The Sustainability Teaching Resource Library contains around 100 reports, toolkits, multimedia and more, to support faculty creating and updating teaching materials. Curated and maintained by the Sustainability Hub to advance sustainability teaching and learning at UBC.

Enhancing geomatic teaching and learning at UBC and beyond through interactive “click and discover” textbook

The aim of this project is to develop an interactive online textbook with open educational resources (OER) for teaching geomatics across UBC faculties. Existing OER geomatics textbooks are flat: they lack interactive examples, tools, and case studies that make cutting-edge geomatics so engaging.

Keywords: Interactive Education, Geomatics,  
Link to Resource: https://eml.ubc.ca/projects/oer-geomatics/

Data & Technology
Educational resource
Textbook/Books/Reports
2022
OER Geomatics

Sustainability Learning Pathways in the UBC Teacher Education Program: Destination Cohort

In this paper, we share the story, consider the challenges and imagine the possibilities as we work to transform teacher education with sustainability in mind.

Keywords: Education, Place-Based Learning, Sustainability learning pathways
Link to Resource: https://cjee.lakeheadu.ca/article/view/1641

Human Well-being & Social Systems
Educational resource
Journal Article
2020
Patrick AB Robertson, Robert VanWynsberghe, Bruce Ford

Approaches for Integrating Sustainability into Introductory Courses

Part 1 of this paper presents four approaches UBC instructors used to insert sustainability content into different types of large, first year courses. In order to help instructors employ teaching methods that support sustainability learning, Part 2 of this paper summarizes a range of pedagogies that relate to sustainability and transformative education.

Keywords: Education, Case studies, Teaching Tools

Human Well-being & Social Systems
Educational resource
Textbook/Books/Reports
2014
2013-2014 USI Teaching Fellows: Don Krug, Tara Ivanochko, Loch Brown, Naoko Ellis, David Tindall

Transforming Sustainability Education at UBC: Desired Student Attributes and Pathways for Implementation

This document provides additional information about each attribute with additional learning objectives, examples from UBC and beyond, as well as some potential assessment tools which could be used to help develop, and then assess students understanding of these key sustainability concepts.

Keywords: Education, Holism, Positive Change  

Climate Change & Energy
Human Well-being & Social Systems
Educational resource
Textbook/Books/Reports
2013
USI Teaching and Learning Fellows: Gary Bradfield, Anneliese Schultz, Gregory Dake

UBC Just Food Educational Rescourse

The Just Food Educational Resource aims to provide teaching and learning resources for enhancing equity competencies of instructors and students using food systems as a platform for engagement.  

Keywords: Food Justice, Food Systems, Education
Link to Resource: https://justfood.landfood.ubc.ca/

Climate Change & Energy
Ecological Systems
Natural Resources
Educational resource
Web-based Resources
Just Food UBC

UBC Campus Biodiversity Data Hub

This platform contains a number of biodiversity maps here on UBC's Vancouver campus.  Here, users can browse through spatial data to learn more about organisms and habitats found here on campus and make their own unique maps using the various layers from existing maps

Keywords: Biodiversity, Ecology, Conservation
Link to Resource: https://portal.gis.ubc.ca/arcgis/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?id=8...

Ecological Systems
Natural Resources
Educational resource
Web-based Resources
2016
UBC Campus Biodiversity Data Hub

Understanding Wildfires: A Case study for British Columbia

The case study walks the learner through an introduction to how climate change further exacerbates wildfire occurrence, alongside the myriad health impacts that stem from wildfire smoke exposure. Notable importance is given to the need to advocate for Indigenous Sovereignty and traditional ways of knowing around wildfire management

Keywords: Wildfires, Climate Change, Indigenous Sovereignty
Link to Resource: https://oer.open.ubc.ca/understanding-wildfires-a-case-study-for-british...

Climate Change & Energy
Ecological Systems
Natural Resources
Educational resource
Textbook/Books/Reports
2022
Raluca Radu and Aubree A. McAtee

Phylo: The Trading Card Game

Phylo is a card game that makes use of the wonderful, complex, and inspiring things that inform the notion of biodiversity; and an exercise in crowd-sourcing, open access, and open game development.

Keywords: Biodiversity, Ecology, Interactive Education
Link to Resource: https://oer.open.ubc.ca/phylo-the-trading-card-game/

Ecological Systems
Natural Resources
Educational resource
Course Activities & Assignments
2010
David Ng

In-Class Activities to Develop Student Scientific Thinking

Six videos cover topics of pollination, sustainable fisheries, invasive species, wildfire management, water resources and alternative energy production. These video prompted in-class activities provide an opportunity to bring to community voices and perspectives into the classroom while developing scientific thinking.

Keywords: Biofuels, Fisheries, Crop pollination
Link to Resource: https://oer.open.ubc.ca/asking-scientific-questions/

Climate Change & Energy
Ecological Systems
Natural Resources
Educational resource
Course Activities & Assignments
Tara Ivanochko

Exploring Climate Change and Mental Health

This toolkit is designed for use by educators to empower students to think critically about the structural and socio-political inequities that affect them while centering climate change and mental health through embedded reflective exercises

Keywords: Climate Change, Plantery Health, Mental Health
Link to Resource: https://oer.open.ubc.ca/exploring-climate-change-and-mental-health/

Climate Change & Energy
Human Well-being & Social Systems
Educational resource
Toolkit and Guides
2022
Natania Abebe

Open Case Studies at UBC

Many of these case studies focus on topics in sustainability, but they also include cases on other topics that benefit from an interdisciplinary approach.  

Keywords: Forestry, Social Justice, Conservation
Link to resource: https://cases.open.ubc.ca/case-studies/

Climate Change & Energy
Natural Resources
Policy, Economics & Governance
Educational resource
Case Studies
Open Case Studies UBC

Climate-Kind Pedagogy: Cultivating climate justice informed approaches and kindness in educational curricula

The Climate-Kind Pedagogy framework offers an interdisciplinary approach to climate education that goes beyond Western ideologies and embraces alternative worldviews for effective and inclusive climate education. The aim of the project is to establish an adaptable framework and toolkit for educators to increase learner engagement with and awareness of the climate emergency.

Partner: UBC Sustainability Hub
Funder: UBC
Keywords: leadership & behaviour change, social sustainability, sustainability in education 

Climate Change & Energy
Human Well-being & Social Systems
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
Educational resource
PDF
2023
Zahira Tasabehji

Developing a novel pedagogical framework: Climate-Kind Pedagogy

This project aims to create a novel pedagogical framework designed to address the climate crisis through kindness and compassion for the planet and one another. By documenting successful teaching pedagogies in both climate education and kindness education, this novel pedagogy synthesizes a vast body of educational research in an effort to create actionable strategies for teachers. This novel pedagogical framework was infused into EDCP 349, a B.Ed. course at the University of British Columbia. 

Partner: UBC
Funder: UBC Sustainability Hub
Keywords: sustainability in education 

Climate Change & Energy
Human Well-being & Social Systems
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
Educational resource
pdf
2022
Henry Johnston

Pages