Education for Sustainable Development means including key sustainable development issues into teaching and learning; for example, climate change, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, poverty reduction, and sustainable consumption
2. •human geography
Geography-the challenge! •physical geography
The fundamental demographic disparity
between the developed and the
developing nations presents extremely
difficult cultural, technical and moral
challenges to any attempt to manage
global climate change.
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3. Environmental Challenges
The biological components of
our environment have evolved
in harmony with the physical
and climatic surroundings.
The presence, characteristics,
structure and behavior of both
individual organisms and co-
assemblages, or communities,
of organisms are largely
determined by climate.
The ability of natural
communities to adapt to
changing climate, and nature
of community change is of
utmost importance to the
survival of man and woman.
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4. Education for
Sustainable
Development
(ESD)
The ‘development’ rationale of Just
Forests work pivots around a number
of key issues and challenges: wood
and poverty, wood and energy, wood
and livelihoods/construction, wood
and health, wood and education, wood
and biodiversity, wood and
sustainability, wood and climate-
change, wood and conflict/war and
wood and ‘sustainable’ economic
development.
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5. Education for Sustainable
Development requires
far-reaching changes in the
way education is often
practiced today.
But, biodiversity is currently
vanishing at an alarming rate
all over the world.
According to Stavros Dimas, EU
Commissioner for
Environment...
“we are, so to speak, erasing
nature’s hard drive without
even knowing what data it
contains.”
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7. Few recognise that biological
diversity (which includes all
living things)
represents the
natural wealth
of the Earth.
• It provides the basis for life,
economic development and
prosperity for the whole of
mankind.
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8. • Education is an
essential element
of the global
response to climate
change. It helps
young people
understand and
address the impact
of global warming,
encourages
changes in their
attitudes and
behaviour and
helps them adapt to
climate change-
related trends.
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9. 7 BILLION and growing...
Finding ways to
embed a
message of
sustainability into
the curriculum is
URGENT
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10. Cross-curricular Learning
Links to some of Just Forests on-line resources.
4.Thinking TREES: Within the context of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005 - 2014), Thinking Trees:
Development, Trees and our Interdependent World is designed for primary school pupils in Ranganna 3, 4, 5 and 6 and seeks to
encourage students to explore the importance of trees and of forests in our daily lives. It also stimulates them to think about some
of the consequences of the loss of forests and trees and how, each of us can contribute positively to sustainable development. You
will find excellent supporting resources to help you facilitate the 7 activities in Thinking TREES http://www.justforests.org/thinking-trees
•Anatomy of a Musical Instrument - linking our love of music to our dependance on 'tonewoods' for our beautiful musical
instruments. This interactive resource is very popular with pupils as it shows just how (geographically) dependant Ireland is on
tropical timber (you will need to have FLASH installed to use this) http://www.justmusic.ie/anatomy-of-an-instrument
4.Wood of Life Exhibition - All 22 panels of our WOL exhibition are all on-line now. You will also find an introductory brochure
(showing curriculum links), an activity sheet and a follow-on classroon project sheet with suggestions on actions pupils can take
after engaging with the exhibition. There is also a nice poster for broadcasting/advertising the exhibition in your
school http://www.justforests.org/thinking-trees/exhibitions
4.Just RESTORATION- in an effort to raise much needed funds to support our development education (DE) and education for
sustainable development (ESD) work we will run furniture restoration courses with a DE/ESD component embedded in the
workshop. This course/workshop can be delivered either here in my workshop in Rhode or at your college.This is very much hands-
on learning and will involve participants actually restoring a small piece of furniture/wood item http://www.justforests.org/the-restorer
•Just MUSIC/Sound of Wood Concerts - We all love music. Why not organise a Sound of Wood Concert in your school?. Pupils
can invite their family and friends to hear them. This is a lovely way to introduce our dependance on natural resources
(forests/wood) http://www.justforests.org/thinking-trees/school-concerts
6. KNOW-Wood Board- a hands on wood identification board http://www.justforests.org/know-wood-board
11. Ireland's entry in the European
Tree of the Year 2013 Contest
needs your vote urgently.
• Please vote for King
OAK www.treeoftheyear.org
• and ask your students, family, friends and
associates to vote for King OAK also-
thank you.
Thank You
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Editor's Notes
Thanks to NUIG Galway for the opportunity to present to you today