Can challenge with a vengeance. Inspired by Mark Beaumont's attempt to cycle the length of the Americas, people across Scotland are getting on their bikes in an attempt to match the 10,000 miles Mark will have pedalled by Children in Need night. By Monday, staff and pupils had already clocked up about 2000 miles. And while they're not staying fit in the saddle, pupils have been studying everything from the calories Mark is burning to the traditional art of the countries he passes through.

It just goes to show that with a bit of imagination and some smart thinking, a school and the people in it can meet the aims of the curriculum while helping themselves and helping others.

I'm sure there are lots more schools out there doing their bit and learning while they do it. So let us and Children in Need know what you're doing. Giving your ideas can feel good too.

is the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's new website giving a unique way into the proceedings of the UK's national political institutions and the European Parliament. It's a public gallery where you can search, find and watch the politics that affects you.

The immediate impact of the site comes from the of live and on demand coverage from the House of Commons, House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly, Welsh Assembly and business in Brussels and Strasbourg. But there's a lot going on behind the scenes. Fancy stuff too.

Back in August I went along to a preview demonstration of this site and it was great to hear directly from Mark Coyle, the Launch Editor of the project, that he's keen to see this used in schools, particularly with our focus on Modern Studies here in Scotland. This use in schools has been one purpose of the project all along, as reflected in Director General Mark Thompson's address to the Westminster Parliament in 2008.

We'll be peppering our Bitesize sites for Standard Grade and Higher Modern Studies with links to Democracy Live with its explanations of how laws are made, institution guides et al. This will help us tie our relevant content together, from our mixed back catalogue of sites for Intermediate and Higher Modern Studies, to clips from tv programmes over the years such as our recent Democracy in Action.

But it goes beyond Modern Studies and politics. Citizenship and modern media literacy come into play too. And how about research or debating/public speaking skills? With the ability to search for keywords within video clips and coverage from real-time to historic moments, the site will grow and grow into a powerful reference tool.

Will it help to engage people, young and old, in politics? Perhaps it won't do much to break the misperception that it's boring men in suits prattling on. But the immediacy and sophistication of the site and can surely intrigue anyone with even a passing interest, from The Thick Of It devotees to people who dip in and out of if there's someone 'interesting' on the panel. Incidentally, you have until November 15th to register for .

If nothing else, I think it helps to bring a little reality into politics, if that makes sense; to bring it to life a tad. And if you can show someone, with a dollop of enthusiasm and explanation, what goes on while we're at work or school, you may just spark something. You may also get more of an idea of the characters and personalities of the people that can play a big part in your life, whether you like it or not. Maybe not quite Big Brother. But you can vote them out.

So come on then, teachers and tutors, parents and pupils, let's hear if and how you're going to use the site. Let your friends and colleagues know about Democracy Live and tell them we'd love to hear their comments.

The website is and you can follow the updates of on Twitter.