In May 2025, TASS Middle East Convenor Brett Girven hosted a teachers meet-up on Connectedness to Nature in Schools at Greenfield International School in Dubai and Al Dhafra Private School in Abu Dhabi. The workshops brought together 100 passionate educators from over 40 schools across the UAE to connect with each other, share best practices, and discuss ways to improve sustainability competencies and nature connectedness in schools.
The meetings started with an introduction to the objectives and importance of sustainability in the curriculum by Brett Girven, Principal of Dubai British School and an expert in research-based methodologies and leadership. Schools then shared their successful sustainability initiatives and programs with each other in small groups, followed by a presentation on what it means to think with an eco-centric mindset by Ben Hren – the Director of the Centre for Abundance at The Arbor School Dubai. Ben supports the development of a systems approach to ecoliteracy, driven by the school’s mission to prepare all its learners to be caring contributors to a future where there is “enough for all, forever.”
Ben then facilitated smaller group discussions on nature connectedness and eco-centric thinking with Susanne Fischer, a dedicated educator and expert in green curriculum development with an emphasis on experiential and place-based learning. Teachers were asked to present their ideas and share the actions that they plan on taking when they return to school. To conclude, Brett invited schools to commit to an assessment such as ‘The Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale’ and ‘Nature Relatedness Scale’ in order to drive systems change.
Read testimonials from our attendees below:
- “Feeling deeply inspired after the TASS meet-up, where educators came together to connect and reimagine sustainability in education. It was more than a gathering; it was a call to action, a reminder that teaching in harmony with nature empowers our students to become thoughtful, responsible citizens of the planet.” – Agi Biernat Watts, Ecoliteracy Inquiry Specialist at The Arbor School Dubai
- “Grateful to have taken part in such a powerful and soul-stirring session. It reinforced how vital it is for young people to feel connected to nature — because when they care deeply about the world around them, they grow into citizens who care for both people and planet.” – Maxine McGregor, Sustainability Coordinator at The English College Dubai
- “I was inspired by the TASS teacher meet up last Friday, where I connected with like-minded educators to discuss how to bring eco-centric education into our classrooms and connect our students to nature, sharing best practice, ideas and concepts” – Teresa Pollard, Visual Arts Teacher at Swiss International Scientific School Dubai
- “Today’s meet-up was a great opportunity to connect with educators from across Dubai and share ideas on sustainability in education. The conversations sparked a lot of fresh ideas, and I’m looking forward to applying these insights to our work at Sunmarke School.” – David McEntee, Sustainability Coordinator at Sunmarke School
It was a very inspiring and engaging event. A huge thank you to Brett Girven for organising it, to our knowledgeable facilitators for their invaluable contributions, to our hosts at GIS and Al Dhafra for all their support, and to the team at Leela’s Lunches for fuelling the attendees with refreshments that were delivered to the school on their electric van.
We look forward to hosting the next one in Bahrain in September 2025.
