Teaching for a Positive Future

News & Events

Upcoming Events

• Youtube video of Place-Based, Literacy and Climate Change Sustainability Education

  The video project "First Person Singular" is an example of the types of education for sustainability programs that we support. For this project, Woodring professor Lauren McClanahan helped three high school students from  Kwigillingok, Alaska, share their personal stories of how climate change is affecting their village--and their lives--through photo essays and interviews. The result is a project that brings together writing, photography, sustainability education and mass communications. Lauren is looking to capture the stories from kids all over the world, If you'd like to join her in telling these stories, please contact her at Lauren.Mcclanahan@wwu.edu.

• Sustainable Development Conferences Worldwide - Upcoming events in sustainable development and related fields around the world.  Ongoing updates.

News

• July 27-29, 2009- The Sustainability Education Summer Institute, was a sold-out success!  Sponsored by WWU Woodring College of Education, Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and The Environmental Education Association of Washington, this event enjoyed the financial support of The Russell Family Foundation, Boeing Corporation, and Weyerhaeuser.  The summer institute offered teachers, teacher educators and administrators the opportunity to learn more about education for sustainability (EfS) and to develop strategies to integrate EfS into curriculum, school operations and education policies.  For more information click here.
• 18 September 2008:  House passed the No Child Left Inside Act 
  The intent of this bill is to increase opportunities for children to engage in outdoor and environmental education and to prepare teachers who can provide environmental education.  This bill has been a while in the making and the language has tended to include more sustainability language in the last 6 months than the earlier versions. Assuming it passes the Senate and assuming it is ever actually funded, this bill could be great news for us as we think about building the new Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) specialty area endorsement and as we think about our future projects focusing on the preparation of teachers.  The Senate version of this bill is S. 1981: No Child Left Inside Act of 2007.  The House version was an amendment to the National Environmental Education Act of 1990 while the Senate version is an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act of 1965.    The versions are nearly identical in intent and scope.  When fully enacted, No Child Left Inside will provide for competitive grants for institutions of higher education to provide teacher education and professional development. There also will be money for outdoor education projects through community providers such as zoos, botanical gardens, environmental education centers and parks.  The bill also calls for development of state standards for environmental and sustainability education. 
• 31 July 2008: Congress Votes to Fund the Sustainability Movement in Higher Education.  Congress passed all provisions of the Higher Education Sustainability Act. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the original Senate sponsor of HESA, explains: "Colleges are a natural breeding ground for the kind of innovation we need to move to new, environmentally-friendly energy sources. These grants will help college students take the reins of the movement to make energy last longer and have less of an impact on our environment." Read the press release.
• April 2007: Woodring Sustainability Committee convenes. The Woodring College of Education Administrative Council authorized the formation of the Woodring Sustainability Committee. This is a standing committee open to faculty, staff, and students in the College of Education. For information, contact Victor Nolet at Victor.Nolet@wwu.edu or 650-7578.
• Sustainable Oregon Schools (SOS) Initiative:
  The goal of the Sustainable Oregon Schools (SOS) Initiative is to move Oregon’s K-12 school districts and their schools toward a comprehensive state of sustainability, guided internally by a system for its implementation and management, and supported externally by resources from a permanent statewide program. It aims to prepare the coming generation to successfully manage and even reverse current trends, while helping schools to better manage these priorities now.

 

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