Link to Sustainability

Building an animal enclosure for an endangered animal is a project that effectively

incorporates sustainability to ensure that students are learning this cross curriculum priority.
ACARA (The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority) highlights 3
essential elements of sustainability that should be present in the teaching and learning
process. “The first key concept explores the interdependent and dynamic nature of systems
that support all life on Earth as well as the promotion of healthy social, economic and
ecological patterns of living for our collective wellbeing and survival.” (ACARA, 2017).
Throughout the project students learn about the environments that animals depend on and
also the contrasting nature of endangered animals compared to the ideological biodiverse
ecosystems that are considered sustainable. The second and third concept focus on global
sustainability and sustainability education which do factor in to this project through research
and in class discussions however there is a much greater link to the first key concept.

The design, building and presentation aspects of this project encompass relevant contextual
sustainability that students can comprehend better. Actually using recycled materials in the
project allows students to apply their understanding of sustainability to real life situations
which will in turn help them transfer that knowledge into more complex understandings of
sustainability such as clean renewable energy, which is another aspect of this project.
Students are given the chance to explore, investigate and understand the aspects of
sustainability in regards to biodiversity and the impacts, both positive and negative, that
human beings have.

References
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016). Curriculum. Retrieved
from https://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum
School Curriculum and Standards Authority. (2014). Western Australian Curriculum.
Retrieved from https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/teaching/curriculum-browser