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 and acting for the environment

Why Integrate Environment and Sustainability Themes into the Curriculum?

These themes facilitate individuals having a responsible attitude toward caring for the earth that integrates environment studies and sustainability themes. 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 K to 12 are:

• direct experience is the basis of human learning
• analysis of interactions help humans make sense of their environment
• responsible action is both integral to and a consequence of environmental education

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

This summary is derived from Environmental Education/Sustainable Societies - A Conceptual Framework, Curriculum Branch, 1994.

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