The Big Ideas of Sustainability
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Provided by: Shelburne Farms|Published on: September 30, 2022
Artwork
Scientist Reviewed
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This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This poster simplifies the main concepts and ideas of sustainability into one easy-to-follow poster.
- The main ideas are summarized and connect to the three dimensions of sustainability identified: environmental integrity, social vitality, and economic prosperity.

Subjects: Science, Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts
Authors: Shelburne Farms
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- Each idea and concept is defined on the poster.
- This resource serves as an excellent introductory tool to the intersectionality of sustainability.
Additional Prerequisites
- The concepts are not listed in any specific order.
- The three dimensions of sustainability at the top of the poster are not defined.
Differentiation
- It may be best to help link concepts like "equilibrium" and "cycles" to sustainability as a class, as it might be unclear to students how certain concepts tie into sustainability and its dimensions.
- It is essential that students understand that many of these concepts like "Diversity" and "Limits" apply to both humans and the natural world even though their definition may not obviously suggest this.
- This poster can be used in science classes during lessons about ecology and climate change, in civics classes during lessons about the importance of inclusion and diversity in decision making and the impacts of environmental degradation on different peoples, and in economics classes during lessons about the role of economic growth in development and climate change.
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About the Partner Provider

Shelburne Farms
Shelburne Farms is an education nonprofit on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future through its programs, place, and products. We offer transformative learning experiences to help educators, students, and visitors create a more thriving world. Home to the Institute for Sustainable Schools, our historic campus is a 1,400-acre diversified farm located on the homelands of the Winooskik band of the Abenaki.
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →




