Playful Learning 2026 Programme

Nature abhors a vacuum: Sustainability through connection

Lead Author: Matthew Carney

Additional authors:

Timetable: Thursday Session 5: 11:00-11:45, Outdoors

Description:

‘The Woods’ is a complicated place. Beneath the surface, what appears to be a simple landscape of individual trees is a vast, interconnected network of organisms sharing space, resources, information, and risk. Likewise, true sustainability and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) must recognise the complexity of the world we inhabit and the need for transformation across society.

Too often, particularly in the UK, our woodlands lack connection, diversity, and resilience. Monocultures of non-native trees provide limited support for wildlife, struggle in degraded soils, and are vulnerable to increasingly severe storms. ESD can face similar challenges. When sustainability is approached as a series of isolated actions or individual responsibilities, meaningful change is difficult to achieve. Interventions may appear successful, but without understanding the wider systems in which they sit, their impact can be shallow and short-lived.

This workshop uses the woodland as a metaphor for sustainability. Together, we will challenge traditional views of sustainability and explore how connection and collaboration can help us build a thriving educational ecosystem. Participants will create a forest, with educators represented as trees linked through shared professional and personal experiences and values. Through this activity, we will examine how stronger relationships can support more effective approaches to ESD.

The session will provide a fresh perspective on sustainability and ESD, encourage reflection on teaching practice, and help develop a shared vision for the future. This systems-based approach is reflected in both the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (1) and the Planetary Boundaries framework (2), where change in one area inevitably affects others. The long-term stability of society and the planet depend on maintaining these connections, many of which are currently under pressure.

Finally, we will explore how shared goals, collaboration, and community can nurture empowerment and agency, qualities essential for navigating the deep, dark woods of societal and systemic change.

References, web links and other resources:

1. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
2. The Nine Planetary Boundaries: https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html