Invisible Deserts and Visible Diversity by Susan Brown
When I was a child I lived near a large pond which backed onto a wood. In spring the pond would fill with frog spawn. I remember waiting till the tadpoles emerged out of the gelatinous mass of spawn and catching a few up in a large jar. I’d endeavour to recreate the pond ecosystem in the jar- a haphazard process of topping it up with smelly pond water and strewing the water with pondweed – and wait for the tadpoles to transform into frogs.To my consternation, though their four legs sprouted and their tails began to retract they never made it to adulthood. Read more…
What Is ‘Ecological Literacy’? by Susan Brown
“without significant precautions education can equip people merely to be effective vandals of the Earth. If one listens carefully, it may even be possible to hear the Creation groan every year in late May when another batch of smart, degree-holding, but ecologically illiterate, Homo sapiens who are eager to succeed are launched into the biosphere” (Orr, 2004,p.5). Read more…
Green Spaces And The ‘Good’ Citizen by Susan Brown
In a previous post, I talked about the role of imagination and curiosity in helping us care about the World we pass on to future generations. The notion of imagined futures was discussed, among others, by Tone Huse of the University of Tromsø, Norway, at the annual conference of the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change held in Manchester, UK. Read more…
Educating For The Steady State Economy by Susan Brown
This is an exploration of educating for the steady state economy by Susan Brown. On 1st November, 2012 the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change hosted a free public event at the University of Manchester, UK entitled ‘We need to talk about growth’; that event prompted this work. Read more…
Sustainability Education: A Brief Introduction by Susan Brown
A warm welcome to this sustainability education blog written in association with the Ragged Project. In the spirit of Ragged the main aspiration is to share emerging understandings/ideas/expertise in the field of sustainability education from a broad range of perspectives. My name is Susan and for me the question of how to approach sustainability education is a crucial one. Read more…
How Can Education Help To Shape A Steady State Culture? by Susan Brown
In 2012 I was asked, to feedback on a draft report by Steady State Manchester on the role of education in shaping a Steady State Culture. I was asked, at that time, to feedback on that draft report. As someone who is invested in thinking about what constitutes good education in different contexts I was intrigued by the questions of what the educational landscape needs to look like to play a role in shaping a Steady State culture and what that role might be.
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