Environmental Sustainability: Good Practice and Ways Forward

In the ‘decade of education for sustainable development’, it is important that we have a clear vision of where we are going in terms of education for sustainable development in Scotland’s schools. At a time of increasing resource depletion and  damaging climate change, it is vital that our young people develop into informed, responsible citizens who are equipped to think and act in ways that will ensure the long term sustainability of their local environment and our planet.

Iain Mills recently visited New Zealand to study their approaches to education for sustainable development and the ways in which environmental sustainability is being embedded in their schools. In this seminar he will look at best practice in New Zealand schools and set out ideas for ways forward in Scotland’s schools, including ways to address environmental issues through a broader citizenship framework.

Practical examples will illustrate how environmental sustainability can (and should) involve hands-on experiences for pupils and will demonstrate the rich opportunities sustainability offers for addressing the four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence. There will be opportunities for participants to discuss and reflect on the issues raised.

Iain Mills is an Adviser with Inverclyde Council Education Services.  His remit covers areas such as social studies, citizenship and environmental sustainability and he heads up the Inverclyde-Malawi partnership programme. He previously worked in the Education Faculty at Glasgow University, and was a teacher in Inverclyde and Renfrewshire.

He has published work on areas such as pupil participation in schools, developing shared values and a comparison of primary and secondary teaching methodologies.