Holding a sustainability bearing through cutty-grass and clearings: Implementing sustainability during disruptive organisational changes

Abstract

Introduction Calls for increased focus on sustainability in universities worldwide are becoming more intense as we approach the end of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) (UNESCO, 2003) but the means to this end are disputed. Sustainability initiatives require innovative approaches and tolerance of complexity (Wals, 2010). While, noting that there has been some movement towards sustainability in the tertiary sector in Aotearoa New Zealand, Irwin (2010) still considers that significant barriers exist. Resources to support sustainability in higher education tend to focus on projects rather than on how change happens and by whom (Brinkhurst, Rose, Maurice, & Ackerman, 2011). Brinkhurst et al. argue that staff are a powerful force for transformation that have been under-emphasised as change agents, and at times seen as passive or as adversarial in sustainability initiatives. Hill (2012) suggests that specific examples of what teachers are implementing would be useful. Responding to such calls, this paper provides a case study from a faculty perspective on sustainability initiatives. The context is an Outdoor and Environmental Education curriculum centre (OEE Centre) in the University of Canterbury and we take an optimistic approach that seeks to inform others through illuminating our journey towards sustainability. This paper begins with an overview of the implementation of Sustainability Education in a tertiary education context. In particular we make reference to the recent research in the areas of outdoor education and sustainability education in Aotearoa/New Zealand (Covich, O'Steen, & Hewson, 2009; Hill, 2010; 2011; 2012; Irwin, 2010) and to highlight its contribution to this discussion. It then moves onto the current status of sustainability education across the University of Canterbury (UC) and reflects on a range of initiatives at the University of Canterbury College of Education (UCCE) that are part of an ongoing process of re-visioning programmes based on a 5 year strategic planning process that occurred during a highly turbulent time (Jansen & Boardman, 2011). This includes an outline of the definition for sustainability education adopted by UCCE, some specific changes that have been implemented including transformation of student assessment tasks, and the design and implementation of new and innovative courses. We describe the difficulties but also opportunities that our OEE Centre's strategic plan and subsequent sweeping organisational changes provided for sustainability education at UCCE. The clearings offered by case studies, metaphors and sustainability This paper presents a case study, illustrated with a metaphor to describe our experiences of sustainability initiative within our setting. We consider this approach to be a strength for a number of reasons and explain the terms case-study, metaphor and sustainability below. Case studies are a powerful way to share the successes of faculty and staff in sustainability implementation, and should be presented as a means to overcome barriers and motivate others (Brinkhurst et al., 2011). Case studies can provide context rich information that allows readers to identify with our situation and see possibilities in their own context. Metaphors are used frequently in presenting arguments or describing ideas. Indeed Lakoff (1995) states that "we may not always know it, but we think in metaphor" (p. 177). As outdoor educators, we have spent much time navigating in the dense bush around Aotearoa / New Zealand. Off-track travel can be exhausting and confusing, but at times highly rewarding. Much like off-track navigation, when journeying through sustainability education, openings sometimes present themselves and at other times we find ourselves in a thicket of cutty grass (1). Limited visibility and dense undergrowth often characterise off-track navigation, and we see similarities with our experiences of our sustainability initiative. …