Gaia Education and EDE
This initiative was launched at Findhorn in October 2005 by a group of Ecovillage educators calling themselves The GEESE (Global Ecovillage Educators for Sustainable Earth.) The key program is a UNITAR-endorsed 4 week holistic introduction to designing sustainable settlements called Ecovillage Design Education (EDE), based on the GEN “living and learning” principle. This program draws upon the experience developed in a network of some of the most successful ecovillages and intentional communities across the world. In four weeks you get an overview of all you need to know to design sustainable settlements anywhere in the world. The The program has since been taught to more than 3000 persons at a number of major ecovillages and other educational institutions in over 30 countries and is growing steadily. Ross sits on the board and Hildur is focaliser of the Communications Committee. Gaia Education Limited is a Scottish non-profit based in Findhorn Ecovillage.
Gaia Education Design for Sustainability (GEDS)
A major innovation is 2008 was the conversion of the EDE to an on-line version known as GEDS—Gaia Education Design for Sustainabilty, in cooperation with UOC, the Open University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain, one of the world leaders in distant learning. The expanded course —available since the Fall of 2008 in English and Spanish, consists of the same four EDE modules over 8 months, and can be done in evenings and weekends for people who are working full time or taking another education and at a very reasonable cost. In the 2011-12 academic year, an expanded, more academic postgraduate course was offered for the first time. Eventually, we expect to see the course accredited for teaching at any EU university.
Check out the the Gaia Education site for more information
