EnviroTeach Editions

South Africa is a signatory to the United Nations “Decade of Education for Sustainable Development – 2005 to 2014”. The lead agent in South Africa is the National Department of Education, supported by several other Departments. This edition of EnviroTeach is an attempt to highlight and emphasise good examples of teaching and learning that is being done in schools as they strive to demonstrate their commitment to building a more sustainable community.

The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) forms the basis for the structure of each Module, with the activities and the assessment tools linked to the Learning Outcomes (LO’s) and Assessment Standards (AS’s). A wide variety of supporting information is provided to enrich each Module and further references and resources are provided on page 32.

Throughout the three Modules, the learners are challenged to be engaged in “active learning” within their own context in an effort to make sustainable living a reality. The
underlying objectives of all three Modules is to challenge lifestyle choices and to promote sustainable local action.

Within the context of Sustainable Development, one frequently refers to people’s ecological impact in the form of a “footprint”. An emerging image that is being associated
with “The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development” is that of one’s “handprint”. This represents one’s positive contribution to sustainable development and a
commitment to ACTION. The design of the cover of this edition of EnviroTeach represents this image as we all strive to improve conditions in the ecological,
social and economic spheres.