Environment and Sustainability

Environmental education is defined as a way of understanding human relationships with the environment. It involves:

students learning about their connections to the natural environment through all subjects
students having direct experiences in the environment, both natural and human-built
students making decisions about and acting for the environment

The term sustainability helps to describe societies that "promote diversity and do not compromise the natural world for any species in the future."

Value of Integrating Environment and Sustainability Themes

Integrating these themes into the curriculum helps students develop a responsible attitude toward caring for the earth. Studies that integrate environment and sustainability themes provide students with opportunities to identify their beliefs and opinions, reflect on a range of views, and ultimately make informed and responsible choices.

The guiding principles that should be interwoven in subjects from Kindergarten to Grade 12 are:

Direct experience is the basis of human learning.
Analysis of interactions helps humans make sense of their environment.
Responsible action is both integral to and a consequence of environmental education.

Some organizing principles are:

Human survival depends on complex natural and human-built systems.
Human decisions and actions have environmental consequences.
Students should be provided with opportunities to develop an aesthetic appreciation of the environment.

The theme study units might include: Consumerism, School Operating Systems, Pollution, or Endangered Species.

This summary is derived from A Plan for Environmental Education , Curriculum Branch, October 1995.

Revised: January 26, 1999

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