What Schools Get Wrong on Sustainability | A Conversation with Clare Garey

About this episode

Clare Garey discusses the importance of actionable sustainability in schools and how school leaders can empower students.

Three-quarters of children are worried about the state of the planet and Clare Garey argues that makes sustainability not just an environmental issue, but a wellbeing one. In this conversation, Clare, founder of Sustainability at School, challenges the idea that hanging up an eco poster or marking Earth Day is enough. Drawing on her work with international schools across Spain, India, Singapore and beyond, she makes the case that young people who learn about climate change but have no opportunity to take real action become disempowered and that school leaders have the ability to change that.   You'll learn why trying to tackle every sustainability issue at once leads to overwhelm and why choosing one focused theme in year one is the most powerful thing a school can do. Clare walks through the four pillars that stop sustainability becoming just another initiative; a clear "why", a representative team, a simple action plan, and treating it with the same strategic weight as any curriculum change. You'll also hear why language matters more than leaders realise (calling it a "project" is, in Clare's words, "curtains"), how students in Hyderabad reduced their school's energy…

People in this episode

Host: Shane Leaning

Guest: Clare Garey

Topics covered

• sustainability
• education
• wellbeing
• school leadership
• climate change

Keywords

• sustainability
• education
• climate change
• school leadership
• wellbeing
• action plan
• environmental issues

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sustainability at School

Places: Spain, India, Singapore, Hyderabad, Barcelona

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