Environmental and sustainability education

NSW Government schools are guided by the NSW Environmental Education Policy for Schools. Support for environmental and sustainability education is available at Curriculum Support.

Students are entitled to quality environmental and sustainability education that develops the capacity to live sustainably.

Curriculum integration should occur through the provision of environmental and sustainability education programs that:

are systematically programmed, taught and evaluated as part of the school curriculum K-12
are interdisciplinary, applying, connecting and progressively building knowledge and skills from across learning areas and through the stages of schooling
allow students to consider a range of viewpoints and to make judgements based on evidence and their personal values
are action-oriented, with students exploring and designing responses to sustainability challenges of school and community significance
use the school site to engage students in authentic sustainability learning
promote collaboration and partnerships within the community.

Syllabus links

In the Technology learning area environmental and sustainability education is articulated through all Stage 4, 5 and 6 syllabuses to varying degrees. In Technology (Mandatory) students develop an appreciation of technologies through a study of design. They consider environmental impacts of technologies, encouraging them to become globally aware of sustainability issues, in particular in relation to activities of design and production. In addition, all technology subjects provide scope for embedding environmental education into teaching and learning programs and practices.

Technology teachers should:

consider using an environmental topic or event as a vehicle for delivering the syllabus outcomes and content, for example, the creation of an information system to manage data collection and analysis for a school Streamwatch project in Information Processes and Technology
identify environmental issues and incorporate teaching and learning activities which help students to consider the issues
address environmental issues as they arise in the classroom
require students to consider environmental impact and to act responsibly in their resource usage and development of projects.

Existing Environmental Education advice for KLAs may be of use as a starting point and is shown at http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/env_ed/teaching/kla_sup/index.htm.

Resources for environmental and sustainability education

Syllabus specific resources

Environmental and sustainability resources related to Technology learning area are listed in this spreadsheet.

Focus areas for learning for sustainability

Sustainable Schools

The Sustainable Schools NSW website is developed in partnership with the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water and provides a range of resources for environmental and sustainability education.

Resource review database

The Resource review database assists schools in selecting resources. Search the whole database to find reviews of websites, computer software, general resources, videos and kits. Reviews state curriculum relevance and user level.

TaLe

TaLe is a gateway to primary and secondary teaching and learning resources. Use it to search for relevant resources.

Sites2See are one-page guides providing a list of quality online resources in a given subject area. In each case syllabus and curriculum information are given as to how the resources might be used. For the full range of Sites2See visit TaLe, and type 'sites2see' into the search field.

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