Sustainable Schools: Digital Toolkit for Teachers

Activities, resources & more to help you bring the Sustainable Development Goals to life in your classroom – ready to download from our low-carbon website!

About the Project

Sustainable Schools: Achieving the SDGs through STEM aims to empower and inspire primary school students to explore the application of STEM thinking and skills to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

STEM education plays a crucial role in preparing young people for a future of complex challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

The project aims to support linkages to the primary curriculum, and demonstrate the embedding of SDGs in STEM topics, through the co-design, development, and delivery of high-quality workshops, and an online platform with toolkit with learning resources which will also be co-designed to support educators on an on-going basis. The programme will focus on engaging with DEIS schools and schools in disadvantaged areas, which have traditionally been less engaged in STEM.

About the Toolkit

As part of the project, we have developed a digital toolkit for teachers: including how-to guides, tips for integrating the SDGs into STEM lessons, practical activities for classrooms, and examples from schools that have taken part in programmes. Dive in below!

Tips for the Toolkit? Let us know

Dive into our free resources!

TOPIC: GENERAL

Definition Matching Game

A great starter activity! Help students to understand the Sustainable Development Goals in a simple, fun and child-friendly way.

TOPIC: WATER

Water Filtration System

Dive into the challenge of water filtration! In this hands-on activity, students will explore how global inequality affects access to clean water by creating their own filtration systems on a budget, simulating the real-world struggle for safe drinking water and sustainable solutions.

TOPIC: FOOD

Food Miles Map

How far did your food travel to get to your plate? In this engaging activity, students will explore the environmental impact of food by calculating the “food miles” of their favorite meals, learning where ingredients come from, and discovering how this affects our planet.

TOPIC: CLIMATE ACTION

Climate Change in a Bottle

Watch how rising CO2 levels heat things up and learn how they contribute to global warming – using an old plastic bottle!

TOPIC: BIODIVERSITY

Plant & Design a School Garden

Get your hands dirty and help fight climate change! This activity shows how planting trees and plants can capture carbon and make a real difference for our planet.

TOPIC: WASTE

Ocean Cleanup

Become an ocean-saving inventor! Explore a ‘mini ocean’ filled with marine litter and design a device to clean it up.

TOPIC: BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity Wordcloud

Why is biodiversity important? In this interactive activity, students will work together to brainstorm and create a dynamic word cloud in real-time, showcasing their thoughts on biodiversity and its significance for our planet.

TOPIC: GENERAL

Effects of Climate Change

Explore the real-world impacts of climate change! Students will work in groups to match effects of climate change to a poster of our world, helping them understand how this is affecting our planet.

TOPIC: ENERGY

Energy Savers and Wasters

Energy Saver Relay! Race to sort energy-saving and wasting actions into the right buckets. The team with the most correct cards wins, plus a bonus round to turn waste into savings.

TOPIC: FOOD

Food Chains and Webs

Dive into the wild world of ecosystems and discover how animals rely on each other to survive. See how human actions – like pollution and habitat destruction – can shake up the entire food web.

TOPIC: WASTE

Lifecycle of a Plastic Bottle

Follow a plastic bottle’s journey from creation to disposal and discover where plastic comes from, how it’s used, and what happens after we throw it away.

TOPIC: WATER

Water Cycle

Make It Rain! Create a mini water cycle in a bag and watch how water moves through the atmosphere in this hands-on activity.

TOPIC: WATER

Water Wasters and Savers

Race against the clock to sort everyday activities into ‘Wasters’ and ‘Savers’! Work as a team to make smart water choices and find ways to turn wasteful habits into water-saving wins.

TOPIC: BIODIVERSITY

Wildlife Bridge

Put your STEM and design skills to the test! In this activity, students will design and build a model wildlife bridge out of upcycled materials, creating a safe pathway for animals to cross roads without risking contact with human infrastructure.

TOPIC: ENERGY

Coal Mining

Race against time to mine for coal – but watch out! With each round, it gets harder to find. Discover first hand why fossil fuels are running out and why renewable energy is the future.

TOPIC: GENERAL

SDGs Simple Definitions

The Sustainable Development Goals are 17 unique goals set out by UN member states to help tackle some of the biggest causes of POVERTY, INJUSTICE and DAMAGE to our planet. Here we look at simple definitions of the SDGs to help students to understand.

TOPIC: ENERGY

Green Energy Cities

Build Your Green City! Take on the challenge of transforming a regular city into an energy-efficient, eco-friendly metropolis. Using Lego, markers, and your imagination, redesign the city’s energy sources, transport, and buildings – thinking green at every step.

TOPIC: WATER

Rivers of Change

The Polluted River Story. Join Francis the Fish as he discovers how pollution is harming his river. Add pollutants to the water as the story unfolds and learn how we can all help clean up and protect our rivers through the SDGs.

This webpage is updated with more resources frequently. Check back for more soon!

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