Engaging the School Ecosystem
Schools as Systems of Relationships and Influence
Most people think of a school simply as a place where teaching and learning happen. But a school is much more than that. It is one of the most structured communities of people anywhere. It is a space where values are shaped, behaviours are formed and systems are tested daily. What happens within its walls does not stay there, it influences homes, communities, and the wider world.
Because of this, environmental education in schools is not just about delivering lessons or running activities. It is about understanding how the school functions as a system and how change actually happens within it.
As an environmental educator, you are more than a teacher in a classroom. You can also become a systems leader, a changemaker who understands influence, relationships, and structures, and uses them to integrate environmental values into how the school operates.
Because the world is not just looking for teachers. The world needs, recognizes and celebrates changemaker teachers, educators who:
- Go beyond classroom lessons
- Build systems
- Create lasting impact
There are growing opportunities, recognition, and platforms globally for teachers who take systemic approaches to change. Let’s go over the key steps in leading systems change as an environmental educator.
Step 1: Finding the Right People
The school system is made up of a web of influence;
- School leadership (principals, vice principals)
- Teachers
- Non-teaching staff
- Parents and guardians
- Students
Each group has:
- Different priorities
- Different levels of influence
- Different motivations
One of the most important truths in systems change is that you do not need everyone to agree with you from the beginning. You need the right people to start with.
Before taking action, it helps to pause and think in terms of influence rather than effort alone. Instead of approaching everyone the same way, you begin to ask:
- Who has influence or decision-making power?
- Who is most affected by this or will benefit from this?
- Who is likely to support or resist your idea?
This is called power mapping.
Understanding power mapping helps you design your approach more strategically rather than relying only on enthusiasm or urgency.
Step 2: From the Power Map to a Roadmap
Once you have done your power mapping, the next step is not to act immediately, but to prepare strategically. Understanding people is only useful if you can respond to that understanding with a clear and thoughtful plan.
At this stage, your goal is to shape your idea in a way that speaks directly to the interests of the people whose influence you need. Different individuals in the school system care about different things, and the strength of your proposal often lies in how well it connects to those priorities.
For instance, a principal is likely to think about the school’s image, staff performance, student discipline, and resource management. So if you are proposing an environmental initiative, your approach should clearly show how it supports those concerns. A project like a school garden, for example, is not just about environmental learning. It can also improve the school’s public image, serve as a practical learning space, and even provide fresh produce that can support staff welfare or school needs. When framed this way, the idea becomes more relevant to your school’s principal.
In the same way, other stakeholders will have their own interests. Teachers may care about workload and classroom relevance. Non-teaching staff may care about practicality and daily operations. Parents may care about student development and values. A strong plan takes all of this into account.
This is why it is important not to approach stakeholders with just an idea, but with a clear and structured outline. Whether you are proposing a policy or a project, your plan should answer key questions: what exactly will be done, why it matters, who will be involved, how it will work, and how it will be sustained over time. It should also reflect an awareness of possible challenges and how they can be managed.
Beyond planning, visibility also plays an important role. Schools, like many institutions, respond to recognition and accountability. When your work is visible through simple documentation like photos, short reports, or updates shared with relevant stakeholders, it builds credibility. It shows that the idea is not just theoretical, but active and impactful.
Sharing progress within the school helps strengthen internal support, while sharing beyond the school (where appropriate) can attract external recognition, partnerships, or opportunities.
Building Allies Within the Teaching Staff
Teachers are central to how schools function, but they are also often overworked and managing many responsibilities. This is why introducing environmental education into a school system works best when it is collaborative rather than individual.
A helpful way to think about this is to see yourself not just as a teacher of environmental education, but as a teacher activator. Imagine a complex problem that needs to be solved in a school, but only one person understands it. That person may have good ideas, but they cannot create lasting change alone. The same is true for environmental education. Your impact increases significantly when you begin to activate other teachers around you.
This does not have to be complicated. Here are simple ways to build allies;
- Share what you’re learning from this course
- Recommend this course to them
- Invite a colleague into a conversation
- Encourage 1–2 teachers to take action with you
Not every teacher will respond immediately or with enthusiasm, and that is normal. The goal is not to convince everyone at once, but to start with one or two allies. Once there is evidence of impact, more teachers often become interested naturally.
Engaging Non-Teaching Staff as Hidden Systems Builders
Non-teaching staff are often overlooked in school initiatives, but they play a critical role in how the school actually functions. While teachers shape learning in classrooms, non-teaching staff shape daily practice across the entire school environment. In many ways, they are quietly teaching through their actions every day.
Roles such as cleaners, gardeners, security personnel, facility managers and administrative staff are directly connected to the practical side of environmental practices. Recognize that these values you are trying to teach, waste management, cleanliness, safety, school administration and policy, are all part of their daily responsibilities. This means that when they are involved in environmental initiatives, the effectiveness of those initiatives increases significantly.
Engaging non-teaching staff is not just about assigning them tasks. It is about recognizing their knowledge and experience, involving them early, and building respect for the role they already play in maintaining the school environment. This could look like involving the gardener in an agriculture class or encouraging students to engage the cleaners in conversations on waste management.
Understanding the Influence of Parents and Guardians
The school ecosystem does not end within the school gates. It extends into the home through students and their families. Parents and guardians play a powerful role in shaping the values, attitudes, and behaviours of children, often even more than formal education itself.
When students learn about sustainability in school, they often carry those ideas home. However, the impact becomes much stronger when parents also support or reinforce those values. In such cases, there is alignment between what is taught in school and what is practiced at home, making it easier for students to adopt and maintain those behaviours.
Parents also influence the reputation of your school. Many parents who value sustainability are more likely to support, recommend, and appreciate schools and teachers who demonstrate the same values. This makes parents an important part of the broader support system for environmental education initiatives.
Engaging parents does not have to be complex. It can begin with simple communication, sharing updates through PTA meetings or messages on group chats, highlighting the benefits of environmental practices for their children, and inviting them into the process in small but meaningful ways. For example, there are several rural schools in Nigeria that allow parents to pay school fees or purchase learning materials by recycling waste at the school.
Change Happens in Systems not Isolation
When you bring all of this together, what becomes clear is that schools are not collections of isolated individuals. They are systems of relationships, influence, and interaction. Change in such systems does not happen through isolated action, but through understanding how people, roles, and structures connect.
As an environmental educator, your role is not limited to teaching content. You are working within a system that can either support or resist change. When you begin to understand that system, map influence, build alliances, and engage different groups strategically, your work becomes far more powerful.