A Sustainable School A sustainable school is a school which has undertaken a deliberate strategic ‘whole of school’ approach to the design, development and continuance of Education for Sustainability and therefore sustainable practices. Educating for a Sustainable Future: A National Environmental Education Statement for Australian Schools (2005) refers to this process as a dynamic framework for environmental education for sustainability. Creation of a sustainable future is an essential response to the current state of the world’s ecosystems. ‘Sustainability’ acknowledges the economic, social and political pressures that can inhibit or support the capacity of individuals, communities or the nation to properly care for the environment. Sustainability also seeks to promote the stewardship of the environment, encouraging everyone to assume the responsibility of being a caretaker or custodian of the environment. Indigenous Australian’s have much to offer in the development of this sense of stewardship. The nature of the Indigenous relationship with the environment provides many examples of sustainable use of the limited resources of the Australian landscape. Holistic environmental stewardship is already being achieved by some school communities that have transformed their thinking and their immediate environment. These schools are creating a sustainable future for themselves and the broader community. National Environmental Education Statement for Australian Schools: Educating for a Sustainable Future DEH 2005
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