, PLEASE USE THIS DOCUMENT AS A GUIDE ONLY
Introduction
I am completing the Bachelor of Education (BEd) qualification stream, specializing in Intermediate
Phase teaching. The local context I will be using for this portfolio is a semi-urban community in
Gauteng Province, South Africa, situated near a river system that has been impacted by illegal
dumping, alien invasive plants, and water scarcity. The community is diverse, with a mix of formal
housing, informal settlements, and small-scale agricultural activities. Many residents rely on the river
for domestic water use, livestock watering, and small-scale irrigation, making environmental issues
directly relevant to their daily lives. The school where I teach serves learners from this community,
and many learners have direct experience of environmental challenges such as water restrictions,
waste management problems, and the loss of indigenous vegetation (EED2601, Study Guide, p. 31).
My BA Environmental Management counterpart will focus on the same local context, examining
how global environmental crises linked to the Anthropocene are experienced in this community and
how Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can raise awareness and promote behaviour
change.
, Learning Unit 1: Key Ideas and Debates on Environmental Education
BEd Task: Teaching the Holistic Environment and the Anthropocene in a Primary or High
School Classroom
Teaching the Holistic Environment
To teach the concept of the holistic environment, I would begin by asking learners to draw or list
everything they can think of when they hear the word "environment." Most learners will initially
mention only biophysical elements such as trees, animals, rivers, and air. I would then introduce the
holistic model of the environment, which embraces the totality of our lived environment — human
(constructed, social, cultural, economic and political), natural (biophysical), spatial (geographic
context) and temporal (time-span) aspects (EED2601, Study Guide, p. 6). Using the diagram from
Figure 1.1 (EED2601, Study Guide, p. 6), I would guide learners to see how political, social,
economic, and biophysical components are interconnected within the broader concept of sustainable
living.
Local Application: In my community, waste management is a pressing issue. I would ask learners to
trace the journey of a plastic bottle — from its production (economic), to its use (social), to its
disposal in a local landfill or illegal dumping site (biophysical), and finally to its impact on local
water sources and soil (spatial and temporal). This helps learners understand that environmental
issues are never purely "natural" — they are embedded in human systems.
Teaching the Anthropocene
The Anthropocene is the era in which humankind has become a geological force, with impacts of
global proportions (EED2601, Study Guide, p. 18). To teach this concept, I would use a timeline
activity where learners map key human activities (industrialisation, population growth, deforestation)
against environmental changes (temperature rise, species loss, pollution). I would emphasise that the
key drivers of the Anthropocene are human population growth, economic growth, war, pollution and
environmental degradation (EED2601, Study Guide, p. 18).
Local Application: Using the local example of air pollution from nearby coal-fired power stations or
informal waste burning, learners would investigate how local actions contribute to a global
phenomenon. They would then create posters showing the chain: local action → regional impact →
global crisis.
SDG-Based Class Activity
Activity: "Our Community, Our SDG"
Goal: Learners identify one local environmental issue and link it to a relevant SDG.
Steps:
1. In groups, learners photograph or describe a local environmental problem (e.g., illegal dumping,
water pollution, alien invasive plants).
2. Groups research which SDG addresses this issue (e.g., SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation; SDG
15: Life on Land).
3. Groups design a small action plan (e.g., a clean-up campaign, a recycling initiative, a awareness
poster).
4. Groups present their findings and actions to the class.
Assessment: Rubric assessing understanding of the holistic environment, correct SDG
alignment, and feasibility of action plan.
Introduction
I am completing the Bachelor of Education (BEd) qualification stream, specializing in Intermediate
Phase teaching. The local context I will be using for this portfolio is a semi-urban community in
Gauteng Province, South Africa, situated near a river system that has been impacted by illegal
dumping, alien invasive plants, and water scarcity. The community is diverse, with a mix of formal
housing, informal settlements, and small-scale agricultural activities. Many residents rely on the river
for domestic water use, livestock watering, and small-scale irrigation, making environmental issues
directly relevant to their daily lives. The school where I teach serves learners from this community,
and many learners have direct experience of environmental challenges such as water restrictions,
waste management problems, and the loss of indigenous vegetation (EED2601, Study Guide, p. 31).
My BA Environmental Management counterpart will focus on the same local context, examining
how global environmental crises linked to the Anthropocene are experienced in this community and
how Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can raise awareness and promote behaviour
change.
, Learning Unit 1: Key Ideas and Debates on Environmental Education
BEd Task: Teaching the Holistic Environment and the Anthropocene in a Primary or High
School Classroom
Teaching the Holistic Environment
To teach the concept of the holistic environment, I would begin by asking learners to draw or list
everything they can think of when they hear the word "environment." Most learners will initially
mention only biophysical elements such as trees, animals, rivers, and air. I would then introduce the
holistic model of the environment, which embraces the totality of our lived environment — human
(constructed, social, cultural, economic and political), natural (biophysical), spatial (geographic
context) and temporal (time-span) aspects (EED2601, Study Guide, p. 6). Using the diagram from
Figure 1.1 (EED2601, Study Guide, p. 6), I would guide learners to see how political, social,
economic, and biophysical components are interconnected within the broader concept of sustainable
living.
Local Application: In my community, waste management is a pressing issue. I would ask learners to
trace the journey of a plastic bottle — from its production (economic), to its use (social), to its
disposal in a local landfill or illegal dumping site (biophysical), and finally to its impact on local
water sources and soil (spatial and temporal). This helps learners understand that environmental
issues are never purely "natural" — they are embedded in human systems.
Teaching the Anthropocene
The Anthropocene is the era in which humankind has become a geological force, with impacts of
global proportions (EED2601, Study Guide, p. 18). To teach this concept, I would use a timeline
activity where learners map key human activities (industrialisation, population growth, deforestation)
against environmental changes (temperature rise, species loss, pollution). I would emphasise that the
key drivers of the Anthropocene are human population growth, economic growth, war, pollution and
environmental degradation (EED2601, Study Guide, p. 18).
Local Application: Using the local example of air pollution from nearby coal-fired power stations or
informal waste burning, learners would investigate how local actions contribute to a global
phenomenon. They would then create posters showing the chain: local action → regional impact →
global crisis.
SDG-Based Class Activity
Activity: "Our Community, Our SDG"
Goal: Learners identify one local environmental issue and link it to a relevant SDG.
Steps:
1. In groups, learners photograph or describe a local environmental problem (e.g., illegal dumping,
water pollution, alien invasive plants).
2. Groups research which SDG addresses this issue (e.g., SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation; SDG
15: Life on Land).
3. Groups design a small action plan (e.g., a clean-up campaign, a recycling initiative, a awareness
poster).
4. Groups present their findings and actions to the class.
Assessment: Rubric assessing understanding of the holistic environment, correct SDG
alignment, and feasibility of action plan.
