Summer 2005

Education for sustainability

New curriculum, new careers

Dianne Coady presents a case study of environmental education at Urrbrae Agricultural High School in South Australia, a national Landcare education winner. This school aims to challenge the values and attitudes of the students so that they critically evaluate their lifestyles,to lead them towards changing their behaviour to improve the sustainability of planet earth.

The across the curriculum approach at Urrbrae Agricultural High School (UAHS), focuses on establishing a common understanding of the environment so that students comprehend the relevance of it to their lives and realise that we are just one species on the planet. The curriculum aims to question the likelihood of ensuring the long term viability of ‘quality of life’ in Australia and the world, and challenges students to critically reflect on their consumptive lifestyles.

The key to building the capacity of young people to take action for the environment is the ability of teachers to foster leadership in young people and to encourage them to take supported risks in meeting the environmental challenges they face.

UAHS is a designated special interest South Australia State government school with a focus on agriculture, environment, and technology. It has a current enrolment of approximately 1000 students with a 50/50 gender balance. All students must apply to attend; consequently, they come from all over the state.

Knowledge, understanding and skills

At UAHS the emphasis is on encouraging students to initiate their own environmental directions across the curriculum. They negotiate the opportunity to explore these issues further, with a goal of suggesting solutions to them, in the appropriate learning area context. The aim is to embed environmental education across the curriculum.

To this end, the school has developed a number of environmental initiatives with agencies and groups external to the school which provide opportunities for students to gain ‘real world’ knowledge, understandings and skills. The students at UAHS have a myriad of opportunities to take environmental action.

For example, UAHS is working with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) on an innovative aquifer storage and recovery project, where wetland water is stored during the winter and is recovered for use in the school and farms during summer. The nearby wetland is managed as a cooperative partnership between the school and Mitcham Council.

Opportunities to take environmental action

A key program is the Wetland Intensive Study, a coordinated cross-curriculum Water program for year 8–10 students, based at the Urrbrae Wetland Learning Centre.

In year 8 Agriculture, all students spend 4–6 weeks investigating the water quality of the wetland through macro-invertebrate, turbidity and salinity monitoring. They also learn safe dinghy handling and wader use in the collection of data. In year 9 Society and Environment, they measure the silt build up in the wetland across transect lines and graph the results in Excel. These findings were influential in convincing the Patawalonga Catchment Management Board to fund an extension to the inlet sections of the wetland and increase the trash racks’ capability of reducing leaf litter and silt pollution into the wetland.

Year 9 students also map the location of vegetation species using GPS (Global Positioning Systems) equipment and conduct photo points to observe the change over time of vegetation growth. In year 10 Science, all students conduct more sophisticated chemical analysis tests to determine the water quality and problem-solve solutions to improve it.

The program enables students to translate the underpinning knowledge about ecologically sustainable development into real-world action, thus rewarding them and inspiring them to continue to want to make a difference.

Members of the Student Representative Council (SRC) at UAHS are active in environmental initiatives. Litter in the school yard is an ongoing issue in any large high school and the SRC has been active in coming up with solutions. Initially, they recognised that bin design was an issue as bins blew over, spreading litter. They asked the year 9 Environmental Technology class to come up with a solution. Colourful metal bin covers were designed and made by the class to stabilise the plastic bins.

The SRC initiated the recycling of all UAHS waste paper and cardboard. Their surveys of the student body determined the best placement for recycling bins. The SRC is responsible for the collection of this recycling and the funds raised go towards SRC projects. All of these actions build confidence, leadership abilities and teamwork skills.

Community partnerships

Over the years, Rotary Clubs have sponsored many UAHS students to attend Australian Youth Parliaments, Mildura Youth Health of the River Murray Forums, Lake Culluleraine Camps, Bookmark Biosphere conservation project camps in the Riverland, and Albury Freshwater Conferences. These activities help broaden knowledge and understandings of environmental issues across Australia as students meet and network with other likeminded young people. They also teach students about the political processes and skills necessary for change. This all transfers into successful environmental action so they can make a real difference in their own communities.

UAHS students sponsored by Rotary are required to follow up with a presentation about the value of their experience at a local Club dinner. This further builds their confidence and belief in the importance of positive action.

Training and mentoring opportunities

Taking action and being successful ensures that students can repeat the experience in another setting. UAHS has introduced student club mentors who assist the teacher running the club to teach other students the required skills. They often take responsibility for supervision of younger members and suggest new initiatives, working alongside the teacher in their development and implementation.

Students are given every opportunity to participate in training workshops and conferences. Intergenerational exchange of ideas, values and attitudes about the importance of a sustainable future is very affirming for those involved.

Focus people

In 1997, two positions were established to foster the environmental focus of UAHS, a Wetland coordinator and an Environment coordinator. Both positions involve extensive mentoring of teachers at Urrbrae and in other schools to develop the capacity of teachers and students.

Key to the success of building the capacity to take environmental action is the establishment of an Environment Committee. At UAHS, the committee is comprised of teachers, students and parents. It meets twice a term (after school in an early dismissal time-slot which encourages more people to attend).

Factors for success

Critical interrogation of our curriculum and methodology must be ongoing and we need to strive for a teaching staff which is committed wholeheartedly to this vision. We need to develop ways of collecting meaningful data to ascertain the environmental gains that might accrue from the general education programs at the school. We need to increase the extra-curricular environmental action opportunities so all students experience the sense of making a difference. We need to continue to foster students who suggest initiatives and solutions to environmental problems and celebrate their efforts as role models.

Many UAHS students go on to initiate important environmental action in their own careers and communities. Their work in changing values, attitudes and action towards the environment will continue to have an influence across the South Australian landscape.

Dianne Coady is environment coordinator at Urrbrae Agricultural High School in South Australia.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au