Pedagogical Approaches

Environmental and Sustainability Education Credo

1. I will lead by example.

As per the common phrase, “practice what you preach,” it won’t be effective to tell students to be more sustainable but then not do it myself. If I want to instill habits of sustainability in students, I must do them, too. I can turn off the lights when we’re not in the room so they might do that at home. I can use less paper to encourage them to do the same. I can walk or bike to school, even if it’s not everyday, to influence them to try it.

2. I will strive to teach passion for the environment.

Developing a connection to nature and building memories in different environments will help students care more for the environment. For example, if students see trees being cut down but have never spent time around trees learning to appreciate their gifts to the world, they won’t have any personal reason to care. Rather than sticking to factual learning, going outside and developing a relationship with nature will be the foundation of environmental and sustainable education I will strive to achieve.

3. I will encourage students to look for solutions to the environmental problems we are facing.

To avoid feelings of helplessness when facing environmental issues, I will encourage students to find solutions and be “solutionaries”, as described by Zoe Weil in The World Becomes What We Teach. By channeling passion and considering career choices, students can begin to see themselves as part of the solution rather than victims of other generations’ poor habits.

4. I know that true environmental sustainability must include social and economic sustainability.

A sustainable society involves people living off the land, so both need to be protected and sustained. Considering the sustainability of both people and planet aligns with the definition outlined by Aaron Wilson. He considers sustainability as having three pillars: social sustainability, economic sustainability, and environmental sustainability (Wilson). This definition encompasses people and planet, rather than focusing solely on the environment. Poverty is not sustainable and everyone deserves equal access to basic rights such as education, a healthy environment to live in and clean drinking water.

5. I will refer to nature as a mentor.

As explained by Janine Benyus in her discussion with Krista Tippett, nature invented solutions to many problems engineers have tackled before humans came along. By looking at how nature designs things, we can learn sustainable solutions that involve design techniques rather than experimenting with chemistry. Biomimicry can be applied to things such as to harvesting energy, filtering water, adding strength to designs, and growing food.

6. I will connect local and global environmental issues.

Environmental issues don’t care about countries’ borders and these issues are common to many places. Understanding local and global issues not only connects students to the bigger problem we are facing as humanity, but it also helps them see how it directly impacts their local environment. Additionally, climate injustices occur as the largest greenhouse gas contributors are not the same as the ones being the most impacted. Small islands that are being flooded by rising sea levels are not the ones causing global warming. Earth is one big environment.

7. I will consider the past, present, and future in relation to sustainability.

Although, according to Hannah Ritchie, no generation before us could be considered sustainable, there are many things we can learn from humanity’s past. Whether they made mistakes or real progress, knowing what people before us did is information we can build from. Additionally, Indigenous knowledge, data trends, diets of other cultures, and many other aspects from the past and present have lessons we can draw from to make sustainable changes for our future. Environmental issues and sustainability are not isolated by place or time.

8. We have the power to affect change.

No matter how small the action may be, we all have the power to positively influence the environment and make sustainable changes. Individual choices, even small ones, accumulate to bigger impacts. Although many issues are complex and rely on government regulations, we can all advocate and push for change.