The education for sustainability movement is as diverse as it is vibrant. Some school communities focus on bringing sustainable practices to their teaching and learning or the relationships they cultivate within the larger community. Others focus on their food systems or their buildings and campuses. Over the course of nearly twenty years, we have developed principles, practices, and resources based on our work with thousands of educators in this hopeful and vital movement. We have also documented the stories of successful practitioners along the way. In this section, we present some highlights.
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Ecoliterate
How can teaching and learning advance academic achievement; address today’s important ecological challenges; and help develop strength, hope and resiliency in young people? Explore an exciting model of education, described in our book "Ecoliterate: How Educators Are Cultivating Emotional, Social, and Ecological Intelligence."
Smart by Nature
The Center has developed a framework for education for sustainable living, described in our book, "Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability." It is based on four guiding principles: Nature Is Our Teacher; Sustainability Is a Community Practice; The Real World Is the Optimal Learning Environment; Sustainable Living Is Rooted in a Deep Knowledge of Place.
What Is Education for Sustainable Living?
Through education for sustainable living, students gain the knowledge, skills, and values to address the environmental and social challenges of the coming decades. Sustainability is a far richer concept than simple survival. A truly sustainable community supports the health and quality of life of present and future generations and the natural world. It recognizes the need for justice and for physical, emotional, intellectual, cultural, and spiritual sustenance.
Exemplary Schools
The Center for Ecoliteracy has identified and supported a number of schools and projects that embody processes and practices for effective education for sustainability. Schools are systems, and they are communities. They are themselves important nodes in the web of institutions that constitutes society. Whatever happens in schools will have profound effects on the rest of society. The most effective schools are often communities that model the traits of sustainable societies.
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Center for Ecoliteracy. All rights reserved.
Center for Ecoliteracy. All rights reserved.