Laudato Si' Champions

The Laudato Si' Champions Project is the workstream of the Guardians of Creation Project that focuses on integral ecology in Catholic schools, funded by the Assumption Legacy Fund.

The project offers guidance and resources in three main areas:

• teaching and learning for integral ecology in schools
• young people's experience of the ecological crisis
• policy-making for sustainability in Catholic schools.

The Laudato Si' Champions Project has produced resources addressing each area, ranging from a ready-made six-lesson teaching toolkit for educators looking to lead lessons on Laudato Si' and integral ecology to long-form empirical reports for people looking to develop a deep understanding of how environmental issues are interacting with Catholic schools, and the teaching and learning therein.

Resources

Laudato Si’ Champions toolkit for educators

If you are an educator, looking to incorporate teaching and learning around Laudato Si’ and integral ecology into your work, these resources are for you.

When you you receive a suite of materials, including:

• six presentations and worksheets
• guidance for teachers
• student workbook.
• key terms sheet
• a certificate for students.

The toolkit was developed through a one-year pilot programme of teaching and learning delivered to 225 students. It has been downloaded by nearly 300 organisations across 37 different countries and every continent. Trialled at all school levels, our toolkit has been used extensively in religious education lessons and in multiple other settings worldwide: from Laudato Si’ events in Kenya, through prayer services in the USA, to catechism classes in Malaysia.

For educators in England and Wales: the Laudato Si’ Champions resources have been designed to align with the guidance of the Religious Education Directory (RED) on learning outcomes. We are also featured in the Catholic School’s Inspectorate’s Inspection Handbook as an example of evidence of schools’ commitment to the environment and the care for our common home.

Please note: the link to download the toolkit will be sent to your email upon completion of this form.

Developing whole-school approaches to sustainability in Catholic education

Developed over the course of a one-year multiple site case study of eight schools and drawing on evidence given by 83 interviewees, this report introduces a model for understanding and facilitating responses to the ecological crisis in Catholic schools. The report begins by exploring the barriers that inhibit Catholic schools’ responses to the ecological crisis, before introducing its model for change, the Caring for Creation model.

The Caring for Creation model describes the phases that Catholic schools in England and Wales pass through in their development of a comprehensive, or whole-school, response to the ecological crisis. Readers who are familiar with Catholic education institutions should be able to identify where their institution is in its progression through the Caring for Creation model, and the consequent actions it should take to develop further.

Educating and empowering Laudato Si' Champions in Catholic education

The report draws on evidence from a survey of 677 students (11 to 14 year-old), and interviews with 83 participants. The report explores young people’s experiences, perceptions and beliefs regarding the ecological crisis in depth. The data is used to investigate the development in young people’s relationship to the ecological crisis as they participate in the Laudato Si’ Champions programme, revealing a clear and conclusive set of rationales for implementing the Laudato Si’ Champions Toolkit in any Catholic school.

Contact us

To contact the project's team, please email