Five years seeking Sustainability: what has community education learned

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Five years seeking Sustainability what has
community education learned?

• Rhys Taylor
• at Social Marketing Conference
• Wellington 8 March 2007

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A role for community education in sustainability?

• This papers about
• Changes councils and government seek
• How people learn and change
• Insight from overseas comparisons
• Whos responding to NZ initiatives?
• Lincoln township case study at a community scale

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Sustainability requires change

• New habits, adaptation to resource scarcity,
  climate change, pollution...
• But commerce and fashion resist rather than
  assist sustainability (large cars, air-flights,
  disposables, easy credit terms)
• More than information is required, yet the info
  base has to be trustworthy.
• Change is a learning process

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Typical toolkit promoting change

• Existing work a mix of these 4
• Underpinned by motivation, education and social
  incentives

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Community Education

• Is more than marketing, is a dialogue
• Learning is voluntary, and often informal
• Less often assessed or examined than at school or
  college learn for intrinsic value
• Venues are community-based, accessible
• Learner-focused, relevant, connected.

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Sustainability education audiences

• Early adopters (follow green pioneers, but want
  to understand why how, first)
• Early majority, (especially once they are parents
  and become future-focused).
• But not the late majority, (still want to do the
  right thing, but wait pragmatically for
  incentives social trends to carry them)
• And not the resisters, wholl respond only to
  regulation incentives

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Educations more than advertising!

• Seek a combination of information, a social
  setting that engages/motivates and incentives to
  tackle barriers to change.
• Social marketing ad campaigns best suited to
  issues with a clear call to (an) action, while
  community education suited to more complex issues
  requiring multiple actions, experiment and
  reflection.

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Broadcasting getting bolder?

• TV3 series, now screening, takes a light look at
  serious resource issues and challenges NZ
  consumer habits, offering financial incentives
  for change. Website support is at
  www.wastedtv.co.nz

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Adult learners motivated by

• Discovery, exploration, testing (trial error)
• Setting their own pace, working through questions
  they pose, discussion.
• Sense of their competence and adequacy being
  increased (efficacy)
• Removing a sense of helplessness or guilt, making
  a difference, cutting through excess information
  (empowerment)
• Kaplan 2000. Note the contrast from Conference
  lectures!

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International experience

• The most common three approaches provide
  information, explain consequences, offer
  exemplars role models.
• But the most effective approaches prompt action
  practice, set specific goal or contract,
  encourage reflection and review.
• The least effective were to induce regret or
  arouse fear.

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UK and Oz experience agrees

• Need to exemplify the changes sought
• Enable them by tackling institutional or other
  barriers that deter change
• Engage people learning to change, in social
  process connect with their needs
• Encourage by economic and social incentives,
  contracts, reminders, the celebration of
  success

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In other words (Robinson 2002)

• Exemplify predispose people to change, suggest
  a new norm via role models
• Enable understand perceptions and barriers, to
  address these early
• Engage finding social triggers to change,
  using group settings for learning
• Encourage to satisfy needs, reward people for
  doing the right thing

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What our research shows

• Paper includes analysis of NZ and overseas case
  study projects against those four concepts.
• Endorsement of interactive, repeated, facilitated
  social learning to generate behaviour change for
  sustainability a community education plus
  social marketing approach.
• Taylor Allen, Published at http//www.nzsses.au
  ckland.ac.nz/conference/2007/manuscripts.htm

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Hands-on participation by learners
And tutor!
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Advantages of learning in groups

• Scope to measure then compare findings
• Scope to try/experiment and feed back
• Discussion in a safe think aloud setting
• Separate from skeptics or critics at home
• Facilitated process provides a context for print
  information content, relates to lives
• Allows questions to clarify content.

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Which people respond?

• Sustainable Living Programme (previously
  Sustainable Households) established 2001 by local
  government, 19 councils by 2006.
• Evening classes and small study groups of adults,
  series of 5 to 10 sessions length, fee charged
  usually. Hundreds involved.
• Mostly women, wide age range, educated,
  environment-sympathetic.

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Impacts of Sustainable Living

• This and a previous paper (submitted to RSNZ
  Social Science Journal, August 2006 ) show clear
  evidence of behaviour and purchase changes after
  learning within study groups
• Each household shows a range of energy and
  resource efficiency gains, consumer and gardening
  choices and sometimes travel pattern changes

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Would this work at town scale?

• Lincoln Envirotown project is a test case
• One year Sir Peter Blake fellowship for a teacher
  2006 plus MfE funded Project Manager 06/07 as
  catalysts a voluntary committee links to
  expertise on tap locally from University CRIs
• Offer information, learning opportunities do
  residents take it up?

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Lincoln
Settled since 1870s, Agricultural University
CRIs, rural dormitory for Christchurch commuters.
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Small town community life
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Engage first, teach later...

• Launch event displays/stalls, showcased
  examples, VIP political visitors, media local
  business interest (Legitimation)
• Town survey 2006 asked what interests
  concerns people (Broadened base)
• First public seminars on water, buildings,
  biodiversity packed venues editorial coverage
  locally. (Education begins).

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Keep asking, repeat contact...

• Open door at community centre, then in vacant
  house, then caravan at Farmers Market at
  community events. Ask first What interests
  concerns people?
• Repeated exposure to sustainability messages,
  assembled relevant reference information made
  it accessible
• 180 monthly newsletter readers
• Second town survey planned 2007

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EnviroTown Trust
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Got people talking engaged

• Lincoln EnviroTown participative events
• Visits to gardens showing NZ native plants
• Planting day in a new reserve
• Street competition Zero Waste Challenge got
  people visiting/talking with neighbours tea
  gift light bulbs celebrated best street
• Sustainable Living evening course

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Action-Research confirms barriers

• Zero Waste Challenge found barriers to greater
  waste reduction recycling
• 30 institutions, organisations (Council shops)
  
• 15 motivational, convenience/time pressures
• 12 cost, technical, access/physical limits
• 8 lack of knowledge not particularly educ.
• 8 yuk factor
• Great basis for increasing efficiency

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Towards Community Action Plan

• Events generate input to 50yr community plan and
  also to statutory plan processes
• Childrens story writing gives future focus
• Sustainability in water, land use and building -
  made tangible, relevant local at evening events
• Discussion groups build relevance and values
  ownership

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Local capacity-building

• Developer in dialogue on sustainability pre-plan
  stage.
• Local recruit as evening class tutor, enjoyed,
  teaching again
• Local high school teacher as chairperson (RSNZ
  backed)
• Journalist now project worker (after writing
  about it)
• Appreciative enquiry

Solar shade house plot orientation?
Stormwater swales
Bus access?
Wildlife corridors
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Evening course home impacts

• At entry, Sustainable Living participants said
  they had more to learn, especially on
  buildings, water, shopping, travel, energy,
  gardening but less so on waste.
• At exit, Lincoln participants listed actions
  being taken and more planned

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What changed after study group?

• Many low energy light bulbs installed
• Composting and recycling increased
• Less water use in bathroom and garden
• Packaging avoided more home cooking
• Walking increased
• Lawn areas reduced, more food grown
• Reduced chemical exposure

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Find more at these web sites

• http//www.sustainableliving.org.nz
• http//learningforsustainability.net
• http//www.lincolnenvirotown.org.nz
• Contact the authors at allenw_at_landcareresearch.c
  o.nz (Will)
• anneandrhys_at_clear.net.nz (Rhys)
• Phone Rhys direct on 03 960 2656
• Continuing research is funded by FoRST.