Making Environmental Education Matter

Environmental education can be a powerful way to inspire change—especially when it feels relevant to students and is easy for teachers to implement. At Environmental School Polku, we regularly evaluate the impact of our work, using tools like participant feedback. But the foundation of effective education is always high-quality content.
To prepare students for a sustainable future, we need to teach a wide range of skills.

These are outlined in the GreenComp framework, which helps educators design lessons and learning experiences that build sustainability competence.

GreenComp is a European framework developed by the European Commission to support sustainability education. It defines the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to act responsibly and help build a more sustainable society.
The framework is divided into four key areas, each with specific learning goals. These goals are grouped into:

• Knowledge – understanding sustainability issues
• Skills – applying that understanding in practice
• Attitudes – developing values and motivation to act

GreenComp helps teachers make sustainability concrete and relevant across different subjects and age groups.

At Environmental School Polku, our teaching materials and workshops are designed to support GreenComp goals. We tailor content to the needs of each group—whether it’s a school class, a teacher training session, or a community project.

We focus on motivating students to take action. Our lessons often explore circular economy and sustainable consumption. Creativity and reuse are key themes, helping students see that things can be done differently—and better. We want every student to believe they can make a difference and understand that everyday choices matter. This approach strengthens their sense of agency and gives them practical tools to influence their surroundings.

We carefully choose content and teaching methods to suit each age group. Not every lesson covers all GreenComp goals; instead, we focus on the most relevant themes for each group.

1. Living by Sustainability Values
   Students learn how using natural resources responsibly affects future generations and other species. They explore ways to reduce resource use and understand that humans are part of nature. The goal is to help students know how to act—and feel motivated to do so.
2. Understanding Complexity
   Students identify root causes of environmental problems, like overconsumption. They learn about the environmental impact of products and services throughout their lifecycle.
3. Imagining Sustainable Futures
   Students reflect on their own consumption choices and explore sustainable alternatives. They learn key concepts of the circular economy and apply them creatively. We encourage them to try new, even unconventional, solutions.
4. Taking Action
   Students learn how their actions can have positive environmental impacts—and how to inspire others to act. We help build confidence that every action matters, even if the results aren’t immediate.

In teacher training, we also support whole-school transitions toward more sustainable practices and help staff navigate change together.

Is your organization planning a new development project? We’d love to hear from you if you’re looking for a partner in environmental education. Our team brings diverse expertise and is always eager to learn and share knowledge.

Send a message to our office (koulutus@polkuedu.fi) or head of environmental education Leena Nukari (leena.nukari@polkuedu.fi) and we will get back to you.

You can find a list of our previous development projects here (in Finnish).