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AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION DIGEST

Environmental Education Special

8 August 2010

POLICY: (3 items)
AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES: (6 items)
INTERNATIONAL RESOURCES: (5 items)
AROUND THE STATES & TERRRITORIES: (17 items)
CONFERENCES & EVENTS: (7 items)
REMINDERS
ACSSO EMAIL NEWSLETTERS

POLICY

Educating for a Sustainable Future

Curriculum Corporation, 2005

Educating for a Sustainable Future – A National Environmental Education Statement for Australian Schools provides a nationally agreed description of the nature and purpose of environmental education for sustainability through all years of schooling, including a vision and a framework for its implementation. It is intended for teachers, schools and their communities, education systems and developers of curriculum materials. It is also intended as a companion to existing State and Territory polices and programmes and does not replace them.

The Statement has been developed collaboratively over a period of approximately twelve months and is based upon significant input from government and non-government organisations. The Statement has been endorsed by all Australian and State/Territory Ministers for Education through the Ministerial Council on Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) in May 2005.

The distribution of Educating for Sustainable Future to all Australian schools in November 2005 coincides with the first year of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) 2005-2014. The Decade calls upon all countries to strengthen their contribution to sustainable development through a focus on education. The release of this Statement represents a significant contribution to this event.

This statement provides a nationally agreed description of the nature and purpose of environmental education for sustainability through all years of schooling, including a vision and a framework for its implementation. It is intended for teachers, schools and their communities, education systems and developers of curriculum materials. It is also intended as a companion to existing State and Territory policies and programs and does not replace them. Read in conjunction with these State and Territory policies, this statement will be a national reference point for:

schools as they decide on their education programs from K to 12;
professional learning programs for teachers;
reviews of curriculum documents that refer to the environment and sustainability in relevant learning areas in all the States and Territories of Australia;
developers of education materials for schools; and
stakeholders who want to promote environmental education in schools.

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Living Sustainably: the Australian Government's National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability

Australian Government Department of Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts (2009)

The aim of Living Sustainably: the Australian Government's National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability, launched in April 2009, is to equip all Australians with the knowledge and skills required to live sustainably. The plan has been prepared in conjunction with the National Council on Education for Sustainability by the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

The plan sets out a framework for national action that adopts the following four strategies to respond to the needs and priorities of education for sustainability.

'Demonstrating Australian Government leadership' aims to strengthen the government's leadership role in education for sustainability as an exemplar for change through its own policies, programs and operations and by promoting system-wide change through greater coordination and collaboration with state, territory and local governments.
'Reorienting education systems to sustainability' focuses on achieving a culture of sustainability in which teaching and learning for sustainability are reinforced by continuous improvement in the sustainability of campus management.
'Fostering sustainability in business and industry' will build capacity in business and industry to plan for sustainability, adopt appropriate frameworks and tools, and harness incentives for change such as improved efficiencies, cost savings, corporate reputation, and staff morale and retention.
'Harnessing community spirit to act' emphasises collaboration with the many diverse providers of education for sustainability to help improve community and practitioners' access to knowledge and tools. It also supports research to better understand issues, attitudes and behaviour.

This is Australia's second national action plan. It builds on the foundation laid by the first plan released in 2000 and represents a significant contribution to Australia's participation in the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, 2005-2014.

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Sustainability Curriculum Framework: A guide for curriculum developers & policy makers

Australian Government Department of Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts (2010)

This document is intended for curriculum developers and policy makers at national, state and territory levels (and, indirectly, all who use curricula in learning environments). It provides information and guidance on how education for sustainability may be structured to support a progression of learning from Kindergarten to Year 10.

It has been developed through national consultation with experts in education and in education for sustainability, primarily through state and territory government agencies and academics with expertise in these areas.

Put simply, sustainability is about reducing our ecological footprint while simultaneously improving the quality of life that we value—the ‘liveability’ of our society. Education for sustainability is both present- and future-oriented. It’s about learning to design and implement actions for the present, in the knowledge that the impact of these actions will be experienced in the future. In this way it leads to students developing an overall capacity to contribute to “a more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society for present and future generations”

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AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES

Australian Association of Environmental Educators (AAEE)

AAEE is Australia’s peak professional body for Environmental Educators.

AAEE advocates for Environmental Education and promotes best practice. It contributes to skills development among educators across the country and internationally.

Environmental Educators work in government agencies, schools, businesses and community organisations. AAEE helps them stay at the forefront of sustainability education and behaviour change. It provides a network for the growing force of cross-sector environmental educators.

AAEE has three major roles:

promoting the most extensive and effective use of education to help people to live more sustainably
supporting its members and others in the sector via professional development, and
building greater strength in local networks that facilitate collaboration and skill sharing.

Read more: http://www.eceen.org.au/

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NSW: greeNSchools

North Sydney Council

Schools are important places where the growth and nurture of sustainable behaviours can influence the outcomes of the future. North Sydney Council has a long standing history of partnering with local schools to foster sustainability among students and contribute to greener schools.

greeNSchools supports school communities to develop, implement, review and celebrate environmentally friendly actions. Through a range of initiatives, North Sydney Council will help your school understand and take action on energy, waste, water, climate change and biodiversity.

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NSW: Sustainable Schools NSW

Sustainable Schools NSW aims to support all schools, their partners and the community in realising a positive environment vision. Through a School Environmental Management Plan, your school community can implement, review and celebrate sustainability education initiatives.

Sustainable Schools NSW’ is a government-funded support program that helps schools to:

become more aware of their impact on the environment, and
work out what actions they can take to improve their environmental performance.

The aim of the program is to help schools integrate environmental learning and awareness into all aspects of their activities, from the classroom, to the canteen, school grounds, travel to and from school, the office, workshops, or the sports carnival … all the activities that schools engage in.

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NT: Environmental education

Environmental education has evolved to encompass the broader concept of sustainability with an emphasis on transformational change in values and behaviour. Over the last decade, there has been a shift from learning in and about the environment to learning for the environment. Learning for the environment goes beyond awareness raising to developing skills for engagement with positive environmental change.

The NT Curriculum Framework (particularly the EsseNTial Learnings, Studies of Society and Environment and Science) provides a strong mandate for an integrated, hands-on approach to environmental education for sustainability. Sustainability provides an authentic relevant context for integration and explicit literacy and numeracy teaching and learning. NT educators can access a wide range of resources to support the implementation of a whole-school approach through eSpace.

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QLD: Environmental Education for Sustainability

Sustainability education has been a feature of Education Queensland schools for more than 30 years. In many schools it has been creatively incorporated into the curriculum in each phase of learning, and is also reflected in the school's facilities and actions of its teachers.

Statement on Sustainability for All Queensland Schools - enough for all forever: Queensland schools have a new roadmap to help them on their journey towards an environmentally sustainable future. A statement on sustainability for all Queensland schools - 'enough for all forever' - will serve as a guide post for schools to meet their environmental obligations. This one-page document brings together a set of values, principles and approaches to support environmentally sustainable practices in schools.

Queensland Environmentally Sustainable Schools Initiative (QESSI): a network of environmentally sustainable schools that demonstrate curricula connections and environmental action based on ecological sustainable development principles.

Solar and Energy Efficiency in Queensland State Schools: a $60 million solar and energy efficiency program will see solar panels and other energy efficiency measures in all Queensland state schools over the next three years.

Outdoor and Environmental Education Centres (O&EECs): provide and deliver highly effective outdoor and environmental education programs for schools and the community, and provide professional development for teachers.

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QLD: Green Lane Diary

Green Cross Australia

The Green Lane Diary is a curriculum linked education program designed by environmental educators to help children become aware of the stresses our planet confronts and how sustainable living can make a difference.

This project was launched by Green Cross Japan 11 years ago. Over 600,000 Japanese students have participated since 1999 and we are proud to introduce the Green Lane Diary in Queensland in 2010, and across Australia in future years.

In 2010 Green Cross Australia will pilot the Green Lane Diary to 10,000 Queensland students from around 200 demographically diverse schools.

All Queensland students in Years 5-7 are invited to participate in the pilot, and teachers are encouraged to express their interest in being involved below.

The program will be expanded nationally in 2011.

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SA: National Parks and Wildlife South Australia

Education is an important part of environmental care in South Australia. Environmental education fosters positive attitudes and behaviour, and it enables us all to make sound decisions in the environment.

The State has a strong cultural heritage and a rich and diverse natural environment. To conserve and sustain these we conduct wide-ranging programs for all sectors of the community. These programs assist South Australians to explore and learn about the natural environment by visiting the State's network of fine parks, and they encourage people to help conserve land and wildlife by participating in local community groups.

Environmental education forms part of many courses taught in schools and higher education institutions, ensuring up-to-date environmental information is available to students and teachers.

Services we provide include:

advice and assistance to teachers and lecturers at all levels;
assistance with curriculum development and teacher associations;
contributing to teacher-development courses;
providing learning materials on environmental topics.

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SA: Messenger Greenest Schools Competition

Messenger Community News sponsors an annual hunt to find out all the great things Adelaide schools are doing to help the environment.

The 34 school projects linked to from here provide a great example of what schools can do.

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TAS: Environmental education facilities

Education resources (Parks and Wildlife Service): Parks and Wildlife Service web page containing a number of educational resources for both students and teachers, and a variety of educational activities.

Marine Discovery Centre: Located at Woodbridge, southern Tasmania, the Centre is an annexe of Woodbridge District High School, providing students with the opportunity to learn about, discover and care for the marine environment through shore and sea based programs.

Molesworth Environment Centre: Provides details of indoor and outdoor activities offered to students, including bushwalking, team building programs and survival skills. Includes contact details and a booking form.

Parks and Wildlife Service School Education Program: School Discovery Rangers are available to assist teachers with a wide range of environmental activities. Teachers can register their interest during the months of January/February (for visits March to June), and June/July (for visits August to October).

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens: kids: Information on the Gardens' schools programs and school holiday activity programs for 4-12 year olds

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TAS: Sustainable Living Tasmania

Teachers' Resources

The Environment Resource Library has a large collection of curriculum resources for environmental education – posters, videos, teacher and student resource kits – available for loan to teachers who are either individual members of Sustainable Living Tasmania or whose schools are members (see Membership).

Kits available for teachers include the Waterwatch kit, the Coastcare kits for both primary and secondary school students and the Marine Debris monitoring kit.

For more information or to book a kit please contact us.

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VIC: Victorian Association for Environmental Education

VAEE has a vision of an environmentally sustainable future to which all Victorians are contributing, through learning and action, guided by an experienced, collaborative and flexible network of sustainability education professionals.

For the last two years VAEE has been running the ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic Professional Learning in partnership with Sustainability Victoria. During this time, 66 educators from the water, waste, biodiversity and energy sector have undergone the training and have since worked with schools within the ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic framework.