United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

The United Nations has declared 2005 – 2014 to be the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD).  In March 2005, Canada officially signed the Vilnius Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development, committing this country to action in this area.

The UNESCO strategy for the Decade states:  “Education for sustainable development (ESD) has come to be seen as a process of learning how to make decisions that consider the long-term future of the economy, ecology and equity of all communities.  Building the capacity for such futures-oriented thinking is a key task of education.”
In Canada, Learning for a Sustainable Future has taken the lead on a variety of initiatives that support the UN DESD.

Goals

It will achieve this vision by engaging senior leaders from provincial Ministries, federal government, the formal, informal and non-formal education sectors, business and community organizations in determining the goals, priorities and objectives for ESD activities and working together to support their regional advancement. EASO is one of seven  Provincial/Territorial ESD Working Groups which have been established across Canada.
The broad objectives for EASO are to:

• Build Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into the formal/non-formal and informal education culture, including the body of generally accepted curriculum and learning activities, teacher training, facilities management, procurement, etc.
• Establish strategic collaborations between governments, education sector leaders, business, and community NGO’s in order to increase cohesion and leverage in creating a culture for ESD.
• Relay a sense of urgency and the latest science on critical sustainability issues such HIV/Aids, climate change, poverty reduction and energy. 
• Coordinate, facilitate connections and bring together stake-holders from the formal, non-formal and in-formal education sector for policy input, debate, exchange, planning to enhance delivery of ESD activities in support of the UN’s Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

Specifically, EASO will:

• create an expectation that all relevant policy, regulatory and operational frameworks support education for sustainable development;
• lead in establishing strategic collaborations among governments, education sector leaders, business communities, NGOs and community groups to leverage sustainability education;
• establish a process for evaluating formal, non-formal and informal learning/education sectors in response to ESD, and for reporting to appropriate provincial, national and UN bodies related to ESD; and ensure a viable governance structure, sustainable processes and adequate funding and resources for EASO administration and program development

Results

The expected results are:

• A culture of Education for Sustainable Development is fostered in Canada;
• Support for educators and youth as they pursue practical and action-oriented activities in support of Education for Sustainable Development;
• Advanced policy and curricula related to Education for Sustainable Development.

Members

The EASO membership has more than 70 representatives from different organizations and government employees. Listed are some of the 20 core members whose commitment to ESD has been instrumental in supporting the implementation of the UN Decade for ESD in Ontario.

Dr. David V.J. Bell is interested in Governance for Sustainability – the transformation in decision-making practices, policies, institutions and culture that will be necessary to support sustainability in the public and private sectors. Dr. Bell was Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (1981-87) and Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Studies (1992-1996) at York University. He is Chair of Learning for a Sustainable Future and has recently completed his term on the National Round Table on Environment and Economy. A believer in getting the sustainability message out through the media, Dr. Bell created a widely broadcasted series of 12 one-hour radio specials entitled “Sustainability: Canadian and Global Perspective”. He has authored numerous papers and has contributed to many publications on sustainability topics including: Governance implications of Sustainable Transportation Policy, The Role of Government in Advancing Corporate Sustainability, Advancing Community Sustainable Development in the Ontario Region: The Role of the Government of Canada and others, nationally and internationally.

Merebeth Switzer has been involved in environmental education and communications work for over 30 years. Her diverse career has included work with national and provincial parks, conservation authorities, the Toronto Zoo, OWL/TV, the International Development Research Centre, Canada’s model forests, the Parliament of Canada, museums and other organizations. She has been involved in many initiatives including the integration of environment and culture at historic sites in eastern Canada, the creation of the IDRC Summer Institute to link educators to issues of sustainable development, the creation of training materials to help frontline forest workers understand new practices relating to the protection of species at risk and other environmental management issues and, with an international team, studying the feasibility of ecotourism to aid in the economic recovery of a community in northern England. Merebeth has written extensively on a variety of environmental topics and is the author/co-author of 21 natural history books for children. She is currently National Education Coordinator for Ducks Unlimited Canada and for the past year has helped to lead in the formation of EASO.

David Israelson joined Media Profile after an exciting career as one of Canada’s most prominent journalists. A trained lawyer who became a business writer, author, environmental specialist and foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star, he has turned his skill and experience to provide a wider range of strategic services to key Media Profile clients. He has played a key early role in communications for the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Task Force and has been managing services for clients that include Hydro One, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, legal professionals, the Clean Air Foundation, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Pollution Probe and a number of other environmental organizations. He has also worked extensively with First Nations in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. He is author of the critically acclaimed book, Silent Earth, on environmental politics, and co-author (with Dr. Angela Mailis-Gagnon) of Beyond Pain, published in 2003.

Pamela Schwartzberg is the National Executive Director of Learning for a Sustainable Future, a Canadian non-profit organization founded in 1991 to integrate the concepts and principles of sustainable development into education policy and curricula, professional development, community action and lifelong learning across Canada. Pamela’s leadership in Education for Sustainable Development was recognized in her appointment by the Ontario Minister of Education to the Working Group on Environmental Education, Chaired by Roberta Bondar. Pamela is on the faculty of the Sustainability and Education Academy at Schulich School of Business. She is a member of the National Education for Sustainable Development Working Group and the Education Alliance for a Sustainable Ontario. Pamela has contributed to policy development, research and writing in the areas of sustainable development and education through her work with the Ontario Premier’s Council, the Ontario Round Table on Environment and Economy, the Ministry of Energy, and the City of Brampton

Bob Willard is a leading expert on the business value of corporate sustainability strategies. In the last five years, he has given hundreds of presentations to corporations, governments, academics, and NGOs on the bottom-line benefits of sustainability strategies based on his two books, The Sustainability Advantage and The Next Sustainability Wave, and his DVD, The Business Case for Sustainability. He worked 34 years with IBM Canada, is on the faculty of the Sustainable Enterprise Academy (SEA) at York University, and is on the advisory board of The Natural Step Canada. See www.sustainabilityadvantage.com for more information about him and his resources for sustainability champions.

Mark Salerno is a recognized expert in sustainable housing and community design and is CMHC’s media spokesperson on a broad range of housing issues. Mark is one of 250 Canadians personally trained by U.S. Vice President Al Gore to present the live version of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ as part of the Climate Project Canada Initiative. Through CMHC, he works to foster public, private partnerships and coalitions in support of the creation of sustainable housing and communities. In this regard, he has spearheaded many successful sustainable housing demonstration initiatives such as Home 2000, The Sustainable Condo, and most recently the canühome. Collectively, they have been visited by over 250,000 people and have garnered significant media coverage including CTV’s Live Earth telecast, Canada AM, and countless TV/Radio news spots, newspaper/magazine articles.
Mark has a Master of Architecture Degree and a Bachelor of Technology Degree and is a Member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

Alan Crook is the Biodiversity Education Coordinator for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Chair of the Biodiversity Education and Awareness Network. He has have been involved in environmental education/literacy for over 30 years in places and spaces from Florida and Wisconsin to Alberta and Ontario. He is currently engaged in one of the greatest challenges facing the world: halting the loss of its biodiversity. Please join him.

Stan Kozak has focused much of his carrier in education grappling with the challenges of staying on top of and applying what we know about learning through research: “We know more than what we are applying.” As a Curriculum Policy and Programme Consultant with Learning for a Sustainable Future, he draws on his experience in education as an elementary and secondary classroom teacher, board of education science and environmental issues consultant, provincial curriculum policy education officer, and independent learning specialist working with many clients over the years. By maintaining a part-time, in-school teaching positions over the years he manages to learn from and span the dynamic gap between educational theory and classroom reality. “Unprecedented global challenges demand the speedy evolution of educational priorities, policies, and practices.”

Radha Rajagopalan is a research analyst for the City of Toronto. The City is working hard to incorporate sustainability into its everyday practices and several new programs geared at dealing with the challenge of climate change are helping define more long term commitments to sustainability. No one division or sector in the City will be able to deal with sustainability alone, but with continued collaboration and action from many City divisions and through partnerships such as those with EASO, Toronto is moving in the right direction towards a more sustainable city.

Douglas Worts is a freelance consultant in the area of culture and sustainability. Currently, Douglas is a Fellow of LEAD International (Leadership for Environment and Development - a cross-disciplinary, global network of professionals committed to furthering the goals of sustainability, funded for over ten years by the Rockefeller Foundation). He is also a partner in WorldViews Consulting, which is committed to fostering a ‘culture of sustainability’ through cultural organizations and funders. For over 25 years Douglas developed experimental exhibits and conducted visitor studies and research at the Art Gallery of Ontario. He has spoken and published extensively on topics related to museums, culture and sustainability in Canada, the USA, Europe and Australia. Further info available at www.geocities.com/dcworts and www.worldviewsconsulting.org.

Cyndie Jacobs is Director of Curriculum and Assessment at the Ontario Teachers’ Federation. Her
responsibilities include involvement with all curriculum review at the Ministry; liaison with all Subject and Division Associations in Ontario; liaison with the EQAO and Ministry committees reviewing assessment and evaluation in Ontario’s schools; direct involvement with the Ministry’s Student Success/Learning to 18 Initiative; representing Ontario teachers on the EASO and one of three representatives representing Ontario on the NESDEC.

Dr. William Rapley has had a lifelong interest in nature and conservation and has pursued a career combining veterinary medicine, biology, and conservation. He has a PhD in Veterinary Medicine and a Masters of Science in Pharmacology. Dr. Rapley is presently Executive Director Conservation, Education and Research at Toronto Zoo . He was President of the Canadian Committee for the World Conservation Union (IUCN) from 1998 – 2004 and is a member of many organizations, such as: Conservation Council of Ontario, Captive Breeding Specialist Group of Species Survival Commission, Giant Panda Action Plan, Trumpeter Swan Advisory Committee, Recovery Program, Bald Eagle Recovery Team, Spotted Owl Recovery program and on the Board of Directors, Canadian Organization for Tropical Education and Rainforest Conservation.

Catherine Matheson is the General Manager of Community Development for the City of Greater Sudbury. She oversees a portfolio of libraries, social services, social housing, leisure, parks, long term care and children services. Catherine is the lead staff for the Regional Centre of Expertise in Sudbury as associated with the United Nations University. The RCE in Sudbury is a community development initiative which brings together many community leaders and partners with a focus on both community health and sustainability.

Servanne Fowlds, is Executive of the High Performance Building Account at Trane. Trane, a leader in provider of environmental responsible and energy efficient systems, services and solutions, has provided services to create and maintain a sustainable, healthy and fiscally responsible learning environment for the past 50 years in the education market. A recent LEED accredited professional, Servanne is committed to deliver financial and operational solutions that minimize the impact on the earth resources, in her personal and professional lives.