The Higher Education Academy’s
Education for Sustainable Development Project
presents
What Makes a Town Sustainable?
EAUC Conference 19th April 2007
Heather Witham
ESD Project Coordinator
Higher Education Academy
The Higher Education Academy
• Our mission is to help institutions, discipline groups
and all staff to provide the best possible learning
experience for their students
• We provide discipline-based support through our
Subject Network of 24 Subject Centres. These are a
mix of single-site and consortium-based centres
located within relevant subject departments and
hosted by higher education institutions.
The Education for Sustainable Development
(ESD) Project
• Initiated in early 2005 with the support of Forum for
the Future
• First stage: audit of subject communities carried out
by 18 of the 24 Subject Centres
• Culminated in the “Dawe Report”, available from our
website: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/esd
Our Strategy
• Purpose: ‘to help institutions and subject
communities develop curricula and pedagogy that will
give students the skills and knowledge to live and
work sustainably.’
Our Strategy, continued
• Aims:
• ‘To research and support the development of ESD in the HE
sector, particularly within subject communities’.
• ‘To build capacity amongst individuals, subject communities
and institutions to embed ESD in curricula and pedagogy’.
• ‘To assist the coordination and dissemination of policy, research
and practice relating to ESD in institutions, the HEA and the
wider field’.
Our Current Work
• Research into the UK Policy Context
– Forum for the Future
– England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales
– Available publicly soon
• Action Research on Labour Market Evidence for
Sustainable Careers Advice
– StudentForce for Sustainability
– Surveyed students, employers, careers advisors
– Available publicly soon
Our Current Work, continued…
• Solo HEI Events
–
–
–
–
Alex Ryan and Colin Brooks
University of East Anglia
University of Gloucestershire soon
Report on our website
• Three-Day Interdisciplinary Seminar Series
– Alex Ryan and Colin Brooks
– 3 universities, 15 disciplines represented
– Report on our website
Our Current Work, continued…
• Regional ESD Networking Events
–
–
–
–
East Midlands
South West on 28th March in Bristol
Scotland on 13th June in Dundee
Reports on our website
Our Current Work, continued…
• Small Grant Funding
–
–
–
–
12 projects from 8 HEIs and/or Subject Centres
13 disciplines
Results available in July
Listing of projects on our website
• UK ESD Conference
– 10-11 July 2007
– Ecoversity: Bradford University
– More information on our website
Our Current Work, continued…
• Joined Up Thinking
– Mini SIGnet meeting
– Kingston, Gloucestershire, Plymouth, Bournemouth,
Leadership Foundation, EAUC, Forum for the Future, others
– Met in January
– Joint strategies on communicating to the sector
– Next meeting in July
• Resource Development
– Our website
– Subject Centres
– More information on our website
Our Current Work, continued…
• Subject Centre Activity
–
–
–
–
Projects
Workshops
Joint events
Publications
• Generic Module and Development Plan
– Stephen Sterling (joint post with CSF–- Plymouth)
Our Current Work, continued…
What Makes a Town Sustainable?
The History of the Project…
• Post 2006 ESD conference
• Real life sustainability projects
• South Gloucestershire Council’s Local
Agenda 21 Meeting
• Thornbury Town Council / Partnership
“Healthcheck”
The Original Aim…
•
•
•
•
Problem-based learning
Website
Multiple “ways in”
Close relationship with “healthcheck”
The Actual Outcome…
• Cold e-mails
• Dozens of interested parties
• Sustainability Café in U of Bristol
University of the West of England…
•
•
•
•
•
Economics Network
Ecological Economics PBL workbook
Food issues
Press release
Economics workshop / focus group
Leeds University…
• Participatory methods
• Town Council “trouble”
Leeds University, continued…
Leeds University, continued…
Leeds University, continued…
Cardiff University…
• Centre for Education in the Built Environment
• Architecture and Planning
Cardiff University…
Consultation Event: October 2006
Cardiff University…
Final Presentation: December 2006
Cardiff University…
Spin offs – due 25th May 2007:
• Thornbury Community Arts Venue
• Land for Growing Food
University of Gloucestershire…
• 1st year skills module
• Town Council “trouble”Sustainable
Thornbury
• Question Time
• Three batches: tours, conversations
• Follow up session on 26th January
University of Gloucestershire, continued…
Dr Arran Stibbe’s
Sustainable Cities Module
Sustainable City Project…
 …2008?
 Independent study project, Level II
 Work in partnership with school, NGO, local
community group or University Estates Management
 Piece of work that will contribute to Cheltenham or
Gloucester becoming more sustainable
Sustainable City Project…
 a short film, a report, a survey, a leaflet, a piece of artwork, a
poster or other work
 working with teachers to analyse how textbooks and literature
used in the classroom represent the environment
 working with tenants of council estates on environmental justice
issues
 surveying campus buildings in terms of energy efficiency
 analysing the physical layout, textual representations of, and
attitudes towards local parks, gardens and attractions
 conducting stakeholder analysis to help local groups include
ecological issues in their bids for heritage funding
Sustainable City Project…
 helping to set up a campus biodiversity garden
 the work done must be relevant to the students’ degrees
 Learning outcomes
 Assessment
 List of resources
What could you do?
•Given your discipline, what project
ideas do you have?
•Could you work with other disciplines?
•How could you involve community
groups?
Let’s mingle…
Any Questions?
• Our website: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/esd
• Our e-mail: [email protected]
• My e-mail: [email protected]