Education for Sustainable Living

The Background

Situated near the Patterson River in Melbourne’s Bayside, the Cornish Campus of St Leonard’s College comprises of students from pre-school to year 10. Inspired by their school motto "Learning for Life", the school community has worked collaboratively over a number of years to develop a whole school approach to sustainability. Reflecting on the role of education institutions in today’s world, St Leonard’s decided that it could truly make a difference by transforming its curriculum. Through their “Education for Sustainable Living” project, the school aims to develop a culture of life long learning with a strong and highly detailed curriculum approach to sustainable education. Environmental and sustainable living concepts are used to develop personal skills, civic leadership and critical awareness.

The Project

The school's educational transformative began with the establishment of an Early Learning Centre which promoted a strong commitment to environmental and community based education. Through this centre, students are encouraged to develop critical thinking and inquiry-based skills at an early age. When seeking to extend this vision of inquiry-based learning throughout the whole school, environmental management issues such as the school's resources and waste became a focus of attention. The school proceeded to audit the entire curriculum (from the Early Learning Centre through to year 10) mapping where each course could contribute to students' understandings of sustainability. With the audit complete, an extensive staff debate led to teaching program changes and course rearrangements.

The school’s sustainable curriculum includes many different programs. Senior students are offered weekly community service programs and electives that range from sustainable business projects to indigenous studies. "EcoKids" allows younger students to become enthusiastic, independent learners while developing a sense of place and responsibility in the wider community. In the future the school plans to build a sustainable technologies centre to showcase the steps everyone can take to create a sustainable future.

While at times this process has been slow, the school community realises that unless sustainability issues are debated, explored in different disciplines and students are given time to make up their own minds, sustainable education cannot be successful.

The Journey

St Leonard's College have holistically embraced inquiry-based sustainable education, addressing many interconnected aspects of sustainability. They are learning together to become responsible citizens and create a sustainable future.