What is Sustainability Education?

Our current social and environmental challenges have resulted from technologies, lifestyle choices, and ways of thinking that human beings have developed and passed down over centuries.

Facing these challenges will require an education that directly addresses them, helping tomorrow's citizens to develop new technologies, new lifestyle choices, and new ways of thinking.

In response to current global suffering and the consensus of the scientific community, the United Nations has declared 2005-2014 to be the Decade for Education for Sustainable Development, and has called for a complete rethinking of education to create the social change needed to bring our communities into balance with natural systems. As New York Governor David Paterson has stated, "Global warming presents each of us with a question-do we continue with the status quo or are we ready to make significant cultural and lifestyle alterations to avoid a catastrophic tipping point? Future actions will require a fundamental change of philosophy in how we live our lives."

Sustainability education supports young people in developing the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind and heart they will need to create sustainable communities that are in balance with the ecological systems that support us. Not simply environmental education, sustainability education integrates the social, economic, and ecological dimensions of the human endeavor, emphasizing the relationship between all three of these critical realms. Sustainability education emphasizes building young people's competence as systems thinkers, who are able to understand the complex dynamics of the contemporary human-earth situation, and respond wisely to our collective challenges. New Roots Charter School is among the leaders in developing the emerging field of sustainability education. All our courses and projects feature this systems-thinking orientation, and student engagement in proactive measures to support our community's transition to more sustainable systems that enhance our quality of life.