Natalia Myronivna Dzhura*, a Candidate of Sciences in Biology and an Associate Professor at the Department of Ecology, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, is a recognized expert in environmental education.

During the interview, Natalia Dzhura shared her vision for the present and future of environmental education in Ukraine and discussed the challenges and achievements in this field. She discussed the critical aspects of environmental education, the necessity for integrating such courses at all levels of education from an early age, and the importance of a systematic approach to raising environmental awareness and integrating environmental aspects into all spheres of social life. It is crucial if we want to preserve the environment for future generations and ensure the state's sustainable development.

The issue of environmental education in Ukraine is undoubtedly in the process of reform, as environmental education is an ongoing process of acquiring environmental knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward nature and the environment. Is environmental education adequately addressed in Ukraine? The short answer is: absolutely not. Currently, Ukrainian schools don’t even have a subject called "Ecology", and in higher education establishments, many majors do not include any environmental courses. Therefore, I believe that the traditional education system needs significant reform. 

If we look at all the stages of education, for example, preschool education, in 2021, the basic component of preschool education was updated with one of its areas being the development of children in the environment. This is about natural ecological competence and skills oriented toward sustainable development. It sounds great, but the question is – are all educators prepared to ensure the development of this competence? As someone who teaches this subject at our university for preschool education specialists, I can say that the University of Lviv provides such opportunities in the Lviv region.

Of course, the next educational stage is elementary school, followed by secondary school. For example, today, fifth graders studying under the New Ukrainian School concept have a very interesting integrated course called "Exploring Nature." This subject continues to develop nature-oriented solutions and sustainable development skills. Again, the question is whether educators are prepared to fulfill the tasks outlined in state regulatory documents and educational programs.

In universities, students majoring in any fields have some courses related to environmental protection. The goal of environmental education is to provide knowledge to all segments of the population. Therefore, if a person does not have the opportunity to study at a university, this mission should be taken on by the media, public organizations, and other educational initiatives that could convey this information to all segments of the population in an accessible form. 

I think all age groups should be interested in how to live in this world. After all, we are all in the same boat, and we depend on how each generation in any country behaves. So, it seems to me that all countries should be interested in environmental education issues. These issues are well-addressed worldwide. However, in Ukraine they still require a proper preparation system and professionals, both in environmental and non-environmental specialties, as well as sufficient outreach for all population segments.

Teaching should follow the principle "from practice to theory," meaning it should be based on specific examples and a life stance focused on nature-oriented behavior. Every student involved in the educational process, during the formation of environmental awareness and thinking, should learn to see and analyze specific problems in their region. This involves teaching in a very concrete way and with a strong regional focus.

In general, when it comes to shaping environmental awareness in young people, I suggest building the educational process based on the four laws of ecology. Let me briefly outline these four laws:

The first law states that everything is connected to everything else. This is the law about ecosystems, the connections, processes, and phenomena occurring in nature and the biosphere that ensure their existence.

The second law, which follows from the first one, states that everything must go somewhere. Nothing disappears without a trace. Naturally, we must understand that our biosphere contains many different natural and anthropogenic substances, and they don't just disappear. They may transform from one molecular form to another, but ultimately, they migrate somewhere and affect living organisms or the entire biosphere.

The third law states that nothing comes from nothing. People need to understand that if they cut down forests, they will quickly lose fresh water. Young people need to see cause-and-effect relationships and understand how today's actions can impact future generations.

The fourth law states that nature knows best. We often think that humans are the most intelligent beings, capable of managing all processes on the planet, as they can create anything. However, in reality, nature knows best how to connect everything. If humans introduce many different artificially synthesized compounds, like plastics, into the biosphere, soil ecosystems won't have the enzymes to break them down. As a result, these substances will pollute the environment.

Everything that is naturally occurring will, through the cycle of matter, return to nature. Everything artificially synthesized will remain and create large piles of waste. Therefore, these four global yet simple laws have been devised. If we properly present this concept to young people, emphasizing that we are not just resource consumers but have an eco centric worldview aimed at preserving our Earth for future generations, I believe we will achieve the goal of environmental education.

Yes, definitely. Any country's economic development depends on its citizens' education level. We know that quality environmental education is a tool for transitioning a country toward sustainable development. What is sustainable development? It is the process of building a state in which the current generation already thinks about what we will leave for future generations.

Sustainable development consists of economic, social, and environmental components. Will the economic component depend on environmental awareness? Absolutely, yes. Let's consider a simple example: we teach children from preschool age to save water, conserve paper, and protect natural resources. Why? Because in the future, when these children become adults, they will understand that their parents pay for these resources. Therefore, when we save water, we realize that we are also saving money, as every cubic meter of water comes at a cost. The same applies to electricity, gas, and other resources.

We can consider two scenarios: a person who is a keeper of their land, who takes care of it and restores it, or a person who is a consumer, who will only deplete resources, and as a result, the planet will suffer.

Here, it's worth mentioning the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Why is it so important to focus on one of these goals? The fourth goal is specifically called "Quality Education." If quality education is listed as the fourth among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, we understand how crucial it is for every country and state to function at its best.

Everything starts small, so nurturing awareness should naturally begin from birth. As I mentioned earlier, environmental education outlines several levels of formal environmental education. Of course, starting from preschool is ideal, as it is the most favorable time to lay the foundations of a child’s worldview and, consequently, their future personality.

The best example for a child is the behavior of their parents. That's why I want to mention family upbringing, specifically the "maternal school" concept, which many educators have written about. The "maternal school" is the first stage where a child receives an example, a model to follow. But what if these foundations are not laid in the family? Then, the child in kindergarten may not understand what they are being told and why they need to behave in a certain way. Early childhood education establishments play a significant role in preparing children for school and providing them with the necessary knowledge, skills, and behavior in nature and society.

For example, there was an excellent experiment conducted involving children concerning how candy wrappers can harm plants if thrown away. At this preschool age, empathy, or compassion for all living things, can be used as a foundation. Children are very sensitive to what happens around them, and through well-organized educator work, they learn why it is important to always clean up and take care of trees and bushes and tidy up after themselves.

After the weekend, parents asked the educators: “How did you influence the children so effectively? On Sunday, we went to the forest to relax, and before sitting down and resting, our child made all the guests clean up a large section of the forest because it was very dirty. Even though we didn’t litter, there was already a lot of trash in the forest. We all got up and cleaned up all the candy wrappers, bottles, and other debris into a special bag. Then we had to take it out with the child.”

At this level of preschool education, children themselves can be good teachers to their parents if the work in the preschool institution is properly organized.

Of course, age is not an obstacle if a person is open to change. At any age, people can do good deeds. To shape an ecological worldview in an adult, one will, of course, use entirely different  forms and methods, far from those we mentioned for preschool or secondary education. Older people are more likely to respond to radical methods like fines. For example, when there’s widespread burning of dry grass, penalties are necessary, and they work. However, it's also essential to encourage initiatives where older people can sort waste, take it to collection points, and receive some minimal compensation in return. Therefore, these practices should be implemented at the level of unified territorial communities on a local scale. These methods will genuinely motivate the older generation, change certain established behaviors, and form new ones. 

Any war is always an environmental issue. War is destructive primarily to human lives, the environment, and the biosphere as a whole. The current conflict is a military-technogenic environmental disaster on its scale. 

Do we understand what a catastrophe is? It’s an irreversible action. The damage caused to the environment during hostilities will affect more than one future generation. We need to talk about what’s happening now to prevent wars in the future.

Let's imagine for a moment that there are chemical plants, nuclear stations, and various enterprises with a wide range of chemical compounds in the combat zone. When a missile hits, it causes a fire. The explosion releases all the toxic substances into the air, soil, and water. Restoring such a polluted environment will take a very long time. But we need to talk about this now because we must understand how we will restore these areas and whether they can be restored at all.

Large areas where active combat took place have now exceeded all permissible levels of heavy metals. European analysts say these territories will be uninhabitable for humans for over a hundred years.

We must understand that if we grow crops on such soil and consume them, what kind of health can future generations expect? This brings to mind the crime of ecocide. According to Article 441 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, ecocide is the mass destruction of flora or fauna, poisoning of the atmosphere or water resources, and other actions that could cause an environmental disaster. Thus, the conduct of active hostilities is an ongoing ecocide.

The media might not be paying enough attention to this right now. I understand that during war, there are many other vital issues. Still, we must be aware of what’s happening on the environmental front because we have to live with it, and the consequences will affect many future generations.

I would break this question down into several clusters.

The first cluster concerns environmental education, particularly in schools. What eco-initiatives can we implement in schools to form students' ecological worldviews? After all, there is no subject like ecology in school, but we place great hopes on schools.

The next step is the development of environmental education in universities. Again, there is an interesting topic of "green" universities and "green" offices. How can we make university life interesting while engaging in various eco-initiatives, especially for majors that are not directly related to ecology?

Development of environmental education in public organizations, that is, eco-initiatives in communities. There should be ecologists in united territorial communities, but unfortunately, that is still not the case. But at the same time, united territorial communities should conduct various educational activities for all population segments to draw attention from young people and the older generation. The older generation can be reached, for example, through the clergy. It is through church initiatives that the older generation may reflect on their actions and refrain from harming the environment, such as not burning dry grass or straw in their gardens, as has been the case for a long time.

The second cluster refers to the impact of war on the environment. This is a very painful, global, broad, and extensive topic. How does war affect ecosystems? Soil, water, air, and the reduction of biodiversity.

The impact of war on marine ecosystems is a separate topic because we understand that the sea does not belong only to us Ukrainians; we share it with neighboring countries, so this is already a topic for international discussion.

The third cluster involves environmental initiatives. Environmental innovations are very important not only in Ukraine but worldwide today. Even before the war, we talked about the European Green Deal. Unfortunately, during the war, it’s not always possible to talk about sustainable development and eco-innovations because there are more global and painful issues. But at the same time, a country that talks about recovery and innovation during the war has a future, so this should not be forgotten.

The fourth cluster is climate change and its consequences. Of course, well-known issues include waste and garbage. Also, we should not forget about deforestation and its consequences because we are already facing environmental problems  such  as the disappearance of freshwater, especially in dry periods. Many wells have dried up, and many rivers are drying up. Why? It’s a consequence of deforestation. This should also be discussed because these are elementary cause-and-effect relationships.