Read or print off our case study materials for examples of sustainability education in practice. Learn how teachers in six different countries across the globe implemented education for sustainable development in their schools. |
Case Studies
Find out about the work that took place during the Sustainable Cities
project in six countries across the world. The full list of case studies
is presented below. Each Case Study article provides information about
the work that took place, the learning outcomes and contact details of
teachers or project co-ordinators who actioned the work.
Powai Lake
Mumbai is the second largest city in the world with a population of 14 million (India now has a population of over 1 billion). Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) is an activist organisation campaigning on air quality, water, transport, urban heritage preservation etc., and has lots of case studies, including a major vermiculture project.
go to case study >> Brescia Water Quality, Italy
Brescia was originally built on the site of a number of streams that have been covered over. At present water quality is getting worse because of factory pollution and lack of individual environmental sensitivity. The main stream in Brescia is the river Mella, whose banks have been artificially reduced and whose waters are highly polluted. The other streams were covered in order to build roads and parking areas. Nowadays the citizens do not consider Brescia to be a town historically related to water.
go to case study >> Developing Sustainable Mangroves
Mumbai is a natural harbour and an important port city of India. The island is well protected by coastal wetlands, chiefly mangroves from all sides. Sometime in the 17th Century, the land reclamation process started and within a period of 200 years, seven main islands and the 66 islands of the Salcette islands were joined together. On this reclaimed land stands today’s megalopolis of Mumbai. It is one of the most populated cities in the world, with a population of over 12 million.
go to case study >> SonVatika: Transforming wasteland into a garden
Approximately half an acre of land on the school campus was a wasteland in contrast with the lush green areas of the rest of the campus. The site was under high tension electric cables and contained discarded construction materials
go to case study >> The Heartstone Project
An inner city primary school with a population almost entirely comprising children from one ethnic minority group is using an imaginative story to tackle issues of racism and develop pupils’ self-esteem. The town of Oldham suffers from a history of racial segregation and tensions which erupted recently into riots. Through the commitment of the Head teacher, the Heartstone Project is enabling the school to raise awareness of issues of global citizenship in the context of cultural diversity and the need to challenge racism and xenophobia. The challenge is now to get other schools to adopt the project approach.
go to case study >> Peer Health Education Programme in the Gambia
This programme is a school-based health intervention that ensures that every student in junior and senior secondary school has access to the basic health information needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle and forms an integrated, holistic approach to the health issues relating to the spread of HIV/AIDS. The programme takes advantage of peer group influences and transmission of information orally through speeches and dramas.
go to case study >> Sustainable vegetable garden and orchard - Brazil
A big area surrounds the school but there is no garden and the place is unpleasant. We intend to transform this area into a beautiful garden and are also starting a vegetable garden.
go to case study >> The Games We Play
Chapel Street is an inner city primary school in Manchester with a diverse cultural mix of pupils. A teacher was interested in work that would engage with the local community as a resource. Working with a group of agencies it was suggested that pupils do research into the games that their parents, grandparents and the local community played when they were young. Pupils compared these with games they play now. The main class involved in the research wrote up the games and taught their favourites to other pupils in the school. They are now teaching them to pupils in other schools.
go to case study >> Waste Matters - A waste survey in Mumbai, India
Students surveyed Powai, a central suburb of Mumbai to determine the publics general awarenss of the principles of waste management, puplic awareness of waste segregation at source and the effectiveness of a Municipal Corporation plan to improve waste segregation.
go to case study >> Tumani Tenda Sustainable Community Development
Tumani Tenda was founded in 1969 by our grandfather, Nfansous-Ouseman Sanyang and his seven sons near a creek off The Gambia River.
Our first village development project began in our 5th year when the women established a vegetable garden, which grew in size as our population grew. By our 15th year we had dug six wells and expanded the garden to five hectares.
The whole community works on building, developing and maintaining our homes, farms, forest and our community's resources. We won a national award for our garden and community forest and invested in an eco-tourism camp to provide the village with ongoing investment money.
go to case study >> Oldham Linking Project
The Oldham Linking Project is trying to promote racial and intercultural understanding though linking schools in different parts of the Borough with different ethnic backgounds. Oldham suffers from a history of racial segregation and there is a recognition that education has a key role to play in developing a positive multicultural future for the Borough. A society cannot be sustainable if parts of it live in ignorance of, and do not get try to get on with, each other. This case study shows how two schools with very different populations and catchment areas are making positive links that are increasingly benefitting both school communities.
go to case study >> Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP)
Surrounded by the metropolis of Mumbai, the 104 square kilometer, SGNP is a unique site. It provides some of the city’s’ drinking water and despite lying in the city, has the highest density of leopards anywhere in the world and it’s own lion and Tiger safari. It is also home to the 2,000-year-old, historically important, Kanheri Caves.
The students researched the importance of the Park; they studied sustainability issues, its problems and prepared hypothetical solutions. The results were used in exhibitions for the rest of the school to raise awareness of the need to preserve their National Park.
go to case study >>
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