"[4% of the world population] consume 120 pounds..every day in natural
resources extracted from farms, forest range lands and mines... [this] is possible only
because of chains of production that reach all over the planet. Most of the production
and most of its impacts, are hidden from view - in rural hinterlands, fenced off
industrial sites and far off nations.... (Ryan & Durning,'Stuff', 1997)

The Footprint

The ecological footprint measures human impact on nature. In order to live, people consume, or 'use up', natural resources, and this ultimately results in waste. Given that we all have an impact on our planet an important question to ask is do we take more from the Earth than it has to offer? The Ecological Footprint measures what we consume from nature. It shows how much productive land and water we occupy to produce all the resources we consume and to take in all the waste we make.
Given that the earth is a finite size, that the resource base is not expanding whilst population and consumption per capita are, what is a fair earth share to consume? Nature provides an average of 5 acres of bioproductive space for every person in the world. With a global population of 10 billion for the year 2050, the available space will be reduced to 3 acres. This should also give room for the 25 million other species. Already, humanity's footprint may be over 30 percent larger than what the world has to offer as it consumes more than what nature can provide.

The Project

The aim of the pilot programme has been to promote living more sustainably by increasing understanding amongst Year Five Primary School children about the natural world, its processes and systems, and how our lifestyles can effect these.

The project worked with three Sheffield schools (two primary and one special) and used the ecological footprint concept as a framework for a range of inputs and school visits that make use of local expertise in education for sustainable development. Teachers have been involved in the planning stages and helped shape the content to work with their National Curriculum targets. The overall plan was to start with an inspiring 'hands on' trip exploring the natural world, followed by a lesson where children work out their footprint. Further sessions enable children to find out in more detail the different aspects that make up their footprint, how these effect issues of the environment and development, and ways they and their families can reduce their overall impact. The project ended with a round up of the years work with a visit to the Earth Centre and a recalculation of children’s global footprint scores.  

Specifically the project has involved:
· a day visit to Losehill Hall to undertake an Earth Caretakers course
· a lesson from the Earthcentre where children work out their ‘Global Footprint’
· a visit to Heeley City Farm, where activities have ranged from children recycling their Christmas trees to helping make compost
· a lesson from Schools and Homes Energy Efficiency Project (SHEEP), which includes the construction of a solar powered model car
· a lesson by Sheffield Wildlife Action Partnership which has involved practical outdoor activities centered around the issue of biodiversity
· a lesson by the Development Education Centre (South Yorkshire) where children relate their global footprints to the issue of global warming and less industrialised countries  


Here's to the ecological footprint project:
Children on their visit to the Earth Centre, Summer, 2001

The recalculation of children’s ‘Global Footprint’ scores at the Earth Centre is a way of evaluating the impact of the various lessons and visits. In addition more qualitative evaluation has included using a simple questionnaire, undertaking a global post-it activity and collating small group discussions. Go to evaluation for the full results.