HABITATS – YOUR SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL (*)

Ever since sustainable development has been a common concern in all UN conferences, there has been a common consensus that education is a driving force for the change needed for a sustainable future (UNESCO, 2005: p.14).  Yet, Schumacher (see Sterling. 2001: p.21) states that the volume of education continues to increase, yet so does pollution, exhaustion of resources, and the dangers of ecological catastrophe. If still more education is to save us, it would have to be education of a different kind: an education that takes us into the depth of things. Education for sustainability is a cumulative, integrated and a socialising experience. It encompasses what educational philosophers such as Dewey, Piaget and Freire believe; that learning as an active and creative process is the best way to ensure socially critical and empowered students (Shor 1992:21). Moreover, the characteristic of sustainability in education is that it is self-organised and supports relative autonomy in learning. By its very nature it expresses the need to challenge current education systems (Sterling 1996:22). This could be a reason for the lack of understanding and practice of environmental education within the school grounds. Habitats – your Sustainable School offers a practical solution by engaging students and teachers with their environment. Habitat fosters integrated and interdisciplinary learning through action whilst embracing action through reflective learning.  (more)

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(*) Lucia Legan Instituto de Permacultura e Ecovilas do Cerrado (IPEC)