Geography

Sustainability

The study of Geography enables students to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes necessary for them to act in ways that contribute to more sustainable ways of living. Students recognise sustainability as focusing on protecting environments and creating a more ecologically and socially just world through informed action. They acknowledge that developing more sustainable ways of living requires consideration of environmental, social, cultural and economic systems and their interdependence.

In Geography, students examine the effects of human activities on environments and how challenges to sustainability, and strategies to address these, vary from place to place. Students evaluate these strategies to determine their effects on environments, economies and societies and how they contribute to actions that support more sustainable ways of living

ES-ST3

History

Sustainability

History enables the development of students’ world views, particularly in relation to actions that require judgement about past societies and their access to and use of the Earth’s resources. Students are provided with opportunities to develop an historical perspective on sustainability by understanding, for example, the emergence of farming and settled communities, the positive and negative impacts of peoples and governments on pre-modern environments, the development of the Industrial Revolution and the growth of population, the overuse of natural resources, the rise of environmental movements as well as the global energy crisis and innovative technological responses to it. Making decisions about sustainability to help shape a better future requires an understanding of how the past relates to the present, and needs to be informed by historical trends and experiences

ES1-ST3