District-wide integration of sustainability in Oberlin, OH

In 2012, we began working with the Oberlin City Schools  to integrate sustainability into the K12 curriculum as part of The Oberlin Project.  The integration approach is designed to supported core standards, competencies, and the district’s International Baccalaureate program.  

In the first year, a team of twelve lead teachers from PK-12 integrated sustainability concepts and topics into science, English Language Arts, math, and consumer science courses.  Examples:

• Second graders examined the relationship between human and natural systems in the local economy.
• Ninth grade math students used linear functions and doubling time to explore resource use and population.
• High school English Language Arts students investigated the food system as a platform for literacy and writing.

The new lessons engaged over 500 students in investigations of community sustainability, the food system, the local economy, and the interdependence of social and ecological systems. Students tested regional waterways, got involved with local food projects and made presentations to the community. They learned from sustainability efforts in the region and discovered how they are connected to the larger world.

The lead teachers shared their work with twenty-five additional teachers, introducing sustainability more deeply into the district and setting the stage for continued integration.

Read the report detailing the first year of the initiative.