Notes from the WEEC

Report from WorldEnvironmental Education Congress 2011

held in Brisbane 19-22 July 2011

Explore, Experience, Educate

by Suzanne Pritchard

Thoughts about what to CPPA could do

• Have a local youth event – collaborate with school
• Investigate features in the reserves that are children friendly- seek funding to implement them
• have walks/exploratory sessions that showcase the beauty of the environment in which we live

◦   Toddler Trails being developed in the reserves-Knox City Council

◦   Frog identification workshop- frog noises on blog

• Powerful communities- connected, collective
• Relationship + interest= commitment
• connections to actions and emotions
• We’re in a predicament-“Remove the doom and gloom and restore the fascination with nature”
• How to encourage creativity in the system.
• Facebook as a social tool and requesting donations through it

Community Focussed energy monitoring

• Auzion brochure
• connected household monitoring
• potential to determine energy usage across the community

The Earth Charter

• promoting change for a sustainable future
• a declaration of fundamental principles
• Could promote it within the Chronicle- personal choice on how to live

Educating to ecological virtues

• ecological education has to promote ethical responsibility to reorient the way of being in relationship to the natural world.
• Ethical education as education to virtues- Socratic approach

◦   Virtues include sobriety/temperance, courage, respect, justice, benevolence

Smart Living Campaign

• a guide for people to be more resource efficient and sustainable
• www.capetown.gov.za/smartlivinghandbook

Public Art in place making

• CPPA grant for public art  in the parks
• -different age groups focus with the parks
• Research- work with schools to develop walking track and distance markers

Public Spaces

• Public spaces can nurture enquiring minds
• Public Space-community access and usage
• Pocket gardens, sensory gardens
• food gardens adjacent to restaurants
• roof top gardens
• Enquiring minds- adults to children- visitors in transition
• Invitation to something special in the space

◦   welcome gates

◦   Promise of adventure- Everett Adventure garden

• Transformative experience

Eco literacy is the keystone for sustainability education- Eric Bauer

Eco-literacy has to have a context for people in a place

• ‘don’t know what they don’t’ know’
• Ecoliteracy includes attitudes-skill-knowledge

◦   Dichotomy: complexity/simplicity- reductionist thinking runs contrary to practice

• Leadership and trust are required to educate
• Learner influence dictates how the message is transferred
• Action Inquiry- requires empathy and critical thinking
• Engagement-draw people in
• Dialogue-communicate
• Praxis-act and reflect

Ecological praxis-learning by doing-Luke Edwards

Catholic Schools – Earthcare mandate

Organisations as living systems

• call to participatory leadership
• The success of an intervention depends on the interior condition of the intervener.- need to understand internal motivator
• What to change: Thinking from  Reductionist to systems approach

U Journey

1. co-initiating: build common intent
2. co-sensing :observe
3. presencing:connect to the source of inspiration
4. coevolve:embody the new
5. cocreate:prototype the new

Accessing one’s inner knowing in the basis for all innovation

• Observe, observe,observe
• retreat and reflect-
• act with understanding
• participation not perfection

Empowering the next generation- various

Ahri Tallon- Australain Youth Climate Coalition-Young people and environmentalism

• We live in an educated affluent society and  have the power to make change
• Projected 95% extinction –Permian age by end of century
• How do we build a generation of sustainable leaders

◦   Operate on short term political change for long term environmental gain

◦   Educate-inspire-mobilise-empower

◦   Social-action-celebrate

◦   Create a culture of hope and opportunity

◦   Positivity – the heaven to create not the hell

• Override a culture of individualization and careerism,
• Affluence runs contrary to a social movement
• Sustainability needs to be connected to community and not compartmentalized by short term govt.
• Skill gap towards empowerment to create a movement
• Get active beyond the job,

• Get involved in a deeper way
• Encourage and create pathways
• Need support to empower

Connect-create-collaborate

Liz Clarke-Aboriginal traditional ecological knowledge (ATEK)

• Concern about loss of traditional knowledge
• Increase awareness and knowledge
• Incorporate traditional knowledge
• Ref: Deborah Bird Rose-Nourishing terrain

Julie Davis- Early childhood

• Active participation and action taking

◦   Power taking

◦   Collective action

◦   Effective, rapid communication

◦   Optimistic

◦   Work from a strengths perspective-incl indigenous perspectives and participation

◦   EfS should not add to marginalization

◦   Actively engage in inclusion and reconciliation- a filter through which to view the decision making process

• Need to recognise children as agents in their community

Creating Hope

Emeretta Cross- Pacific hope and vision

• We’re in a predicament-“Remove the doom and gloom and restore the fascination with nature”
• The message-children need the option of choices, inspiring, creative and passionate choices
• Relationship with people and networks vip
• Instead of reinventing wheels lets connect the cogs.
• Gaps in the chairs, everyone has something to share
• Displacement Solutions- endorsed by UN habitat- Victim or refugee

Justin Dillon-Science Education

Kings College London-editor Science Education

• How to make hope realistic?
• We understand the science, how do we move people forward
• Deniers ‘pernicious evil’ push for complete ignorance.
• Doom and gloom doesn’t work must move beyond it
• Why are educators important- based on trust, responsibility comes with it.
• Good practice-Odyssey school, Denver- challenging people to think and go on a a learning expedition
• Strong and weak Climate models- understand risks
• Continuum of credibility Blog->scientific journal
• Problem in getting people to think-Everyone underachieves in education it’s a matter of reaching you full potential.

Dr Hum Gurung-CEO Bird Conservation Nepal

Identifying impacts and planning adaptive management responses to climate change in Asia.

Birds, Glaciers

• Birds as indicators of a changing world-Birdlife International Project

◦   distribution models show a grim diminishing of habitat

• Impacts on ecosystems-Himalayas

◦   Vegetation shifting 1.5 to 3.4m /year in altitude

▪   Rhododendrons blooming earlier 1 month earlier

▪   Fungus harvesting-affected, snow melt quicker less fungus growth

▪   Invasive weeds spreading, Mikania

• Mt Everest turning to a rocky mountain

◦   Drying of water sources-climate change refuges of Dhe village

◦   Glacier lakes, landslides when they burst

◦   Landslide blocks the rivers

◦   Electricity supply interrupted due to hydro supply

• Understand at the local level

◦   Livelihood needs to be addressed

• Integrated adaptation approach

◦   Climate science

◦   Policy

◦   Communication and Env Ed

◦   Capacity building

Research and Policy in action-Bob Stevenson

Implications for practice

• Research is about reducing ignorance not searching for truth
• Assumption that increased awareness will change attitudes and behaviors- THIS IS NOT SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH
• Complex web of attitudes, beliefs, expectations

What was learnt

• Peoples worldviews and belief systems, philosophical and political positions shape the interpretations and understandings
• The context in which people live and work shape their behaviors-large systems affect options
• Worldviews are linked to identity- biographical, geographical, cultural, spiritual affects interpretation of environment
• People respond emotionally to educational/learning
• Language and discourse  influences individual and collective thinking and action
• People learn and act as social beings- social collaborative learning and community actions

Key Points

• Who decides on the goals
• Goals should be framed democratically-empowering learners as individuals and collectives
• Central role of engagement and what contributes to that
• Treat all people in inquiry as responsible agents capable  of participating in , changing

Lessons and questions for practice

• Try to understand what meaning people are constructing of environmental issues and what is shaping or influencing their understandings
• Think from the students’ or learner’ perspectives
• Engage learners intellectually and emotionally in environmental issues
• Think and act locally & globally
• Where can we situate hope?
• How can we construct ourselves as environmentally orientated educators?

Evaluation capacity- Michaela Zint

• EE programs that foster changes in behaviour
• Have behavioural outcome objectives
• Are designed based on behaviours theories and models
• Consider participants needs
• Are participatory
• Have long term learning

Schools Information

TIN/L4Y- Facebook page that can generate donations of items

Habitat Heroes- free virtual world game with environmental messages embedded in the games.Saving the planet one game at a time.

• www.HabitatHeroes.com.au

Green Lane Diary

• Identify problems, solve and love environment
• Scientists are optimistic-one person can make a difference
• Enable students to engage with achieveing outcomes-crowded curriculum, searching for great ideas and resources.
• Emphasis on what are you going to do about it?

Knox City Council- Little Green leaves- Early Years sustainability framework

L4Y preschool support

• subscribe to newsletter

Knox City Council

• EYLF embedded sustainability
• Knowledge gap between staff and skill level
• Sustainability messages targeted to young families
• Values and dispositions
• Audit and baseline data collection
• Partnerships and overall embedding in councils sustainability plans

Promotion-Intro to program, info on policy and procedure

Commitment- all services offered- MOU

Environmental Action Plan-baseline data audits, training for educators and families- Water, Waste,Energy, biodiversity

• Resource kits, online resources, learning opportunities, newsletters
• Action-implementation-Evauation-findings, presentations, case studies, data tracking

Kindergardens for Wildlife- MOU

• Natural play spaces- making places that children can be immersed
• All working together, children participatory
• Honour board- leaf, bird etc
• Policy and procedures, resource development, evaluation
• Utilised including councilors for promotion opportunities
• Knox 155,000 population

Evaluation- AuSSi

Certificate- ‘this is to certify that ___________is an Landcare School

• Partnerships important to develop.
• Involvement –development of SEMPS commitment of school, leadership teams, empowerment of students
• Project Officer- support professional learning – related to Australian Curriculum, inquiry learning in science.
• Inquiry model and how to evaluate learning

◦   Ref. Lorna Earle-

▪   assessment of learning 

▪   assessment as learning

▪   assessment for learning

Evaluation tools

• Student interviews
• Team meetings
• School newsletters
• Expert feedback

Informal evaluation

• Conversations with teachers, students community
• Conversations with sustainability experts
• Professional learning
• School visits
• Study tours

Formal evaluations by project officers of and as learning

• SEMP
• School reporting processes
• Kids4kids workshop
• School case studies
• Survey twice a year
• Case study booklet

Independent formal evaluations

• Hierarchy of outcomes
• School, project and individual outcomes
• Developing networks and partnerships
• Improvement in teacher understanding
• Effectiveness of officers

Characteristics of evaluation

Student survey- wiki workshop- guidelines on how to establish a wiki, place to put together all the information to share.- Hutchins School

Approach to evaluation- AuSSi-Tas wikki for ideas

• Used social media  set up questions and framework and empower people by participating in the process
• Commitment to inspiring learning
• Teachers and student learning
• Empowering and developmental learning

Participatory evaluation-

• Using social software- survey monkey
• Negotiation- flexible guidelines
• Survey monkeys, 50% responses

Behavioral change-

• more connected, purposeful and that they could make a difference,
• acceptance and sharing of  ideas,
• self esteem, curiosity, professional learning all valued

School Online Resources-

• google docs

◦   presentations, sites- websites

• Glogster- online poster
• Wiki
• Facebook as a people mobiliser