I teach Australian history (Intercultural Studies), and my Foundation Program students (99% international) create their own plan in class. From an Aboriginal elder guest speaker they learn how the first people are connected to the land and how they used to take care of it. Then, through the politics of the last century, they explore how laws have influenced Australian land. In teams, they write on the walls (yes we put paper on it), creating their own time lines of decisive moments in Australian history and the dates of the policies that have impacted, and still impact, Australia today.
We consider the culture, economy and trends that explain how we got where we are today. Students then work in pairs, assigned a country (such as a classmate's country of birth) and research the environmental damage and policies of that location. They have to describe that country’s lifestyle and environmental challenges, and in comparing these with Australia, suddenly we are discussing cultural differences.
Using the tactic of incorporating sustainability students learn so much about climatic change, endangered species, rising ocean temperatures, extinction and so on, that we often need to address climate anxiety in the group. We begin by observing how to properly recycle EVERYTHING. We walk around the campus, and visit parks, cafés and other student hangouts, to look at the different bins and recycle stations, and what is on the ground.
Students bring to class their best rubbish finds, and we hold a contest for best-looking rubbish and we throw them into the correct bins; compost, landfill, mixed recycling and soft plastic recycling (students of any age love throwing stuff, try it!) Then in teams, students need to come up with a plan for Australia’s future.
They draw up their plan on A3 sheets of paper, taking all their understanding from the past mistakes of the various countries and generating solutions for the present and future. It is about reducing consumption; it is about local actions that all Australians can take; which is really empowering. At this point, students have been working with so many environmental views, issues and solutions, that they are able to apply their knowledge to evaluate the best options and create viable solutions. They then present their ideas to the class. The class votes and all the best solutions are displayed at the College with descriptions of the old systems and what the action should be now.
Teaching English literacy? Pick an article on plastic pollution in the ocean. Teaching chemistry? Get students to discuss the effects of gas pollutants.
I want all students to feel they can get involved and change the course of history. I want them to feel believe they have the power to change and to change the world. As teachers, we don’t have to teach a social sciences program to be able to embed environmental awareness into a course. Even in mathematics, you could have your students calculate the numbers of harvests left on earth or the exponential rate of decline in the bee population. You never know, your students might be the ones who come up with the solutions that will turn the climate crisis around.
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