Sustainability and Education

School is the most influential institution in modern society. There are many ways to design an organization that promotes learning and the present industrial model of schooling is not one of them. There are some exciting counter examples, but they haven’t spread. The community, cultural institutions and business have to be involved. We need a broader base of change.

In the eyes of a child, the future is alive. Maybe children need to step forward as leaders.

Peter Senge, Speech at Shelburne Farms, Vermont, July 17, 2008

Overarching the innovations in education is the compelling issue of sustainability: the sustainability of our interconnected economic, environmental and social systems. We must prepare our young people to create a remarkably different way of living, “one that can restore ecosystems and protect the environment while bringing forth innovation, prosperity, meaningful work, and true security (Hawken, 1993).”

Cadwell Collaborative is uniquely positioned to work with schools and communities that want to vision a hopeful, healthy future, and realize that vision through innovations in school curricula, organizational systems, architectural design and networks with communities.

Core Competencies of Sustainability Education
Sustainability Education includes the acquisition of particular knowledge and skills, and the values needed to put this knowledge into practice. They include:

• Ecological knowledge
• The ability to think systemically
• The ability the think critically and to solve problems creatively
• The ability to assess the impact of human actions and decisions
• The ability to envision long term consequences
• A deeply felt concern for the well being of the Earth and all living things
• A sense of wonder and a deep appreciation of place
• Empathy and the ability to see and appreciate multiple perspectives
• A commitment to equity, justice, inclusivity, and respect for all people
• Skills in building, governing, and sustaining communities
• The ability to assess and adjust the uses of energy and resources
• The capacity to convert convictions into practical, effective action

(From The Center for Ecoliteracy’s Competencies for Sustainability Education)

Examples of Sustainability Education in Practice:
In January of 2008, a group of educators (including Cadwell Collaborative), cultural institutions, businesses and government officials in St. Louis, Missouri began to grow an inter-institutional network focused on authentic youth engagement in place-based, optimistic, multidisciplinary, collaborative projects that create sustainable behavior.

The Sustainable Schools Project, sponsored by Shelburne Farms in Vermont, is a dynamic new model for school improvement and civic engagement. The program helps schools use sustainability as an integrating context for curriculum, community partnerships, and campus practices.

In 2006 the state of Washington Education Department issued a requirement that all public schools include Sustainability Education in their curricula.

The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey has taken a holistic approach to campus sustainability. The initiative focuses on campus energy, materials, land, and water use applying methods that promote ecological literacy, sustainability education and involve the broader community outside of the school. The school is a partner with the greater Lawrence township in creating vision action steps to realize Sustainable Lawrenceville.

Exemplary Schools
The photographs on this website come from four schools: The College School, The St. Michael School, Clayton Schools’ Family Center and Opal School of the Portland Children’s Museum.

The work of these schools is extraordinary and ever evolving. We have been fortunate to work closely with these schools, two independent and two public, during the last two decades.

These four schools are pioneering the effort to unite exceptional, creative, multidisciplinary student work with the core content and competencies of sustainability education.

Please visit their websites to learn more about their work.

• www.thecollegeschool.org
• www.stmichaelschool.org
• www.clayton.k12.mo.us/fmlycntr/site/default.asp
• www.portlandcm.org/opal.htm