L3 Education for Sustainability (KA) - Full year

Course Overview

Education for Sustainability (EfS) is about learning to think and act in ways that will safeguard the future wellbeing of people and our planet. Human-caused climate change is the most significant challenge for the sustainability of society and our biosphere today. And therefore, climate change will be a focus of this course.

Education for sustainability includes learning about:

• the environment – water, land, ecosystems, energy, waste, urban living, transportation

• the interactions between the natural environment and human activities, and the consequences of these

• the choices and actions we can take to prevent, reduce, or change harmful activities to the environment.

• Central to this learning is the exploration of attitudes, values, and behaviours with respect to the environment - both our own and those of others.

Topics covered include:

• Principles of sustainability and the many meanings of this word

• Climate change, climate justice, and strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

• The social dimension of sustainability.

• How human impacts and climate change affect biophysical environments.

• How different worldviews, values and practices impact sustainability. In particular the contrast of the Western worldview with indigenous worldviews such as Mātauranga Māori.

• This course will introduce students to the writing of structured science reports and essays with references to reliable published sources.