Greening Schools and Communities: The Challenges

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Greening Schools and Communities The Challenges
Merle C. Tan Director National Institute for
Science and Mathematics Education Development
University of the Philippines 29 June 2006
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A Brief Review
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• Greening Schools and Communities
• is NOT just about planting trees
• is NOT just about improving waste disposal
  techniques
• is NOT just about keeping rivers, lakes, and seas
  clean and safe for humans and other organisms
• is NOT just about keeping the air clean
• is NOT just about protecting watersheds
• is NOT just about using energy resources wisely
• is NOT just about finding technologies that are
  more energy efficient
• It is about ALL of the ABOVE and MORE.

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• Greening Schools and Communities
• is also about obeying ecological principles,
  using indigenous and local knowledge, practicing
  critical thinking and problems solving skills
• is also about
• - raising levels of economy through sustainable
  consumption,
• - maintaining peace and observing human rights,
• - practicing good governance and citizenship,
• - improving human health and the environment
• It is an integrated and holistic program aligned
  with the UN ESD International Implementation
  Scheme

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• How do we promote greening
• schools and communities?

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Knowledge
Greening Schools and Communities
Skills
Values
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• Knowledge Component
• based on well-founded ecological principles and
  concepts, appropriate for the age, abilities,
  and skill level of learners.
• an integral part of the formal and nonformal
  education curriculum, and relevant to the
  community and culture.
• organized so that new learning is built on a
  foundation of students' previous knowledge and
  experiences.

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Ecological Principles

• Interconnectedness
• Biodiversity
• Change
• Materials Cycle .
• Balance of nature
• Finiteness of Resources
• Population growth and carrying capacity
• Stewardship
• Sustainable development

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Other Themes

• Biodiversity
• The variety of life on Earth and the natural
  patterns it forms, creates the web of life of
  which we are an integral part and upon which we
  depend.
• Human impact threatens individual species and
  all those living things that depend on the
  interaction of life forms
• Climate Change
• The harmful impact of climate change is of
  worldwide proportions. To limit damage to the
  atmosphere requires awareness and action from the
  individual to international levels.

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• Ecosystems
• The interaction of individual components of
  every ecosystem results in an effect that is
  greater than the sum of the individual parts.
• All aspects of society and economy are dependent
  on ecosystems and their functions.
• Energy
• Much of the world currently depends on
  inexpensive fossil fuels to heat homes, operate
  transportation systems and drive the economy.
• Significant portions of the world's residents do
  not have the luxury of a single light switch.
• Both ends of this energy use spectrum challenge
  the environment's capacity to absorb the results
  of human energy use.

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• Water
• Freshwater is a critical component of ecosystems
  and an essential human resource. Awareness and
  management challenges are critical environment
  and development issues.

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• Our Context
• Population Growth and Carrying Capacity
• A farmer started with a few hyacinths in a pond
  128 square meters in area. These hyacinths
  doubled in number daily.
• During the first Sunday, the water hyacinths
  covered less than 1 or 1/128 of the surface
  area. But the farmer does not worry.
• Still doubling in number, the hyacinths covered
  1/62 of the water surface on Monday, 1/32 on
  Tuesday, 1/16 on Wednesday, 1/8 on Thursday and
  1/4 on Friday.

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• The following Sunday, the pond was completely
  filled with hyacinths. The full capacity of the
  pond has been reached.
• Any further increase in number can no longer be
  accommodated by the pond.
• The hyacinths were rapidly using up the nutrients
  in the water.
• The increasing number of hyacinths is analogous
  to the exponential growth of people, not only n
  the Philippines but in the world over.

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Knowledge
Greening Schools and Communities
Skills
Values
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• Skills Component
• Students and community learners have
  opportunities to practice
• basic process skills, critical thinking and
  problem-solving skills, including investigation
  of controversial issues
• The skills also ensure safe learning.

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observing
comparing/ classifying
communicating
asking questions
Basic Process skills
making models
measuring recording data
inferring
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Critical thinking
Creative thinking
Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)
Problem solving
Decision making
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Knowledge
Greening Schools and Communities
Skills
Values
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• Values Component
• The programs promote increased sensitivity to
  and appreciation of the environment, cultures,
  and views of others
• and include an ethic of care, consensus
  building, and responsible citizen action.
• They support the personal and societal capacity
  to take action necessary for sustainability.

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Strategies to Develop KSA
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Main criterion for selecting teaching and
learning strategies

• it encourages high level of learner engagement
  and commitment.

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• Experiential Learning
• Direct experiences (provided at a young age)
  are used to develop and deepen connections to the
  environment and encourage personal affinity, and
  emotional connection with Earth and other
  species.
• Outdoor learning is part of the program or
  encouraged as a follow-up activity where
  appropriate.

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• Connected to the world outside the classroom or
  lecture hall
• Learning activities are grounded in a real-world
  context familiar to learners life.

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• Integrated Learning
• Concepts and issues are examined through their
  social, political, economic, ethical and
  ecological contexts.
• A systems thinking approach to the dynamic,
  complex way of relationships is provided.

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• Service/Action Learning
• Opportunity exists to practice action skills and
  strategies for environmental stewardship
  (planning, communication, group skills, team
  work, safety and leadership skills).
• Also includes opportunity to practice active
  citizenship - connecting curriculum to
  environmental action in school buildings and
  grounds, and in homes, neighborhoods and
  communities.

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• Locus of Control
• Opportunities are provided for students to
  choose elements of program content, and the
  medium in which they wish to work.
• Values Education Methodology
• Allows examination and clarification of
  individual and social value systems, and the
  exploration of a range of perspectives, beliefs,
  biases, and assumptions.

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• Accommodating Diverse Learners
• Activities address a range of learning styles
  and teach to both cognitive and affective
  domains.
• Open-ended Instruction
• Opportunities for students to study topics more
  deeply are provided and encouraged.

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• Learning Materials
• Program materials readily integrate into
  prescribed formal and nonformal curriculum.
• Materials provide clear directions, background
  information and adaptation suggestions for
  teachers.
• Learning materials are prepared taking in
  account identified benchmarks/standards.

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• Case Studies
• Local relevant cases and references are used as
  a means of integrating concepts.
• Case studies and scenarios are presented with a
  range of possible solutions.

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• Integrated Learning
• Concepts and issues are examined through their
  social, political, economic, ethical and
  ecological contexts.
• A systems thinking approach to the dynamic,
  complex way of relationships is provided.

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• Assessment and Evaluation of Learning
• Students actively demonstrate their knowledge
  and skills.
• Additionally, appropriate learner assessment
  methods/mechanisms are utilized including
  reflection and self-assessment opportunities.

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Management Techniques/Mechanisms for Long Term
Impact
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• Supporting Teacher Self-Sufficiency and
  Competency
• Increase the capacity of teachers to incorporate
  concepts, skills, and values benchmarks into
  their planning and instruction
• Promote teacher awareness and knowledge of the
  principles of sustainability and their practice
  in personal and professional realms and
• Provide opportunities for teachers to extend
  student learning in addition to and beyond the
  scope of the learning activities presented by
  providers.

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• Strategic Alliances
• Work for adoption by the whole school system,
  government agencies and/or local non-governmental
  organizations to increase chance of long-term
  viability. Programs should encourage support and
  endorsement from the school and/or school board.
• Provide opportunities for sharing, extension and
  continuity (e.g., engage students, community
  members, follow-up programs, volunteer and
  mentoring programs, links to community action
  projects, student forums, camps, institutes,
  support for Environmental clubs, annual
  conferences and youth grants).
• Establish links across age groups to enable
  students to receive multiple coordinated learning
  opportunities through the cooperative efforts of
  multiple agencies and organizations.

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• Marketing, Communication and
• Evaluation Scheme

• Offer opportunities for student recognition and
  celebration in the broader community and profile
  student efforts as a means of building community
  awareness.
• Provide teachers and students with links to
  related relevant resources, programs,
  organizations, and individuals (e.g., on line)
• Establish an evaluation system that tracks and
  measures results at the level of short-term
  objectives and longer-term goals.

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Learning On-line

• The Internet offers an incredible potential for
  finding information related to the topics in
  school, but at the same time the search too often
  ends by being waste of learners school hours.

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Education for Sustainable Development
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• Role of ESD
• Education is the means through which society
  prepares its citizenry to carry out their
  responsibilities (e,g., environmental protection)

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The Challenges
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• Are we sustainable development-oriented?
• Do we think green and act green?
• At the institutional level, are we playing a
  strong role in the education, research, policy
  development, information exchange, and community
  outreach to help create an equitable and
  sustainable future?
• Do we have multidisciplinary and
  interdisciplinary courses that promote
  understanding of the relationship between
  population, human activities,
• and the environment?
• Do we have multidisciplinary and
  interdisciplinary research to develop
  environmentally sound technologies or
  anticipatory research to identify future threats
  to a sustainable society, and develop solutions
  to circumvent these threats?

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• How can we engage faculty, staff,
  administration, and students and LGUs in
  activities such as energy and water conservation,
  and recycling, or in encouraging vendors who
  supply us with products and services to act in an
  environmentally responsible manner when
  manufacturing their products and
• delivering their services?
• At the personal level, have we made a commitment
  to help create a sustainable economy - one that
  doesnt use up resources at the expense of future
  generations?
• Have we realized our interconnectedness with the
  world and reflected on the unintended damage we
  cause nature in the daily course of our lives?
• Are we taking corrective action to make
  environmental responsibility and stewardship a
  reality?

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• Thinking and acting green means
• to embrace the tremendous responsibility as
  leaders in education, in industry, in every field
  to use our strength, talents, resources and
  technologies to better the communities we serve.
• to understand that the world is a finite place
  with finite resources, and next generation
  products and processes must be designed within
  the framework of this complex system
• being mindful of and sensitive to the natural
  environment in our daily life.

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• Thus, thinking green means being aware of our
  interconnectedness with the world and reflecting
  on the unintended damage we cause nature in the
  daily course of our lives.
• Hopefully, thinking green leads to acting green,
  particularly, taking corrective action to make
  environmental responsibility and stewardship a
  reality.

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Lets organize our Think Green partners Lets
form a a task force to monitor projects designed
to reduce the environmental impact of their
campus operations. Lets put up a website for
environmental activities where the green
partners can report their activities and
accomplishments Lets conduct a baseline Green
Audit
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The Green Audit

• Serve as guide in determining where your office,
  school (or UP in general) stands in terms of
  environmental protection
• It is a checklist which can reveal which areas
  can be improved
• No ratings or scores are given
• What matters is that change can be instituted
  particularly concerning practices which, often
  without realizing it do harm to the environment.

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• I. Policy
• General (environmental protection a part of our
  vision/mission statement environmental policy
  committee or persons responsible for
  environmental projects and programs in the
  school?
• Personnel
• Are environmental considerations part of the
  performance appraisal system of faculty, deans,
  support staff?
• Are personnel required to practice environment
  oriented activities such as waste reduction, use
  of non toxic materials, involvement in
  community-based projects?
• Purchasing

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• II. Operations
• Buildings and ground
• Lights and electricity
• Water
• Office machines and equipment
• Paper
• Canteen
• General waste management
• Air quality
• III. Academics
• Curriculum integration in courses and subjects
• Learning process provision of reading materials
  on environmental issues)
• Opportunities for debates and discussion

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Five steps along the green path

• Commitment
• Staff involvement
• The environmental audit
• The action plan
• Monitoring and communication

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• These activities will inspire our fellow teachers
  and community workers to take a leading role in
  helping the next generation to develop knowledge,
  skills, and values that will enable them to enjoy
  and share the Earths bounty while living within
  its means.

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• The difference between what we do and what we
  are capable of doing would suffice to solve most
  of the world's problems." - Mahatma Gandhi
• "Every person is the right person to act. Every
  moment is the right moment to begin." - Jonathan
  Schell, author, "Fate of the Earth"

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• It is not enough
• to be doing less harm to the environment
• we have to be doing something
• that benefits our people
• so they dont see
• the separation
• between the natural and
• built environment.
• We have to go back to seeing ourselves
• as part of that environment.

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Thank you!!!