Strothoff International School

Figure 1. Quality education is one of the SDGs

The Sustainability Action Lab (SAL) is a special programme inside Strothoff International School. It seeks to leverage the international perspective of the International Baccalaureate for a particular purpose: to educate talented students to promote sustainability in whatever areas they are interested in.

SAL is being developed collaboratively by enthusiastic teachers and students, inspired by the global Fridays for Future movement. SAL gives students the opportunity to starting working on change now.

Our vision is an environmentally sustainable and socially just planet in which humanity can thrive.

The Concept

Unique sustainability course with solutions-focused modules on changemaking, biomimicry, sustainable fashion and more to be developed in the future.
Participation in the Youth Mayors programme, in cooperation with UWC Maastricht, UWC Red Cross Nordic, UWC Freiburg, and the International School of Brussels, partly funded by Erasmus+
One afternoon (currently Friday) off of school to enable substantial actions for sustainability
Periodic sustainability workshops for students inside and outside Strothoff International School
Placements in internships / volunteer work / summer programmes / universities in sustainability fields
Selective admissions

The Sustainability Course

The Sustainability Action Lab (SAL) offers students a unique Sustainability Course. This interdisciplinary course normally covers 2 topics per year.

The first module focuses on Action in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), teaching students how to engage with sustainability issues in and outside of school and building the skills needed to connect with stakeholders and to organize for action. This module will use a new Youth Mayors curriculum developed by our school in cooperation with UWC Maastricht, UWC Red Cross Nordic, UWC Freiburg and the International School of Brussels. This curriculum was funded by an Erasmus+ grant awarded to us and the other four schools. It focuses on systems- and design-thinking and Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics Model to help students develop effective initiatives that have a thorough understanding of communities and their context.

Modules that have been developed so far, each one lasting a full semester or year, include:

Youth Mayors changemaking course using systems- and design-thinking, Doughnut Economics
Biomimicry
Sustainable fashion

Figure 2. Biomimicry is one of the modules of the Sustainability Action Lab

Sample Projects Developed in SAL

Students in SAL undertake consistent in-school and extracurricular experiences related to sustainability. Projects are supported by our faculty, documented, and reflected upon by the student. The first module of the Sustainability Course, using a new Youth Mayors curriculum we co-developed, teaches students how to investigate, design, plan, implement, iterate, share and scale effective human-centered projects, products and interventions. Below is a sample of those projects, which have focused on school and household initiatives due to the pandemic:

Figure 3. Meeting Germany's ambitious CO2 emissions goals requires our school to do its part (Source: Umwelt Bundesamt)

Reducing energy-related CO2 emissions in the school

The entire MYP4 (Grade 9) cohort is working on a project to investigate the school's energy use, with the aim of reducing energy-related CO2 emissions. The project was inspired by COP26 and the ambitious emissions goals set by countries around the world. The students recognise that every organisation needs to play its part in those reductions.

Using multiple primary research strategies including observations, surveys, and interviews, as well as crunching the data on the school's electricity and gas use over time, the students are using systems-and design-thinking to develop recommendations to significantly reduce the school's carbon footprint.

Cycling food waste in the school

A group of five students worked together to develop a system for collecting and disposing school food waste which will be taken by the company ReFood for cycling as biogas and fertiliser. The students had to investigate where food waste is generated in the school and how it could be effectively and cleanly collected and transferred to the collection bin. They had to work with several communication channels to target different audiences in the school and develop a plan to share the work around collection and transfer.

Figure 4. These apple cores can be a source of fuel and fertiliser

Figure 5. Our school is using circular fashion solutions

Improving school uniform sustainability

A student investigated the market and policy systems involved with the uniform at Strothoff IS, with the aim of improving the sustainability of the uniform. Using multiple research methodologies including a survey, interviews and analysis of school policies and current distribution systems, the student developed a concept plan for improving the sustainability of the school uniform. The plan was framed by the three principles of circular economy: designing out waste and pollution, keeping materials and products in use, and regenerating natural systems. The school administration approved the plan and it is currently being implemented.

Student thriving at SIS

Focusing on the first question of the Doughnut Economics model “how can [our school] be home to a thriving people”, a group of three students is using multiple research methodologies — including camera and drawing studies, surveys, observations and focus groups — to find out what it really takes to cultivate a thriving student community at Strothoff IS. Using their research, the students developed an instrument for the school to measure student thriving. This instrument will be used during the upcoming accreditation process to develop recommendations for improvements for student wellbeing while respecting the local ecology, global human wellbeing and the health of the whole planet, the other three lenses of the Doughnut Economics model.

Figure 6. The Doughnut Economics model

Figure 7. There are a number of possible interventions to reduce plastic waste in households

Reducing household plastic waste

Two students used the Iceberg Model to understand behavior patterns, system structures and mental models behind their own household plastic waste. Using multiple research instruments such as observations, interviews, data collection and processing of their own household waste, as well as secondary research, the students have identified findings, brainstormed and evaluated solutions. They are trying different strategies to see their impact on household plastic waste production. Their research reveals the difficulty of solving the problem of household plastic waste at the consumer level and they are discussing leverage points for scaling system-wide change.

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