Greening Social Work Education: Teaching Environmental Rights and Sustainability in Community Practice

ABSTRACT

Green issues such as protecting environmental rights and promoting sustainability are growing in importance to social work practice but are largely ignored in social work curricula. This article uses comparative case studies of three student-led community practice projects to demonstrate how environmental rights can be incorporated into social work education. The three cases detail student projects related to promoting farmer’s markets in food deserts, community gardens in homeless shelters, and political advocacy against mining. These cases provide examples of how environmental rights can be incorporated into the social work curriculum and reveal the interconnection of human and environmental rights, and of social and environmental justice. Lessons from the case studies and implications for social work education are presented.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David Androff

David Androff is Associate Professor at Arizona state University.

Chris Fike

Chris Fike is Assistant Professor at Saginaw Valley State University.

John Rorke

John Rorke is Director of Mission Services at Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma, Inc.