Sustainability Cross Curriculum Priority

Sustainability is essential for all future generations. Through the Technologies

learning area within the Australian Curriculum, students are given the opportunity to

identify problems, generate ideas and create solutions (ACARA, 2019). The program

implemented, through Recycling Rocks, recognises the importance of sustainability

and covers the Sustainability Key Concepts and Organising Ideas within the

curriculum. The program itself highlights the essential need for caring for the

environment through community action. Students, as a class community, design a

system to make their school more sustainable and environmentally friendly. This

involves the key concept of world views, specifically the organising idea 5, being

“World views are formed by experiences at personal, local, national and global levels,

and are linked to individual and community actions for sustainability” (ACARA,

2019). Similarly, the program also recognises the need for nurturing ways of thinking

and acting in ways that are beneficial to creating sustainable futures. Students are

asked to reflect on past behaviours and thinking of ways that they can act to make a

positive difference within their school. This covers the key concept of futures,

specifically the organising idea 7, being “Actions for a more sustainable future reflect

values of care, respect and responsibility, and require us to explore and understand

environments” (ACARA, 2019). Ultimately, the Design Brief recognises the

importance of making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable which form part

of the UN Sustainability Goal 11, as the Design Brief covers the impact of waste in

our communities and world, and what humans can do to prevent this. Throughout the

implementation of the program, students will recognise the influence they can have

on their own community in regards to our environment and more importantly our

future.