The Spanish organisation Educaweb have just published a new edition of their Monografico web magazine focused on green guidance (orientación verde) This article is adapted from Noelia Carmona Núñez’s editorial to give you an insight into what is in the issue.
The issue draws on a range of expert inputs to explore how Green guidance integrates sustainability, care for the environment and ecology into academic and professional guidance. They ask what green guidance is and examine how to put it into practice.
“We’re really asking guidance professionals to consider the environment as part of their work,” says Tristram Hooley, a professor of guidance at the University of Derby in the UK. “We have to admit that the climate crisis is real and that it is already starting to change people’s lives and work,” he adds.
For Rafael Quesada , guidance counselor and social counselor at the University of Malaga, it is about accompanying students towards making academic and professional decisions that align with the principles of sustainability and respect for the environment. Green orientation “must promote life and professional projects that satisfy personal goals and contribute to sustainability ,” says Benito Echeverría , professor emeritus at the University of Barcelona and researcher. This orientation “gives a broader perspective by asking people what the implications of their career choice are in terms of sustainability ,” said Euroguidance Spain within the framework of the Austrian Conference on Green Orientation .
5 keys to putting green orientation into practice
According to the experts consulted, sustainable orientation can be achieved in different ways . Some of them are:
- Incorporating sustainability into the school curriculum: not only in subjects related to natural sciences, but in all of them. “For example, in economics classes, you can talk about the circular economy ; in art, about the use of recycled materials ; and in technology, about green innovations ,” explains counselor Quesada.
- Encourage projects related to the environment in schools: motivate student participation in initiatives with a positive ecological impact, such as involving them in the creation of recycling campaigns or small vegetable gardens in schools.
- Educate on responsible consumption: work with people to promote more sustainable consumption habits.
- Inform people about green careers and jobs : this involves making people aware of all the training and job options in this field and making them accessible to everyone.
- Organize talks with experts: invite professionals working in these fields to share their experiences and introduce their professions.
