We are all curious. Creative. Connected. We are part of a larger story. One that is still unfolding. 

These are the first lines of a compelling learning tool about nature, interdependence and the complex context of our human condition. A learning tool developed by Macquarie University a must read for everyone who wants to know where do we come from and where are we heading? It provides a sound basis for education about conservation and sustainable development.

Learning pathways

Frogleaps is now a few months on line. We are analyzing the behavior of the users of the two courses on frogleaps. Maybe not surprisingly the multiple choice questions on the strategic communication course are frequently answered by most visitors and users. So this weekend we also uploaded such questions in the various topics of the storytelling course. 

Both courses end with an opportunity “to do it yourself”. To make these “do it yourself” key subjects more attractive we added tools to help users with developing a communication strategy or writing a story. Some of these tools provide instructions for individual use. Other tools provide instructions to develop steps jointly with colleagues or partners. In that case the advantage is that users in those cases have to explain parts of the theory to their colleagues and or partners and will in this way enhance their own individual learning. Then there is the blog to update the content of the courses. This leads to the follwoing learning pathways:         

1. Reading through the course in a linear way and updating your knowledge by occasionally looking at the blog
2.  Following the blog and occasionally check the content of the theory that is referred to in the blog
3. Surfing through the key subjects and tasting the content by doing the multiple choice questions
4. Starting with the “do it yourself” subject and using the tools to learn and occasionally go back to the theory explained in the previous key-subjects
5. Using the group learning tools to enhance your own learning, by introducing the exercises to colleagues and partners
6. Using the tools in your own Communication training workshops.

      The individual linear learning pathway of reading through the parts or the whole course may only be done by some users. Therefore we thought to suplement this learning pathway by a route to taste the content through multiple choice questions, and an opportunity for individual and for group learning by adding tools to be used with colleagues and partners. 

      Most of the tools we have tested ourselves in training workshops or during university lectures. The students of the Klagenfurt University MSc  Course on Protected Area Management were thrilled to discover how useful the stakeholder analysis tool was. “We now really understand the importance of researching stakeholders in advance, the theory we got never really gave us the insights that you have to look for those stakeholders that can become your partners”, was one of their comments.

          

In a workshop with local communities in Sierra Leone, we used some of
the storytelling tools to let participants dream up a change strategy for
coastal management. In a workshop in Jordan we used some storytelling
tools to help birdlife partners from the region flash out success stories that
could be used as supportive testimonials in a campaign to mainstream the
issue of migrating soaring birds into various sectors. 

Some CEC members shared already their tools they thought could add
value: recently Suzana Padua from Brazil send us her tool to do a
simulation game.

      We very much look forward on feedback from users about the different learning pathways and how we can improve them. We also like to hear from users about their experience using the tools. Please feel free to comment below or to write a blog article! 

Learning to start a sustainable change strategy

Frogleaps offers you knowledge and tools for sustainable development

Achieving environmental objectives requires behavior change. You want to influence people to stop harming nature. And to start protecting our environment. How can you maximise the results of your efforts?

Influencing behavior is difficult. Would you change your behavior just because we ask you? Or just because we present facts to you? Probably not! Frogleaps strengthens your change strategy with strategic marketing expertise. Look at the site...!

Learning to be social

Social learning is also learning to be social. Mastering a skill, a technique or other content is a process of social learning. I experienced that through learning music and playing together you also learn to be social. You learn to listen to each other. To share the joy of makling it sound good. To realize the right timing together. To build up some suspense together. You see from each other's faces when to start a new phrase, how it develops, what to de next. You learn to communicate without words. Developing empathy and emotional intelligence. With the passing of the years my father and I started playing together again. I had come to understand that making music together was often much better than trying a social conversation. And a few years ago before his passing away, when my father could not hear anymore the high tones and switched from violin to viola, I made an effort to play the Mozart duos for violin and viola, and really practiced hard to be technically able do my social duty. He loved it. Said: "you became a very handy grabbler!" From my side double social learning!

Social learning

Social learning theories claim that we learn in a social context. I realize that when I remember how I learned to play the violin. I was five, got a small violin and imitated my father as he was playing. We played together and he demonstrated and explained how to hold my left hand and curve my fingers, how to keep the pulse of my right hand loose, use my elbow and keep my shoulder low. I had to practice alone, learn simple tunes by heart and then reproduce the modeled violin behaviour with some positive or negative reinforcement. This went on for years. Later I had other teachers, but the fun part always was playing together. Scales and exercises sounded much better: less out of tune and more volume. A bit like the Mouse and the Elephant walking over the wooden bridge, says the Mouse to the Elephant: “listen what a big noise we make!” When I had enough skills to play with others, the real fun started. Hours of daily practice were rewarded and stimulated by playing music of famous composers and by the social and sometimes competitive environment of my violin duo, the student orchestras, or for a while my piano trio. Yes, the social context.

Strategic communication

Strategic planning of communication on Prezi

A cup of coffee: mapping impacts

Things caused by a cup of coffee. That was the header. My attention this morning was attracted by the map. The article looked at conservation from an interesting perspective: some species are directly threatened by coffee growing. Global consumption and trade of a variety of products has an impact on biodiversity. And the gap between North and South becomes clear on the interactive map developed by the university of Sydney. For me an illustration of the power of maps and timelines as tools for communication and (adult) learning. Just surfing over the map shows how a consumption in a country threatens species elsewhere and what species are threatened in this country by international trade.

Communication basics in 3 steps

Improving your communication starts with learning how to position your organization. The first step was a two hour session with the leadership of the organization. We discussed in pairs and plenary the following questions: who are you? why do you exist? what is your dream? who has to change? What is the message? It gave them a new perspective on the role of communication. They then wrote a first positioning statement. In a second one hour session they recognized it was too long and too much jargon for a positioning statement. They felt they needed more information. We are now at step three: diving deeper into positioning and branding. They are answering the usual list of questions (see illustration), adapted to the NGO situation.

WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM by Steven Johnson

Creating spaces for exchange of ideas is a basis for innovation. Connecting our hunches with those of other people and suddenly seeing that a new idea emerges. That is why just presentations during conferences don't really communicate, while working in groups does.

The future of disaster relief game

To get a process of peer learning going, CNA organized a game during the conference on "CLIMATE CHANGE, STATE RESILIENCE AND GLOBAL SECURITY". At the registration the over a hundred participants all got a game booklet with a scenario on climate change and global security in the year 2040. Each participant was provided with a card with the flag of the country (s)he was supposed to represent. It contained a 80-word description of the position of that country. A pannel of retired admirals played the role of a White House security advisor, the Joint Chief of Staffs, the Department of Defense Secretary, a Congressman and the Secretary of State. The audience had to vote on questions with regard to climate change and relief response: what would you do, how are you going to do it, how will this resource demand end. The panel then discussed what the response of the US administration should be. Afterwards a climate change representative of the current White House Council on Environmental Quality gave her reactions as an introduction to a lively plenary discussion.

Interactive simulation games on CC

Interactive simulation games can force you to sharpen your thinking, help you to see a complex reality in more simple models and clarify what is really needed to address issues such as climate change. Dominic Stucker from the Sustainability Institute just brought to my attention some interactive system models that can provide such insights on climate change. C-LEARN let me experience that all countries have to contribute. The Bath tube taught me the fundamental difference between levelling off and reducing emissions. The Climate Momentum let me experience the difference in effect between the scenarios that are debated. And the MIT Simulator let me feel strongly that positive change only begins to take off we change consumption patterns.

Teaching is learning

You learn when you have to explain, when you facilitate other people's learning, or when you have to grade the papers of your students. Part of my duties as a lecturer for the MSc Course Protected Area Management of the University of Klagenfurt is to read and grade the assignments of the students. This time I had 16 students from a range of different countries. The nine entries below reflect my learning from cases of interactive planning of protected areas they described in their assignments. I learned that major issues in interactive planning are the difference between communication and management objectives. The time needed for the phases from establishing relationships to mapping change pathways. And the need to formulate objectives before one designs a program for a workshop or stakeholder meeting.

Asking questions

Asking questions is an imperative part of any learning process. Sometimes it gets you into trouble, when you do not ask the right questions. Like when Sharon Stone – as I saw in a magazine – asked herself in public the questions: “was the way the Chinese treat the Tibetans nice? Was the recent earth quake in Sechuan province maybe the workings of the law of karma?” It caused her to loose advertising contracts in China and a ban on her movies. An over-reaction? Yes. The questions were not that bad, but at least the last one was a wrong question. Personally I would answer both questions with no. Karma is about the consequences of one’s actions. It is different from the laws of nature. The tectonic structure in the area is to blame for the earthquake. Not the Chinese. But that does not mean that there is some cause and effect at work here. Corruption and lack of enforcement of building regulations contributed to the collapse of schools and the deaths of so many children. Indiscriminate logging caused eroded slopes: an easy prey for massive land slides, natural dams in rivers and the potential evacuation of almost a million people down stream. Nobody will know how much the wrong decisions, illegal activities and bad performance of those in power may have contributed to the current hardships of the people in Sechuan. Those guilty most probably are not among the victims. Maybe some of them will learn that some karma is at work here…! Maybe Sharon Stone has learned now about karma, about conditions such as laws of nature and about asking the right questions.

New learning for biodiversity

Biodiversity in schools is often seen as normal biology. To show Parties to the CBD that another approach is possible, the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety published an English translation of one of their education kits. The kit – Biological Diversity, educational and information materials - is part of the German campaign to raise awareness for COP 9 and meant for school kids in the age of 12 – 16. The content is organized in six sections: species diversity worldwide, national parks and biosphere reserves, high-tech from nature, project suggestion, learning and competences check and background information for teachers. The kit contains worksheets and information sheets. The sheets are designed to copy for students. All references are to information on the web rather than to books. The kit is targeted to kids in Germany, but with some adaptations and additions teachers in many countries can use the materials. Or get inspired by it to develop their own version. To order the kit write to: bmu@broschuerenversand.de.

Stones that tell of a society shaped by its environment

Nature experiences mostly are linked with silence. Silence that touches the soul. A mind without the chatter of endless thoughts popping up becomes peaceful. A feeling of being part of a vast system of grasses, trees, bees, clouds etc. strengthens our soul. Recently I walked along the beach. The ebb tide was really low and I thought I saw on a sand bank the rests of the submerged Roman Nehalennia temple. Not so much a soul experience. But recognizing the meaning of environment. Learning how society is shaped by it. How we are part of it. Eloquence in Stone is a story in stone, that of Sri Lanka's rich heritage through the ages. It is a story of the art and craft, architecture, sculpture and painting of our people, a pictorial narration of a world shaped by its environment. CEC member Jinie Dela draw my attention to this book. You can order it by writing to: eloquenceinstone@gmail.com.

Criteria for successful strategies towards non formal learning

Non-formal learning in support of biodiversity has two sets of components: content and competencies to enable people to understand, be motivated and committed to helping solve challenges that affect biodiversity. The main content is: interdependence of life on earth, ecosystem functions and services, human impacts on ecosystems. The main competencies are: systems thinking, problem solving skills, communication skills. When Parties to CBD want to implement strategies to mainstream biodiversity into learning in non-formal contexts they should be aware of a few pre-conditions or criteria for success. The CBD-UNESCO workshop identified the following. Parties should:
• Understand the needs of other sectors, then translate biodiversity main messages into simple language that responds to their problems and meets their needs
• Use professional experts to develop that translation
• Develop a “working group” structure of nonformal providers to provide guidance and implementation assistance
• Use participatory planning with nonformal providers to design learning programs and train them to do the same
• Encourage nonformal providers to design programs that enable people to choose effective learning strategies
• Encourage nonformal providers to design programs that build skills and create solutions to sustainable development challenges.
The German campaign for CBD COP 9 is a good example of mainstreaming biodiversity into non-formal learning contexts.

Strategies to mainstream biodiversity into non-formal learning

CBD Parties can use a range of strategies to mainstream biodiversity into learning in non-formal contexts. In our UNESCO-CBD workshop we came up with three. A first strategy is to support non-formal learning providers and direct their activities toward biodiversity education (BD) by providing professional development in BD outreach; funds to orient their programs to BD; templates for materials with BD messages, such as exhibits, posters, flyers for public spaces, libraries, museums, zoos; booklets for literacy programs; networking opportunities to share ideas nationally and internationally.
A second strategy aims at intermediaries, e.g. engage universities and researchers in understanding how to evaluate and improve non-formal learning for biodiversity and sustainable development (SD); design campaigns with non-formal providers to support adult lifestyle change toward more sustainable behaviors; help non-formal providers listen to all voices (including indigenous and minority people) and engage all stakeholders in designing educational programs.
A third strategy aims at participation by sectors or the public, e.g. seek support from non-environmental non-formal providers, such as the private sector, media and entertainment industries by challenging them to address BD and SD concepts; engage relevant professions in creating solutions to BD and SD challenges with contests, awards, and publicity; engage the public in critical reflection of lifestyle and consumption choices by working through faith-based groups, women’s groups, civic groups, local communities, neighborhood associations, and extension programs.

What is learning in non-formal contexts?

People are always learning. They learn from observing others; they learn from their parents; they learn from media; they learn in the workplace; they learn from life. Non-formal learning providers support this “everyday” learning by offering structured and free-choice opportunities for people to explore ideas, to satisfy curiosity, to gain information and skills, and to improve their quality of life. Non-formal learning includes all types of learning outside the formal education system (primary schools, secondary schools, and universities). Non formal learning providers cover a range of opportunities, e.g.:
• Support formal education with supplemental resources, field trips, guest speakers, resource experts, in-service training
• Reach youth outside of school in clubs and camps with strategies such as games, field trips, etc.
• Engage adults in professional development and issue-specific skills and information in workshops, distance education programs, on-the-job training, courses, and conferences
• Offer life-long learning for all through the media, libraries, exhibits, and community programs.
This perspective is one of the outcomes of our three day workshop organised by UNESCO and SCBD in Paris (17 - 19 March 2008).

Practicing empathy

To improve your communication skills it is important to practice empathy. My dictionary defines empathy as "the quality or process of entering fully, through imagination, into another's feelings or motives." The more you understand the other, the better you can convey your message. I practice this through music. The more you train your ears, the better you can play music. Since I was a child I often to listen to Bach’s St Matthews Passion with Eastern. The violin solos I knew and liked best. My father practiced them at home in the weeks before Eastern. During the performance I could dream every note. Sometimes my father took me to a rehearsal and I sat next to the daughter of the conductor with the score in between us. With our student orchestra we performed the Passion many times and with different choirs. When you play yourself it all sounds different. The conductor makes you learn to hear new dimensions. The more you listen the more you hear. The more the music has to give. Every year something new strikes me. This year it was the flute solo in the second part in the aria ‘For love my Savior now is dying’. The flute – accompanied by two hoboes – playing around the soprano made me shiver. Outside the garden was white with snow. A bird flew out of a tree. The score outlined the human condition.

Schools and biodiversity education

Biodiversity contents in learning focus on: interdependence, carrying capacity, resilience, goods and services, cultural and spiritual values, the role of man, economic drivers and consumption patterns. Biodiversity related competences focus on: critical thinking, problem solving, conflict resolution, participatory planning and system thinking. This is one of the outcomes of a workshop organized by UNESCO and SCBD on CEPA and ESD. I came across a few good examples of biodiversity related education in schools. Click on the titel to go to the various websites.
Baltic Sea School network This project includes all nine countries around the Baltic Sea, creates networks of schools and stimulates the development of teaching methods in environmental education and education for sustainable development.
Sandwatch project Sandwatch seeks to modify the lifestyle and habits of children, youth and adults on a community-wide basis and to develop awareness of the fragile nature of the marine and coastal environment and the need to use it wisely.
Tales around the world campaign With "Cities around the world" children will give their city the opportunity to have their say: they find out more about their city, they discover its desires and dreams and express what people could do so that it keeps living in harmony with the Earth.
YouthXchange Youthxchange is designed to help trainers and individuals to understand and communicate on sustainable lifestyles.
Year of the Dolphin – dolphin manual A very nicely designed and highly informative book (90 pages) about the situation of the Chinese White Dolphins (a.k.a. Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin; Sousa chinensis) with numerous pictures. It's in English and Chinese
Young reporters for the environment The YRE book 2007 has been edited and sent in every participating country. It contains articles and photos of young reporters from 15 countries who investigated their local environment.
Teaching and learning for a sustainable future Multimedia teacher education program.
World Heritage in young hands The UNESCO programme that gives young people a chance to voice their concerns and to become involved in the protection of the world's natural and cultural heritage.