Welcome to the blog of Otago Polytechnic's Sustainable practice departmental Champions

The purpose of this blog is to share stories, resources, teaching and learning, examples of sustainable practice happening in Otago Polytechnic's academic departments.


Champions will post 3-5 examples per year of what is happening in the classrooms of their departments.


These posts will share teaching resources, students response, projects and assignments, examples of how it fits into the curriculum etc.


These quality examples may also be used by the Otago Polytechnic marketing department to share these stories with the community.


Enjoy.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Otago Institute of Sport and Adventure (OISA)

OISA has embraced sustainable practise.




A recent example has been the purchase of a cycle trailer (see adjacent photo). This means that staff can efficiently move fitness equipment to venues such as the Logan Park fields, Caledonian running track and the Academy South Island. Andrew Keene led this initiative. As a result there are no car parking hassles, gear can be moved quickly (some of it difficult to carry and/or heavy!) and obviously there is limited expense as a vehicle is not required. Students have aslo been involved in course work around the concept of sustainability.



Year 2 Personal Training students completed a task within their Professional Development course. A highlight in the learning and teaching sessions was a trip to the Dunedin recycling centre. The group enjoyed the opportunity to see what actually happens to waste that is collected weekly. The adjacent photo shows bales of plastic bottles that are shipped overseas and reduced for use in the clothing textile industry. Students were also required to present to their class mates a feature of a heath and/or recreation setting and how this relates to the three aspects of sustainability. The settings presented included the Soccer World Cup, 2011 Rugby World Cup, USA Super Bowl and Moana Pool (here in Dunedin!). The features addressed ranged from use of water, food supplies and the materials used to build stadium structures.


While OISA has made a solid start in the 'care' factor that this area brings, it also recognises that an ongoing commitment is required to allow future generations to have and further the opportunities that are currently available. Or put more simply, we all have environmental, socio-cultural-political and economic responsibilities; the key contributors to Education for Sustainability.

1 comment:

  1. Well done to the team at OISA, good to see these initiatives

    ReplyDelete