61 The Go Green Project!

Dr Rita Scully presented the Go Green Project, an EU-funded collaboration involving three universities and secondary-school teacher teams. The project aims to support post-primary teachers—often experts in their subject but not in sustainability—to confidently embed ESD into classroom practice. Consultations across partner countries revealed strong teacher enthusiasm but also uncertainty about where to begin, prompting the development of a suite of structured, accessible resources.

Key outputs include five e-learning packages introducing sustainability concepts, competencies, ethics, interdisciplinary approaches, and problem-based learning. These are accompanied by more than 30 detailed lesson plans, each aligned with multiple subjects and featuring learning outcomes, activities, timings, resources, and assessment tools. Teachers can filter lessons by discipline and adapt them to local contexts, with many also choosing to use the videos and materials directly with their students.

The project additionally produced a draft cross-curricular sustainability syllabus designed to encourage policymakers to embed ESD across subjects rather than contain it within a standalone module. Templates, pre- and post-assessment tests, and implementation guides ensure that the materials are practical and ready for classroom use. All resources are freely available, supporting widespread adoption. Dr Scully emphasised that the project empowers teachers by providing structured, flexible tools that make sustainability education both achievable and engaging.

About the author

name: Dr Rita Scully

institution: Technological University of the Shannon

Dr Rita Scully is a member of the Department of Built Environment at the Technological University of the Shannon.