WWF - For a living planet

Our society has become detached from the world in which we live.

We are no longer aware of how dependent we are on the health of our planet and the joy which an appreciation of this connection brings to our lives.

Often, our values are based on individual success, largely measured in material possessions. This is something we learn from the first time someone says they love us with a present and reward us for achievement with a prize.

These experiences encourage us to have unsustainable lifestyles.
 
If we are going to change the way we live, we need to learn to live differently. The way in which we educate our children is central to this change. Childhood is the period in life when most values are learned, and the knowledge and skills for living in our fast-changing world are developed.

We need an education system which promotes new ways of thinking and core values that support sustainable lifestyles.

The current education system does not enable this.

The challenge

We need an education system that helps young people and the wider community become more  sustainable. This involves helping teachers to develop appropriate learning methods with their students. We also need to support policy and decision makers - from national government to school leadership teams - to create the conditions which allow sustainable schools to flourish.

The education sector currently contributes 15% of the carbon footprint of the public sector. The creation of sustainably-run schools would both reduce carbon emissions and provide models for the wider community. Unfortunately, decision makers at national and local level are slow to promote sustainable buildings. Often, sustainability features are the first things to be cut if a building project runs over-budget and little training is provided for the school community on how to use their buildings in a sustainable way.

What is WWF doing about it?

Transforming the system: over the next three to five years, we will be working for a major transformation of England’s education system, through our flagship project, One Planet Education. We will work with representatives of the current system to see how we can make the changes that will help us achieve a One Planet Future, where people and nature thrive together. There has already been a major shift towards sustainability in England’s education system over the last couple of years, so now is the time to push for even greater change.

Leadership support: we continue to support the work of the National College for School Leadership, the government agency responsible for the training of current and future school leaders. Leadership is repeatedly cited as the most important element in moving schools from small-scale engagement with sustainable practices to whole school, embedded practice which looks to connect with the wider local and global community.  

Supporting classroom practice: we support classroom practice through a wide range of activities via our One Planet Schools initiative. These include resources for schools to work together to develop a whole school approach to sustainability; lesson ideas and activities for teachers to use with their students and an annual conference for teachers. We are also working to identify core teaching and learning methods which give teachers the confidence and competence to enable students to engage with sustainability. A guiding set of practices and approaches will then be promoted to those responsible for teacher education.

Schools and local communities: we will develop initiatives to demonstrate how schools and local communities can work together to develop sustainable communities.

WWF Educators’ Network: we meet with other educators around the WWF Network to share ideas, experience and to learn together. This network is increasingly active and there is a growing understanding that WWF education programmes need to be more ambitious in the change they are aiming for in national education systems around the world.

Find out more at wwf.org.uk/oneplanetschools