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Every Action Counts

Sustainable development taster sessions: Further information

The Federation for Community Development Learning produces a range of resource packs to support tutors and trainers, all of which contain sample session plans, handouts, trainer's guidance notes, worksheets, exercises and handouts. The sustainable development taster session packs support short, non-accredited taster programmes for activists within their communities, community development workers and those who are using a community development approach to their environmental work.

Production of these packs supports FCDL's contribution to DEFRA's Every Action Counts programme, which aims to raise awareness amongst voluntary and community groups and the wider communities of environmental issues. DEFRA has been charged by our current government with taking action to tackle the bigger environmental issues of climate change and natural resource depletion. See also our leaflet and www.everyactioncounts.org.uk for more about the programme.

FCDL has become involved with this programme because it recognises that environmental justice is a key part of social justice - one of the core values of community development work. Poor and marginalised communities are on the receiving end of many social injustices, and likewise they are more likely to live in degraded environments and to be adversely affected by current environmental changes.

All the events designed by FCDL within the Every Action Counts programme are informed by the values of community development work and aim to support communities and those who work with them, by promoting an environmental justice approach.

Trainer's packs, by their very nature, provide material on a particular topic, which is aimed at a people involved in community development. In national packs it is not possible to provide material that relates to all the local situations. It is the trainer's responsibility to customise the material to their particular audience, suggestions are given within the pack for where to find local material.

Some of the exercises can easily be extracted from this three hour session and used within more informal session with groups provided they are contexualised appropriately.

The tasters are designed to raise awareness of particular issues within the Every Action Counts programme. They can provide progression to the NOCN unit on Sustainable Environmental Development, an optional unit at levels 2 and 3 within the national CDW awards. Details are provided on a handout at the end of each pack. The full CDW learning and qualifications framework is available to download.

We have also created a sample unit suitable for adding to programmes within Higher Education.

We will be developing part of our website to encourage all trainers using the materials we create to feed back their views and suggestions. The packs were revised in response to the training courses held in autumn 2006. We hope they are now a really useful set of resource to support your training and we look forward to hearing your views.