We often get questions from teachers, students and other interested individuals regarding simple things that they can do in their own lives to help promote a more sustainable future. 

Below are links to organizations that we find interesting, helpful, and inspiring.

Sustainability Education Organizations and Initiatives:

The Center for Ecoliteracy: http://www.ecoliteracy.org
The Center for Ecoliteracy was founded in 1995 by Fritjof Capra, Peter Buckley, and Zenobia Barlow. The Center for Ecoliteracy is a public foundation that supports a grantmaking program for educational organizations and school communities, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area; convenes networks of its grantees; sponsors projects consistent with its mission; administers donor-advised funds; and manages a publishing imprint, Learning in the Real World®.

The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education:  www.sustainabilityed.org
The Cloud Institute offers high-quality products and services to K-12 schools and school systems.

Creative Change Educational Solutions: http://www.creativechange.net/ CCES works locally and nationally as part of a movement to "educate citizens for a diverse, democratic and sustainable society." Their services include: developing educational programs and materials in partnership with nonprofit organizations and local governments; working with institutions of higher education to develop courses and programs; serving as a liaison to community organizations and schools; developing curricula and courses for k-12 classrooms; creating for-credit courses for educators on sustainability; and providing professional development for k-12 educators.

CCES develops custom educational programs, designs curricula and courses, and provides workshops and trainings for: K-12 schools and educators; Higher education institutions; Nonprofit-, governmental-, and community organizations.

Education for a Sustainable Future: http://www.cobb.k12.ga.us/~Grants/
One of the most successful and ambitious SE initiatives in the U.S.. This on-going project, launched nearly ten years ago, created, implemented and disseminated a collection of flexible, technology-based educational resources that support learning about the environment, the economy and social equity as it relates to a sustainable future.  The project took place in Cobb County, GA and provides professional development to support the use of these new resources. Using an on-line template designed specifically for the project, teachers have created units for grades K-12 which infuse the use of technological tools to support student inquiry and systems thinking.

Education for a Sustainable Future is a Technology Innovation Challenge Grant that was funded in 1997 by the United States Department of Education. ESF is a collaboration among Cobb County School District, Fulton County School District, and Center for a Sustainable Future (a division of Concord Consortium). Cobb County School District is the fiscal agent for the grant. For additional information on ESF, link to http://csf.concord.org/esf/index.cfm

Environmental Education Council of Ohio: http://www.eeco-online.org/
EECO’s mission is to be a leader in the promotion and facilitation of Environmental Education (EE), and to nurture knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. We want a healthy and sustainable environment, and the key to this is education. Through EECO, individuals and groups are not only educated, but also develop partnerships with other individuals and organizations. These partnerships strengthen EE in Ohio, leading to a more environmentally literate population and a healthier environment.

Environmental Leadership Program: http://www.elpnet.org/aboutus
The Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) nurtures a new generation of environmental leadership characterized by diversity, innovation, collaboration, and effective communications.

Education For Sustainable Development Toolkit: www.esdtoolkit.org
An easy-to-use manual for individuals and organizations from both the education and community sectors.

Facing the Future: www.facingthefuture.org
SE curriculum and workshops

Foundation for our Future: www.ffof.org
The mission of the Foundation for Our Future (FFOF) is to support new learning, institutional change management, organizational development, research and capacity development for sustainability, utilizing a variety of strategic consultative processes, next generation learning tool development, and leadership development strategies - nationally and internationally.

Green Schools Alliance: www.greenschoolsalliance.org/

The Green Schools Alliance (GSA) is a nationwide initiative that is committed to working with the over 120,000 Pre-K to grade 12 independent, private and public school communities to implement energy and resource efficiency through the lens of sustainability. GSA is comprised of organizations and individuals, including students, parents, headmasters, facility managers, business managers, trustees, teachers, and staff dedicated to working with schools and their broader communities to combine education and action to address Climate Change and other complex environmental issues of our time.

North American Association for Environmental Education: http://naaee.org
The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) is a network of professionals, students, and volunteers working in the field of environmental education throughout North America and in over 55 countries around the world. Since 1971, the Association has promoted environmental education and supported the work of environmental educators. There are many environmental interest groups, and many organizations dedicated to improving education. NAAEE uniquely combines and integrates both of these perspectives, and takes a cooperative, nonconfrontational, scientifically-balanced approach to promoting education about environmental issues.

National Environmental Education and Training Foundation: http://www.neetf.org/
Since the inception of its annual National Report Card on Environmental Attitudes, Knowledge and Behavior, NEETF has commissioned Roper Starch Worldwide to conduct this survey of adult Americans.  The results of the survey are widely distributed by NEETF to educators, policy makers, business executives and the media to help America’s leaders, and the general public, better understand what Americans know about the environment and how that knowledge relates to their attitudes and daily actions.
This survey is the only longitudinal data available on what Americans know and think about important environmental issues. 
As the results of the most recent surveys make clear, Americans lack the basic knowledge and are unprepared to respond to the major environmental challenges we face in the 21st century.  Helping to prepare people of all ages to understand their role in addressing those issues is an important part of NEETF’s mission.

National Foundation for Educational Research: http://www.nfer.ac.uk/research-areas/environmental-education/
This U.K. website is about making connections between research and practice in relation to education for sustainable development (ESD). It tells the story of seven practitioners who have made use of research findings in their own school or outdoor center over the last year.

Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives, http://www.zeri.org
ZERI believes that working in harmony with nature does not mean abandoning science or becoming an escapist. While science is the key driver to ZERI, it is the fun part of demystifying science and making a culture of enquiry possible for younger minds that has led to the creation of an extensive ZERI educational component through the format of using fairy tales.

ZERI explores the deep science that informs the workings of nature through fun filled stories; and thus paves the way towards the creation of a new breed of scientists working with nature as opposed to being ignorant or even working against nature. For ZERI the real investment lies in the creation of a present and future generation which is assured of sustainable livelihoods, capable of responding to the basic needs of all living species on Earth.

 

Related Links:
Links to other environmental and sustainability organizations as self-described.

Five E’s Unlimited: http://www.eeeee.net/index.htm
Five E's Unlimited decodes, de-mystifies, and puts into layman's terms information needed by communities, organizations, and governments in moving forward with programs to achieve economic prosperity and improve social well-being that are also compatible with natural environmental systems. We are a consulting business that helps people and organizations to clearly see how sustainable economic development, offering equal opportunity to all people, can only occur if the natural environment upon which it depends is carefully managed. Five E's helps stakeholders create authentic choices and provide effective solutions to environmental decline, weakened economies, and community separation.

Global Policy Forum: http://www.globalpolicy.org
Global Policy Forum’s mission is to monitor policy making at the United Nations, promote accountability of global decisions, educate and mobilize for global citizen participation, and advocate on vital issues of international peace and justice.

Inventing a Transformed World, by Allen Hammond.

Journey North: A Global Study of Wildlife Migration: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/index.html
The site includes teacher materials, background information, and a forum for sharing data that students have collected.

National Geographic Wild World: http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/index.html
Features interactive NGS Wild World maps, adding profiles and photos of more than 1,000 ecoregions, multimedia features, and more. (K-12 Geography/Maps).

Ocean Arks International: http://www.oceanarks.org
Ocean Arks International, founded in 1981 by visionary Ecological Designer Dr. John Todd, is a global leader in the field of ecological water purification. In response to the alarming rate of natural resource exploitation and depletion, Ocean Arks’ mission is to disseminate the ideas and practices of ecological sustainability throughout the world.

The Orion Society: http://www.orionsociety.org
Through books, magazines, and online publishing, Orion explores an emerging alternative world view. Informed by a growing ecological awareness and the need for cultural change, it is a forum for thoughtful and creative ideas and practical examples of how we might live justly, wisely, and artfully on Earth.  Since 1982, Orion has worked to reconnect human culture with the natural world, blending scientific thinking with the arts, engaging the heart and mind, and striving to make clear what we all have in common. Orion regularly publishes the writings of Wendell Berry, David W. Orr, and other important thinkers.

Slow Food USA: http://www.slowfoodusa.org/
Slow Food USA is dedicated to supporting and celebrating the food traditions of North America. Slow Food in Schools is a national program of garden-to-table projects created to cultivate children's senses while teaching an ecological approach to food. Slow Food in Schools seeks to help children develop an appreciation for real, wholesome food and an understanding of land stewardship and sustainable food practices.

Sustainability Institute: http://sustainer.org/
Founded by the late Donella Meadows, the Sustainability Institute teaches others to apply systems thinking and organization to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Its work includes stakeholder-based systems analysis and change projects, consulting, research, workshops, facilitated systems thinking sessions, project evaluations, and written publications.

United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development: Website
This initiative is broad and powerful.  Their draft international implementation scheme can be downloaded. It beautifully articulates many of the issues and values around sustainability.

UNEP Youth X Change: http://www.youthxchange.net/

Worldwatch Institute: http://www.worldwatch.org
 Founded by Lester Brown in 1974, the Worldwatch Institute offers a unique blend of interdisciplinary research, global focus, and accessible writing that has made it a leading source of information on the interactions among key environmental, social, and economic trends. Our work revolves around the transition to an environmentally sustainable and socially just society—and how to achieve it.