© WWF-Philippines / Bong Cruz
EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
WWF-Philippines believes in working with the academe to promote environmental consciousness and encourage environmental action among the youth.

The Education for Sustainable Development team teaches young kids the importance of taking care of the environment. They do this through school partnerships to integrate environmental topics into their curriculum and activities. Teachers are also supported through training sessions to adopt ESD concepts in their classroom teaching. The ESD team also conducts turo sessions with students and youth leaders on climate change, biodiversity, waste management, water, and sustainable lifestyles. They have also facilitated citizen science workshops, design-thinking, solution-generation, and action-planning activities.

ESD for 2030
ESD for 2030 roadmap (UNESCO)
© WWF-Philippines


In their ESD for 2030 Roadmap, UNESCO identified these five priority action areas: policy, transforming learning environments, building capacities for educators, empowering and mobilizing youth, and accelerating local-level actions. In 2023, the ESD Unit of WWF-Philippines contributed to the last four areas through both online and onsite opportunities.

[Graphic] Transforming learning environments
© WWF-Philippines

The ESD team continues its whole-year partnerships with schools like Poveda, Assumption Antipolo, and Creative Learning Paths in integrating environmental topics in their curriculum and implementing environmental activities in their school activities. The ESD team also participated in strategic planning workshops for associations of various educational institutions.

WWF-Philippines Environmental Education Program Manager Dino Calderon conducts a module with young students. Photograph © WWF-Philippines

© WWF-Philippines

[Graphic] Building capacities of educators
© WWF-Philippines

This year, the ESD team was invited to facilitate training sessions for teachers on education for sustainable development for both private and public schools. This includes engagements with the School Division Offices (SDO) of Muntinlupa, Batangas City, Nueva Ecija, and Nueva Vizcaya.

Students present a skit on climate change. WWF-Philippines’ Environmental Education team looks to train students to be future leaders for the environment. Photograph © WWF-Philippines

© WWF-Philippines

[Graphic] Accelerating Local Level Actions
© WWF-Philippines

Aside from schools and the youth, the ESD team works with communities and corporate partners to promote local-level actions. Throughout the year, more than ten coastal clean-up events were organized with various partners.

Under the PSC-TVA program, workshops and training were conducted for household members and community members from different barangays in Manila City. This includes the distribution of waste bins and regular monitoring of segregated wastes. Under this program, a localized version of plogging called Takpul was also developed and organized in Intramuros.

Bataan 2020 General Manager Clement Huang (Blue, center) stands with staff from WWF-Philippines and teachers from Miriam College Lower School.

© WWF-Philippines

[Graphic] Empowering and Mobilizing Youth
© WWF-Philippines

The ESD team continues to conduct turo sessions with students and youth leaders on climate change, biodiversity, waste management, water, and sustainable lifestyles. But aside from learning sessions, they also facilitated citizen science workshops, design-thinking, solution-generation, and action-planning activities.

  • Citizen Science Camp held in Batangas City as part of the Clean Cities, Blue Oceans project, from which the project will support six school programs;
  • Facilitated and supported Camp Kalikaunan, the National YES-O Camp organized by the Youth Formation and Development (YFD) Unit of the Department of Education;
  • Launched the Youth are the Future program in partnership with SM Prime, a 3-day eco-camp with student leaders from 13 schools;
  • Conducted workshops with the youth of Baguio City, Makati City, and Quezon City as part of the One Planet City Challenge project;
  • Represented WWF-Philippines in the 25th World Scout Jamboree held in Korea;
  • Participated in the USAID O2 National Youth Leaders' Summit, Baliwag Youth Conference, Lutheran Youth Climate Camp, and Move2Change Youth Summit.

Students and teachers from 13 Metro Manila high schools attended a three-day eco-camp to learn about environmental conservation and sustainability. YOUth are the Future

© WWF-Philippines / Janine Peralta