Below are resources that use storytelling to help academics adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the SDGs in their field. I’ll finish by talking about a jigsaw puzzle in development that we hope will be a useful educational tool that provides a holistic, systems level understanding of what needs to change for us to progress to a truly sustainable society.
Suited to classes/modules relating to biology, ecology, environment, sustainability and health sciences
This anthology presents 23 short stories selected from winning stories from the Green Stories competition ‘Microbes to the Rescue’. Sponsored by the Environmental Biotechnology Network and the ‘Clean vs Green’ competition, it uses fiction to tackle myths and misconceptions about bacteria. Reviews and details here: Stories From The Microbial World. These short stories focus variously on showcasing the usefulness of microbes, bringing microbes to life in an an entertaining and visual way, helping students distinguish between friendly bacteria and viruses, and many others. More generally these stories in various ways all help readers to appreciate the interconnectedness of life and develop greater respect for nature in all its forms.
Available on all main platforms here. Educators can contact us for a free eBook if they email us direct.
Details for ordering by University Libraries:
| Pages: | 218 pages |
| Dimensions: | 12.7 x 1.4 x 20.32 cm / 295g |
| Publisher: | Habitat Press |
| Date Published: | 25 November 2024 |
| ISBN-10: | 1739088948 |
| ISBN-13: | 978-1739088941 |
The Assassin/Murder in the Citizens’ Jury: novella, audio book/play relevant to teaching sustainability and politics.
The Southampton citizens’ assembly on climate inspired the novella/audio book, The Assassin. This imagines eight people in a climate assembly debating climate policies. Each character relates to the policies in different ways, forming a kind of entertaining stakeholder analysis. The topics covered include:
Personal Carbon Allowances
Citizen Assemblies
Sharing economy and libraries of things
Right to Repair
On-Demand Buses
Wellbeing Index
Sustainable Farming
It’s also been adapted as a play Murder in the Citizen’s Jury. The play has entertained and provoked discussion about important climate policies, not least citizens’ assemblies themselves. Drama teachers are free to stage it royalty-free if they come direct.
More details and how to order here. Contact us if you’re an educator and would like a free eBook/audio book.
No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save Our Planet: relevant to integrating SDGs into almost all topics.
Almost every discipline gets representation in an anthology No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save Our Planet which teamed climate experts with writers to write 24 short stories each with a climate policy at its heart. These cover most disciplines from engineering to biology, arts to business, and link to web pages which provide more information.
Fairhaven: relevant to climate adaptation and mitigation, engineering.
This calls itself a novel of climate optimism and sets out in story form a pathway to protect Malaysia from sea-level rise. It was written by an engineer teamed with a novelist. It covers ideas such as sea-based carbon capture solutions, glacier refreezing, rigs to reefs projects, AI, global politics and climate finance.
More details and how to order here. Contact us if you’re an educator and would like a free eBook/audio book.
#ClimateCharacters: project to engage students in media, film, screenwriting, creative writing and social marketing
Those in media, film, creative writing, social marketing, etc. can find out about the role of fictional characters as influencers from the project Green Stories did with Bafta – see #ClimateCharacters.
A Jigsaw to Save the World (in development)
The book will be structured like a jigsaw puzzle. The picture on the front represents the flourishing, sustainable society we’d like to achieve. The middle pieces will cover low-carbon food and transport, renewable energy, seagrass, forests, etc. The four corner pieces represent the institutional /constitutional changes needed to set us on the road to a sustainable, flourishing future.
The tone will be positive and solution-oriented rather than problem-driven. Each chapter will stay focused on the vision depicted on the front cover—the future we aspire to create.
The idea of a jigsaw puzzle, isn’t just a metaphor – we plan to create an actual puzzle to go alongside the book which can be used in class exercises. We may do versions to suit different educational levels and blank pieces that students can complete themselves. We’re interested in hearing from any schools/universities who might like to be part of the development process, using the idea to engage their students in what pieces of the puzzle they think are import for a sustainable society, and how these might fit together. These can be adjusted to suit different disciplines, for example, Politics, may look at ways to ensure more sustainable decision making through puzzle pieces representing citizens’ assemblies, future generations ministry, restrictions on corporate lobbying/donations, wellbeing index, tradable energy quotas/personal carbon allowances, decentralisation etc. Science involves puzzle pieces that represent various carbon drawdown and renewable energy options. Business can consider amending corporate law to refocus on society e.g. benefit corporations/social enterprises, sharing economy, circular economy etc. Law can look at climate law, civil law, corporate laws with implications for climate, laws relating to protest and global treaties. There are numerous other pieces of the puzzle encompassing transport, culture, education, economics, agriculture, media and others.