This is all about eco literacy report.

1. ECO-LITERACY
Presenters:
Ira Rose D. Marfil
Andrei Maravilla

2. At the end of the lesson, you should be
able to:
• Describe eco-literacy
• Identify ways to develop eco-literacy
• Enumerate the seven environmental
principles
• Explain the concept of green school

3. Eco-literacy
Is the ability to understand the
organization of natural systems and the
processes that maintain the healthy
functioning of living systems and sustain
life on Earth. An ecologically literate
person is able to apply this understanding
to the design and organization of our
human communities and the creation of a
regenerative culture.

4. Eco literacy
• Considers ecological systems and awareness of how
society operates within natural aspects as an
educational imperative.
Wahl, 2017
The basic principles of Eco literacy are good starting
points to explore fundamental lessons that can be
learned from nature for the reform of society.

5. David Orr (1992)
• Students are taught that ecology is unimportant.
Orr and Capra (1990)
• “Ecological literacy” as creating a new emphasis on the need for education to
integrate understanding of the interdependence between natural processes and human
ways of life.
First step
• Ecological literacy is understanding the principles of organization that ecosystems
have evolved to sustain the web of life.
Second step
• Is the move forwards Eco design, of which there is a need to apply the ecological
knowledge to the fundamental redesign of technologies and social institutions, to
bridge the current gap between human design and the ecological sustainable systems
of nature.

6. Eco-literacy and Sustainable Development
• Originally promoted by the environmental educator
David W. Orr (1992) and the physicist Fritjof Capra
(1995), nurturing ecological literacy in students of a
wide range of ages has become the goal of
sustainability education programs worldwide.

7. Ecologically Literate Person
Wahl (2017)
• Can apply such understanding to the design and
organization of communities and the creation of a
regenerative culture.
Ecologically Literate Person
• Understands the essence of interdependence and
interconnectedness and that we are all part of a
living system.

8. Ecologically Literate Society
• Would be a sustainable society, which does not destroy the
natural environment on which they depend.
• Advocates and catalysts champion ecoliteracy as a new
educational reform emerging from holism, system thinking,
sustainability and complexity.
Wahl (2017)
• Claimed that nurturing ecological literacy in students of a
wide range of ages has become the goal of sustainability.

9. “Socially and Emotionally engaged
ecoliteracy”
• Which is a process that offers an antidote for fear,
anger and hopelessness which result from
inaction.
Ecoliteracy
• Is founded on a new integration of emotional,
social and ecological forms of intelligence.

10. Five Ways to Develop Eco-literacy
1. Develop empathy for all forms of life
• By recognizing the common need we share
with all organisms, we can begin to shift our
perspective from a view of humans as
separate and superior to a more authentic
view of humans as members of the natural
world.

11. Five Ways to Develop Eco-literacy
2. Embrace sustainability as a common
practice
Organisms do not survive in isolation.
Instead, the web of relationships within
any living community determines its
collective ability to survive and thrive.

12. Five Ways to Develop Eco-literacy
3. Make the invisible visible
The path between a decision and its
consequences is visible. For instance, as we
increase the use of fossil fuels, it has been
difficult to believe that we are disrupting
something on the magnitude of the earth’s
climate.

13. Five Ways to Develop Eco-literacy
4. Anticipate unintended consequences
Many of the environmental crises that we face today
are unintended consequences of human behavior.
For example, we are experiencing consequences
from the development of technological ability to
access, produce, and use fossil fuels. Thus, we have
to conserve and follow the precautionary principle.

14. Five Ways to Develop Eco-literacy
5. Understand how nature sustains life
 Eco literate people recognize that nature has sustained life
for long that resulted to turning to nature when their
teachers imbibe three crucial tenets to eco literate living: (1)
all living organisms are part of the complex and
interconnected web of life, (2) systems exist on various
level, and (3) using and supporting nature’s inherent ability
to sustain life in the future.

15. Seven Environmental Principles of Nature
(adapted from Barry Commoner,
cited in Butler, 2012).
1. Nature knows best
• people need to understand nature and have to abide by the
rules it imposes. In essence, one must not go against the
natural processes if he/she would like to ensure a
continuous and steady supply of resources.
2. All forms of life are important
• each organism plays a fundamental role in nature
therefore, all living things must be considered as invaluable
instruments in maintaining balance in the ecosystem.

16. 3. Everything is connected to everything else
• In an ecosystem, all components interact with each other to ensure that
the system is sustainable, of which any outside interference may result
in an imbalance and deterioration of the system.
4. Everything changes
• People must rethink their relationship with the environment through
relevant technologies for positive changes.
5. Everything must go somewhere
• Since wastes may go back to one’s own backyard in some other forms,
it is important to become aware of the different types of waste, classify
and segregate those that are toxic and potentially hazardous.

17. 6. Ours is a finite earth
• Awareness of the earth’s limited resources leads to a
conscious effort to change one’s attitude and initiative and
initiative to recycle them.
7. Nature is beautiful and we are stewards of God’s creation
• Being the most intelligent and being gifted with reason,
humans are capable of controlling and taking care of the
creation to their own advantage.

18. Towards a Green School and Education for
Sustainable Development
School plays a great role in the development of academics but
also environmental ethics and care for nature among students.
• Environmental issues and concerns can be effectively
addressed when all efforts of staff and students are geared
toward adopting environmentally sustainable principles at
all levels, from planning and decision-making up to their
execution in the school’s functioning as part of daily
routine, such as creating Green School.

19. The Concept
• Introduced in Europe in the 1990’s
• Rio Earth Summit of 1992
• The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
in Johannesburg in 2002
• ‘Educating about the environment’ to ‘educating for
sustainability’
• United Nations launched the ‘Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development (DESD)’ in 2005

20. Green School and ESD
• The green school is visualized as a school guided
by the principles of environmental sustainability.
• It seeks opportunities to create a conducive
environment to fully utilize all resources and
opportunities inside and outside the school and
orient teachers and the community.

21. Essential aspects of Green School
Environment
• The “greenness” of a school finds expression in various aspects of the
environment.
• The Green School has clean, healthy, protective and green
surroundings.
Ensure a healthy
Provision of health services, such
as nutritional supplementation
and counselling.
Hygienic
Safe drinking water, neat and
clean classroom, playground and
parks, etc.

22. A Green School adheres to the
following precepts:
1. Learning about the environment
• It focuses mainly on acquisition of knowledge and understanding of
the surroundings and related issues.
2. Learning through the environment
• It refers to the processes of learning while being engaged with
environment inside and outside the classroom.
3. Learning for the environment
• It aims at developing an informed response and responsibility
towards the environment beyond acquisition of skills and knowledge.

23. Understanding
Green Curriculum
1. Environment is encompassing, multidisciplinary and dynamic, has
scientific, social, economic, political and technological dimensions.
2. Being holistic, a Green Curriculum views environment as all that is
around and aims to give a better understanding of the way the world
functions its operations, its alteration because of the actions of human
race and its consequences.
3. It holistically addresses sustainability concerns, such as protection and
conservation of natural resources, traditions, culture and heritage,
safety and security, physical and emotional assurance, health and
sanitation issues, concern for equity and justice and interconnection
between and among natural, social, physical and cultural environment

24. 4. This requires a teaching-learning approach
where students are provided time and space to
explore different facets of environment and
interconnected them.
5. A Green Curriculum is a mutual concern of
teachers and students.

25. Creating a Green School
• A Green School is a school that creates a healthy
environment conducive to learning, while saving energy,
environment resources and money.
Therefore, Green School should:
1. Reduces environment impacts and costs
2. Improves occupants’ health and performance
3. Increases environmental and sustainability literacy

26. Characteristics of a Green school
1. It protects health. Schools, built with more day lighting, better ventilation, and
healthy green building materials and paints are healthier for students and staff.
2. It increases student performance. Student test scores can improve up to 20% when
student learn in green classrooms.
3. It save energy and money. Operating cost for energy and water in green school can
be reduced by 20% to 40%.
4. It reduces carbon emissions. Green school significantly reduce carbon dioxide
emissions.
5. It reduce water usage. On an average, green school reduces water usage by 32% that
has direct savings for the building.
6. It improves teacher retention. A green school can reduce teacher turnover by as
much as 5%, which improves student learning and school community, and can result
in financial savings for the school.

27. 7. It improves daily attendance. It reduces absenteeism by 15%.
8. It provides a unique educational opportunity. School can become teaching
tools and important features of science, math, and environmental curriculum
when green features, advance technology and design in school are used to
motivate students about learning real world application of green
technologies and using schools and schoolyards as living laboratories.
9. It creates green job. Investing in creating green schools is an investing in
green jobs, including green construction, building product manufacturing,
and green architecture.
10. It proves quality. Greening public schools creates an opportunity to
improve the health and educational settings for all students amidst diverse
identities and needs.

28. Dark Green School Program: Philippine
Environmental Perspective
A Dark Green School (DGS) is a school that delivers Environmental
Education through assimilation of the environmental philosophy by the
students in formal lessons, as well as in activities outside the classroom.
Accordingly, schools must:
a) Be clean and neat as evidence of good management and housekeeping.
b) Call for a green spaces, appropriate land use, planning, conservation of
materials and energy, proper waste management, segregation, use of
appropriate materials and avoidance of harmful ones and respect to
others’ right to a smoke-free air.
c) Have management policies and guidelines that would create a healthful
and ecological campus.

29. d) Have a well-planned environmental curriculum for all levels,
adequately oriented and trained faculty, and administrative, library and
financial support.
e) Have faculty and students who are aware of and appreciate the
environmental program of the school.
f) Reach out to an outside community to spread concern for Mother
Earth and facilitate projects and programs that improve the
environment.
g) Engage in research that adds knowledge in the ways of nature and the
impact of human activities.

30. Ecological living
Capra (2003) sustainable ecological living is based on different sets of
principles. To assess the impact of our choices and actions, we need
criteria from studying the basic facts of life as follows:
1. Matter cycles continually through the web of life.
2. Most of the energy that drives the ecological cycles flow from the
sun.
3. Diversity assures resilience.
4. One species’ waste is another species’ food.
5. Life does not take over the planet by combat but by networking.

31. Ecological living and literacy therefore, provide people with the
tools, knowledge and wisdom for taking concrete actions on their
immense desire to contribute to a better world and future (Capra,
2003).
1. Respects and replenishes the carrying capacity of our planet.
2. Honors our interrelatedness with all expressions of life.
3. Enhances the qualitative aspects of our relationships.
4. Brings forth the best of our human capacities for the co-
creation of an ecologically sustainable and caring world.

32. Inner ecology (Smitsman,
2014)
1. Become a catalyst of change to help co-create a better world and future.
2. Care for and relate with non-human beings while spending time with nature.
3. Make the most of sustainability crisis that forces us to learn, dream, think,
design, act and relate in new ways.
4. Join rest around the world in becoming agents of sustainability.
5. Nurture nature by taking care of our body and become aware of our natural
body rhythms.
6. Become more energy efficient and learn to recycle our own energy.
7. Learn to compost our own waste and no need to dumb this unto others.
8. Become aware of rights, needs and well-being of future generations and
explore how we can support this in our actions.

33. Outer Ecology (Smitsman
2004)
1. Educate ourselves about the resources that we are family and or
organizations utilized to fulfill and sustain our needs
2. reduce your purpose and recycle
3. be aware of the real price of goods and services that we use
cheap products often have hidden costs
4. find out any child labor practices or natural resources that were
sacrificed in the process of producing products and services
5. recycle grey water
6. collect and use rainwater

34. 7. create an organic vegetable garden
8. compost organic waste and used to compost in the garden
9. create a garden to support local wildlife
10.Create a roof garden as a natural air conditioning
alternative to increase garden space
11. buy organic and local products as much as possible
12. support local businesses and organizations that care for
our planet.

35. Integrating Ecological Literacy
into the Curriculum
The center for equilateral (2015) promotes a variety of
teachings strategies based on practices that are
developmentally appropriate to students level and are brain-
based to faster knowledge skills and values essential to
sustainable living.
Students learn best when teaching strategies are worried
that include hands on activities, time for reflection, thoughtful
discussion and combined indoor and out there environments,
including interdisciplinary projects (Sly 2015). To wit:

36. If this an experimental learning that indigenous students in
their own environments and the strategy that captures their
imaginations and advances environmental and civic engagement.
Learning takes students out of the classroom and into the
community and natural environment. It adheres to the following
principles:
1.1 Place based projects are integrated back into classroom lessons
1.2 Students want to learn in order to apply their knowledge to
solving real problems
1. Place-based Learning

37. 1.3 Students play and active role in redefining and
recreating projects
1.4 Students collaborate with local citizens, organizations,
agencies, businesses and governments.
1.5 Students help make plans that shape the future of their
social, physical and economic environments.
1.6 Students are encouraged to vies their community as an
ecosystem and to understand the relationships and processes
necessary to support healthy living.

38. 2. Project-based learning
It is a strategy that involves students in projects that use a
variety of resources, including the community, technology, outside
experts, we can resources, and the web, while teacher usually serves as
facilitator of learning.
Using the strategy, research shows it's impact on learners, such
as:
1. Increased critical thinking skills of students
2. Fostered positive attitude towards subjects and exemplary
performance with conceptual questions and applied problems
3. Improved positive study and work habits, problem solving
capabilities and self esteem.

39. 3. Socratic inquiry
This is named after Greek philosopher Socrates, who believed
that questions (not answers) stimulate learning.
In return, this strategy impacts student learning as evidenced by
the following outcomes:
1. Students reveal their beliefs, misconceptions and values and
eventually, clarify their thoughts related to the topic being discussed.
2. Students become more adept in critical thinking
3. Students improve their listening skills and learn to better articulate
their thoughts and ideas and become more tolerant of diverse
opinions.

40. 4. Experiential learning
It promotes students involvement in the real world and defines the teacher’s
role as a facilitator of learning.
It goes along with principles of learning associated with environmental
literacy.
4.1 Experiential learning is vital to schooling for sustainability
4.2 Only through direct contact with the natural world will students develop and in-
depth understanding of fundamental ecological principles
4.3 By working with others to solve real world problems, they also develop skills at the
heart of sustainable living.
4.4 When students participate in experiential learning, they frequently follow the
learning cycle.
4.5 This is the process that starts with unstructured exploration followed by concept
formation and application.

41. 5. Interdisciplinary learning
It emphasizes connections between traditionally discrete
disciplines, such as math, science, history, and language arts, rather than
limiting learning to one content area at a time.
5.1 When teaching and learning are organized around themes, problems,
or issues, students seek knowledge and skills from a variety of disciplines
to provide an expanded and more complex understanding of the topics.
5.2 When done well, interdisciplinary approach eliminates fragmentation
and learning of isolated skills.
5.3 It allows students to access a particular theme from different entry
points as they work with a range of sources of information and
perspectives.

42. 5.4 It also allows teachers to better differentiate instruction and create
more interesting and rich methods of assessment.
5.5 It increases students’ motivation for learning, as well as their level
of active engagement.
5.6 Students recognize the value of their learning and become more
involved in it.
5.7 Students learn more when they apply a variety of skills to what
they are studying and when they interact with their classmates,
teachers and members of the community.
5.8 Interdisciplinary teaching and learning adheres to the principles
that help define sustainable living.

43. THANK YOU!