The Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy (EDCP) aims to be a leader in environmental sustainability and conservation. EDCP is committed to maintaining and extending the sustainability movement on campus as expressed in Policy #5 (Sustainable Development), EcoTrek , the UBC Sustainability Office , UBC New Employee Sustainability Guide, and UBC’s binding signature to the 1990 Talloires Declaration.
In this spirit, the Department approved a Green Plan on 20 September 2007, and committed to leadership in sustainability on campus and in the educational system, including higher education. Among its 10-point action items, the Talloires Declaration challenges signatories to Educate for Environmentally Responsible Citizenship, Foster Environmental Literacy For All, and Enhance Capacity of Primary and Secondary Schools (see Appendix). This last item is defined as establishing “partnerships with primary and secondary schools to help develop the capacity for interdisciplinary teaching about population, environment, and sustainable development.” A good example of our commitment to sustainable curriculum is the Intergenerational Landed Learning on the Farm project. To view further environmental education initiatives within the department and faculty, please visit the Environmental Education Caucus website . Click here to read the most recent draft (2012 January 26) of the EE Caucus Green Paper.
For an overview of the Green Plan and goals, please download the brief EDCP Goes Green article describing the intent. This project derived from the Department’s Quality of Life Committee. One example of an immediate change was switch from a bottled water system to a filtering system and the elimination or major reduction of small, “disposable” bottles of water for events.
These challenges are significant for faculty, staff and students, but more locally are challenges to put EDCP in sustainable order. In order to make good on this commitment to sustainability, collectively and individually, EDCP faculty, staff and students should adopt efforts to conserve resources, meet ethical and environmental purchasing standards, protect biodiversity, and cut pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Institutions signing the Talloires Declaration, a 10-point action plan for sustainability in higher education, “pledged to make sustainability the foundation for campus operations, research, and teaching. They are encouraging their faculty, staff, and students to factor ecological, social, and economic consequences into all of their personal and professional decisions” (UBC, 2006, p. 1). UBC is also a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) , “a membership-based association of colleges and universities working to advance sustainability in higher education in the U.S. and Canada.” The AASHE’s mission is to promote sustainability in all sectors of higher education.