Environmental Learning and Experience
An Interdisciplinary Guide For Teachers (2007)
Education, Environment and Sustainability
Environmental education aims to integrate concepts and principles of the sciences and social sciences, such as ecology, biogeography, sociology, environmental chemistry, environmental psychology, politics, and economics (to name only a few) under a single interdisciplinary framework. It can help students learn about how they are connected to the natural environment through traditional subjects and through direct experience in both natural and human designed systems like their school buildings. In the ecological view, students may come to know and understand that all human environments, societies and cultures are deeply embedded and dependent on natural systems, both for their development and their continued survival.
The term Sustainability is another important idea related to human integration and interaction with the environment. The idea of making sustainable choices, for example, might force us to look at issues like the scale of present day economic activity within a connected and increasingly global environment. In the original Environmental Concepts in the Classroom document, the idea of sustainability was seen to explore the relationship between social, economic and environ mental factors for the well-being of the human species. Thinking about sustainability forces us to examine the ability of the environment to continue to provide for all species, both today and in the future. Some continued issues for consideration and discussion around the idea of sustainability include:
stewardship;
shared responsibility;
short-and long-term consequences;
waste management;
socially responsible and ethical economics;
conservation and restoration of the environment;
energy and resource management;
the relationship of technology and innovation to the environment;
global awareness; and
international responsibility.
The proclamation of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), states unequivocally that there is no universal model of education for sustainable development. There will be nuanced differences according to local contexts, priorities and approaches in how sustainability will be taken up. It further states that the underlying values that education for sustainable development of any kind must promote include the following:
respect for the dignity and human rights of all people throughout the world and a commitment to social and economic justice for all;
respect for the human rights of future generations and a commitment tointergenerational responsibility;
respect and care for the greater community of life in all its diversity, which involves the protection and restoration of the Earth’s ecosystems; and
respect for cultural diversity and a commitment to build a culture of tolerance, non-violence and peace, both locally and globally.
As such, the UN proclamation represents a new vision of education, a vision that emphasizes a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to developing the knowledge and skills needed for a sustainable future, as well as the necessary changes in human values, behaviour, and lifestyles. These are principles that are also supported by British Columbia educators in this locally developed framework for environmental learning.
