“Around the world, there is a growing recognition that education must do more than raise awareness—it must equip future generations with the mindset and skills needed to truly thrive on our increasingly fragile planet, and recognise that the wellbeing of people and nature are inseparable. The role of planetary health education is to help young people develop the agency and capabilities to navigate this reality. Together with HundrED, we wanted to identify educational solutions that can do this,” said Emma Benameur, Director of Leadership and Learning at the Villars Institute.
“Through these ten selected Spotlight innovations we can see how they support systems thinking, strengthen agency, and support learners in turning understanding into action for planetary health.”
All ten of the selected innovations support the engagement of learners in systems thinking and activate their sense of ambition towards coming up with creative solutions for the real-world challenges brought about by the breaching of planetary boundaries.
We are at a critical point in time where urgent action is required on all fronts to reduce the strain on planetary boundaries, which the Stockholm Resilience Centre defines as, “nine critical global processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth.” Education is a largely underutilised lever that must be recognised and intentionally employed to ensure that future generations can thrive within planetary boundaries.
“For many young people planetary health education can provide a way to better understand the connections between human wellbeing and the health of our planet, and to play an active role in shaping a more sustainable future. Through these ten selected Spotlight innovations we can see how they support systems thinking, strengthen agency, and support learners in turning understanding into action for planetary health. In doing so, they help to prepare young people to contribute to a healthier and more sustainable future for both people and the planet.” summarises Lasse Leponiemi, Chairman of the HundrED Foundation.
The finalists inspire Advisory Board members
The ten selected solutions were chosen from a submissions pool of over 200 innovations from 39 countries on six continents. HundrED and the Villars Institute were very excited to see that the finalists spanned six continents and ten countries, seven of which are in the Global South. They ranged from holistic frameworks for understanding and acting on systems-based thinking, to community driven models that incorporated indigenous or local knowledge to support a return to a deeper understanding of human beings’ connection to the Earth. The selected solutions addressed several, or in some cases, all, of the planetary boundaries.
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The ten finalists, along with the ten other shortlisted innovations, were evaluated by the HundrED Advisory Board for their impact, scalability, and adherence to the Spotlight criteria. Each solution received an average of 44 reviews. On the whole, the Advisory Board was inspired and energised by the programmes; one Advisory Board member, Monica Joshi, IT Head at Sat Paul Mittal School in Ludhiana, India, remarked that “The diversity of ideas and the strong sense of purpose across submissions reinforced the belief that meaningful, scalable change in education is truly possible when we center agency, systems thinking, and future readiness.”
Her comment was echoed by other reviewers, who were keenly aware of the overarching themes encompassed by the shortlisted programmes, adding that another essential focus was on student wellbeing. Angela McCarthy, former CEO of The Earth Foundation and founder of Angela McCarthy Consulting based in Switzerland, commented on the power of collaboration:
“A theme I noticed across many of the innovations was a strong emphasis on social connection, communities, and groups of people working together to address shared challenges. I found that particularly powerful, as it appeared consistently throughout many of the examples.”
The work of educating for planetary health is a responsibility that, addressed intentionally and using the lens of systems thinking, provides a hopeful future for generations to come. By incorporating evidence-based, reflective methodologies to support educators and learners, these ten solutions demonstrate that the keys to staying within planetary boundaries are truly in our hands.
The finalists will be announced and celebrated at the Villars Symposium, June 14-17, 2026.
Introducing the ten finalists:
The Sustainability Compass is a systems-thinking tool that supports educators in embedding holistic sustainability across the curriculum. Using four Compass Points, Nature, Society, Economy, and Wellbeing, educators and students identify key system elements and map their interconnections. The compass gives educators and students a framework to discuss various topics and visualise their interconnections to ecological and social systems so that they become more motivated and capable of contributing to resilient communities and a thriving future.
The Sustainability Compass integrates seamlessly into existing K–12 curricula and is currently used by thousands of educators worldwide. It is a copyrighted tool and free for nonprofit educational use. The Compass Education website provides easy access points to begin to use the Sustainability Compass, including a free introductory course as well as hundreds of crowd sourced resources and lesson plans.
Compass Education on how the programme addresses local needs with respect to planetary health: “The strength of the Sustainability Compass is its adaptability. It does not prescribe a single issue or curriculum. Instead, it gives educators and students a structure for understanding whatever ecological or social challenge is most urgent in their own context.”
Creating Resilient Schools for Quality Education (CRS)
Link Education is using participatory school improvement plans (SIP) developed with governments, schools and their communities that are evidence-based and respond to local realities. The model was developed in collaboration with communities and governments over 25 years ago in South Africa, and is now central to Link Education’s work in Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, and Uganda.
The participatory SIP model uses data analysis to identify and target underlying causes of poor school performance such as scarce continuous professional development, poor leadership, lack of gender and disability awareness, weak community engagement or climate impact. The Link model that supports school stakeholders to assess and remove barriers such as gender, disability, low-literacy, or climate disruption. District government staff work with headteachers and stakeholders to agree improvement priorities based on evidence and aligned with government plans. This approach ensures that local challenges are addressed using local solutions which encourages sustainability and ensures resilience.
Link Education on how CRS is enabling systemic change: “Linked to existing government processes, CRS improves planning throughout the education system to facilitate the efficient use of scarce resources and significantly improve both the quality of education and schools’ climate resilience.”
Educating the Solutionary Generation!
The Institute for Humane Education created a Solutionary Framework that teachers can use to integrate real-world issues into the curricula. It guides students to solve real-world problems - students use a systems-thinking approach to implement and refine their solutions. This approach aims to equip a future generation of solutionaries who will work to make our world a better place for all people, animals, and the environment.
The Solutionary Framework, a Solutionary Guidebook, sample lessons, and multiple resources are available for free on the Institute for Humane Education website.
The Institute for Human Education on the challenge that inspired the development of the Solutionary Framework: “It is imperative to educate the next generation to be solutionaries—next-level problem-solvers who can compassionately, confidently, and competently address the myriad challenges to planetary health that they face now and in the future. Teachers need effective training and support to do this.”
iLearnabout
iLearnAbout provides teachers and learners across Sub-Saharan Africa with a range of freely available digital resources to help develop a better understanding of local and global environmental conservation challenges and solutions. The e-learning programme is available online and offline through mobile phones, projectors, tablets, and laptops and targets upper primary and lower secondary school aged children in after-school clubs.
iLearnabout currently reaches over 45,000 African children, through NGO partners and schools such as Wildlife Clubs of Kenya, with 5,000 after-school clubs, and others in Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zambia. The programme is also hosted on global platforms such as UNICEF’s Passport to Earning, Internet in a Box and Critical Links giving access to hundreds of thousands more.
iLearnabout on the insights that inform their approach to planetary health topics: “The approach is informed by planetary health research linking environmental stability to human health, evidence that early education shapes lifelong behaviour, and insights from teachers and local partners. Content aligns with national curricula and the SDGs, while remaining accessible in low-connectivity settings.”
Klimaatspeelplaats
Klimaatspeelplaats is an award-winning school ground project in Sint-Paulus Kortrijk, Belgium, that sets the standard for climate adaptive school grounds around the world. The project reduced heat stress and increased biodiversity by limited concrete surfaces and planting trees and native greenery. This climate-friendly design is not only more sustainable but has also increased children’s exposure to nature and outdoor learning, and decreased children’s boredom which has led to a decrease in bullying.
Klimaatspeelplaats on the empowerment of youth and encouraging eco-ambition: “The playground serves as a living laboratory where young people experiment with solutions such as rainwater harvesting, biodiversity and reuse of materials. They see the immediate impact of their actions, which boosts their confidence and motivates them to think beyond problems. In this way, they develop a future-oriented mindset and the skills to tackle climate challenges. The Climate Playground turns passive spectators into active change makers, ready to build a sustainable world.”
Meraki (Merdeka Anak Muda Indonesia)
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Meraki is a climate incubator that empowers indigenous youth to launch climate initiatives and deliver climate policy recommendations to the government. It includes a series of workshops that are divided into three core learnings: global citizenship education and social emotional learning; entrepreneurship; and environmental problem solving. Following the workshops, participants receive mentoring to create their own climate initiatives and are encouraged to make an impact from both the ground-level and policy level through dialogue with local governments.
Meraki on addressing local needs with respect to planetary health: “By empowering youth with mentoring and seed funding, we expand access for Indigenous youth to launch initiatives that protect the ecosystems where their parents depend. By using the GCED-SEL component in the program, we rebuild the confidence of Indigenous youth who are victims of climate change into leaders by creating ‘continuity of care’ for the land. Ultimately, Meraki can answer local needs with a planetary health approach.”
Nature based Education for Regenerative Futures (NbE)
Nature-based Education (NbE) was created as an urgent response to a fundamental reality: the human–nature disconnection is driving climate disruption, biodiversity loss, and the deterioration of planetary health. As learning environments become increasingly artificial and the nature-deficit disorder grows, NbE seeks to restore the vital bond between people and the Earth, enabling a necessary paradigm shift.
NbE does this by turning nature into a living classroom through outdoor learning, project-based work, citizenship science, living maps, regenerative leadership, and activities that help learners understand and act within living systems. Evidence shows that NbE improves academic performance, reduces nature-deficit symptoms, strengthens creativity, empathy, and well-being, and increases environmental agency.
NbE on its holistic approach to planetary health education: “NbE advances planetary health by addressing human–nature disconnection through a living-systems approach that blends Indigenous knowledge, experiential learning, and regenerative action. It naturalizes schools, strengthens community networks, and fosters resilience and protective behaviors.”
NutriKids Lab
NutriKids Lab was created to confront Nigeria’s persistent child malnutrition crisis, driven by poor diets, low nutrition awareness, and high economic cost. NutriKidsLab is delivered through a three-part model. First, children receive interactive nutrition education that connects food to health growth, and energy with locally available nutritious foods. Then, children extend their learning back home through take-home resources, recipe textbooks, notebooks, and backpacks that encourage conversations and healthier food requests. Third, the model supports lasting impact by embedding knowledge early, shaping family diets today, and informing future decision-making.
Their long-term goal is to institutionalise nutrition and planetary health education within Nigeria’s school system nationwide. They envision a future where children in every state learn practical, culturally grounded food literacy that shapes healthy dietary habits at home and throughout their lives.
Nutrikids Lab on enabling systemic change: “We embed nutrition and sustainability into formal school systems, shifting from short-term programs to sustained, curriculum-based learning. By engaging students, parents, and education authorities, we create lasting school-to-home behavior change and support scalable, system-level transformation.”
Project Vaayu
Project Vaayu is a student-lead, sustainable solution to the increasing heatwaves in India. It reuses terracotta chai cups to create coolers for schools which can lower temperatures by 6-10°C, and significantly reduce electricity consumption. By lowering school temperatures, Project Vaayu promotes better learning environments for children in underprivileged schools so that students can thrive both academically and socially.
This project is currently run by a network of about 15 student volunteers who collect discarded terracotta cups from local vendors, build and install coolers, and conduct climate-awareness workshops in government schools. So far, they have installed five sustainable coolers across four schools, directly improving classroom environments for over 400 children. Each installation is accompanied by educational sessions where students learn about sustainable cooling and climate resilience, creating ripple effects of awareness and action.
Project Vaayu on empowering youth and fostering eco-ambition: “Through hands-on construction, data collection, and outreach, students experience tangible impact, shifting from fear of climate change to confidence in problem-solving. Each installation and workshop demonstrates that small, sustainable steps can create systemic change. By engaging peers and communities, Project Vaayu turns concern into creativity helping young people view themselves not as passive witnesses to the climate crisis, but as active contributors to a healthier, more resilient planet.”
Ripples of kaitiakitanga an Enviroschools approach
Using an Enviroschools framework, Kaitiaka Kindergartens use a hands-on, inquiry-based approach to empower tamariki (children) as kaitiaki, where their curiosity drives investigations, their voices shape solutions, and their actions lead to visible environmental change. This looks like children taking the lead in restoring local waterways, actively monitoring water quality, planting native vegetation, and reducing waste to create healthier ecosystems. They also engage with experts, whānau, and community partners, to deepen their understanding and extend their impact beyond the kindergarten, advocating for sustainable practices in homes, businesses, and local government.
Kaitiaki Kindergarten on their approach to planetary health education: “Our holistic approach integrates environmental, social, and cognitive learning, fostering interconnected thinking. Tamariki (children) explore real issues like habitat loss and water quality through hands-on projects, becoming empowered agents of change whose actions ripple locally and beyond.”
