BLOG # 6 Eco-Ed: What Austrailia Has That We Want

Education for Sustainability

What do we want, that Australia has? Is it great snorkeling, a cool opera house on the water, wild cockatoos? Australia has something we not only want, but need, and that is, a publicly recognized and widely implemented EfS.  EfS stands for Education for Sustainability.  Australia's EfS plan was created as part of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, otherwise known as UNDESD....and they take it seriously.

On January 1,  2005 the UN instated UNDESD,  defined as a complex, far reaching, enormous undertaking with environmental, societal and economic implications, that touch multiple aspects of life of the world's population.

Launched in April 2009, the second draft of the Australian government's EfS states that it's purpose is,  " To equip all Australians with the knowledge and skills required to live sustainably."

What a concise way of stating the importance of environmental education.

I was amazed to read such a bold proclamation. Does this mean no more plastic eating utensils? Are people still running their engines in the Walmart parking lot while Auntie does the shopping? Did Jamba Juice switch to recycled paper cups with no straws? It staggers the imagination.

Here is a brief outline of the framework the Aussies have adopted.

• The government takes a leadership role (enforces and supports) the Education for Sustainability plan, enacting change in policy, programs and operations at state, territory and local levels.
• Education systems are reoriented to sustainability and focus on achieving a culture of sustainability. WOW!
• On-going improvement and greening in campus management is reinforced.
• Sustainability in business and industry is fostered.
• The community is provided with tools and knowledge in sustainable education and living.

  Thanks to this government supported framework, the school children of Australia are connecting to place and becoming eco-literate.

As stated by our own former Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, "Historically the US Department of Education hasn't been doing enough in the sustainability movement. . . and need to commit to building a more environmentally literate and responsible society."

...and yet, here in the US, we are heading into 2016 with little to show that we got the memo.

What I am most impressed with is the fact that "sustainability" is treated as a core subject in Australian public schools and out-door, experiential learning are the order of the day. The government helps, Australian schools are supported to employ a wide range of curricula in order to reach EfS goals.  In the United States, environmental education may be connected through science and STEM, as an individual educator's decision, but EfS still remains largely absent from national level curriculum.

 Australia is an island nation, remote and dry. Perhaps that is why the necessity for sustainability is not lost on their people. If only we could all perceive our planet for what it is, Island Earth, a unique oasis of life in an ocean of space. Seeing through this lens may help  improve our approach to education for a sustainable future.

References

National-Action-Plan-Educating-Sustainability http://www.centerforgreenschools.org/sites/default/files/resource-files/National-Action-Plan-Educating-Sustainability.pdf.

Rafferty, J Laird, S. “Children’s Observations of Place-Based Environmental Education: Projects Worlds Apart Highlight Education for Sustainability Inherent in Many Programs « Journal of Sustainability Education,” Spring 2013.