Drama and Arts-Based Environmental & Sustainability Education
This 5-day training aims to equip teachers with drama, visual arts, and creative expression techniques for teaching environmental and sustainability topics, build their capacity to use embodied and imaginative learning to deepen students’ emotional and ethical engagement with sustainability issues, and provide practical tools for co-creating theatre, visual art, and multimedia pieces that communicate environmental messages. The programme aligns with GreenComp (European Sustainability Competence Framework) and arts-integrated pedagogy principles.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the training, participating teachers will be able to:
- Explain the pedagogical rationale for using drama and the arts to teach environmental and sustainability concepts
- Apply drama techniques (role-play, forum theatre, tableau, improvisation) to explore environmental dilemmas and stakeholder perspectives
- Design visual arts activities (collage, installation, recycled-material art) that communicate sustainability messages
- Facilitate devised theatre processes where students co-create original performances on environmental themes
- Use storytelling, poetry, and creative writing to build emotional connection to nature and sustainability issues
- Integrate arts-based assessment methods (process journals, exhibitions, performances) into environmental curricula
- Design an interdisciplinary arts-and-sustainability project suitable for their own school context
- Share good practices with Erasmus+ partners and prepare a dissemination plan for their institution
5-Day Training Programme
Day 1 — Foundations: Arts, Drama, and Environmental Pedagogy
| Time | Content |
|---|
| 09:00–09:30 | Opening, introductions, project and programme overview |
| 09:30–11:00 | Why arts and drama for sustainability? Theoretical foundations and GreenComp links |
| 11:00–11:15 | Break |
| 11:15–13:00 | Drama warm-up session: theatre games and embodiment exercises exploring “becoming” natural elements (tree, river, wind) |
| 13:00–14:00 | Lunch |
| 14:00–15:30 | Country presentations: arts-based environmental education practices in partner countries |
| 15:30–16:00 | Daily reflection journal |
Day 2 — Drama Techniques for Environmental Dilemmas
| Time | Content |
|---|
| 09:00–10:30 | Role-play and hot-seating: exploring stakeholder perspectives (farmer, policymaker, activist, corporation) |
| 10:30–10:45 | Break |
| 10:45–12:30 | Tableau and freeze-frame workshop: depicting environmental crisis moments and turning points visually with the body |
| 12:30–13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30–15:00 | Forum theatre session: devising and performing short scenes on a local environmental conflict, audience intervention practice |
| 15:00–16:00 | Group reflection: using drama to build empathy and perspective-taking |
Day 3 — Visual Arts and Material-Based Practice
| Time | Content |
|---|
| 09:00–10:30 | Visual arts approaches to sustainability: eco-art, upcycled/recycled material art |
| 10:30–10:45 | Break |
| 10:45–12:30 | Studio workshop: creating collage or sculpture from recycled materials on a sustainability theme |
| 12:30–13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30–15:00 | Nature-inspired installation activity: small-group outdoor or indoor installation piece with a message |
| 15:00–16:00 | Gallery walk and peer critique |
Day 4 — Storytelling, Writing, and Devised Performance
| Time | Content |
|---|
| 09:00–10:30 | Creative writing and poetry: giving voice to nature (persona poems, letters from the future) |
| 10:30–10:45 | Break |
| 10:45–12:30 | Devised theatre workshop: small groups develop an original short performance combining movement, text, and visual elements on a chosen environmental issue |
| 12:30–13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30–15:00 | Rehearsal and refinement of devised pieces |
| 15:00–16:00 | Performance showcase: groups present their pieces to the full cohort |
Day 5 — Curriculum Design, Application & Evaluation
| Time | Content |
|---|
| 09:00–10:30 | Arts-based assessment: process journals, exhibitions, and performance as evidence of learning |
| 10:30–10:45 | Break |
| 10:45–12:30 | Workshop: designing an arts-and-sustainability project for participants’ own school/subject area |
| 12:30–13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30–14:30 | Final project presentations and peer feedback |
| 14:30–15:15 | Institutional dissemination plan and Erasmus+ networking |
| 15:15–16:00 | Evaluation survey, certificate ceremony, closing reflection circle |
