“Teaching Master’s in Sustainability Studies? Oh—we’re sustaining education!”

Open Textbooks & Core OER

Start here if you’re looking to replace or supplement a traditional textbook. These resources are openly licensed, meaning you can reuse, adapt, and remix them to better fit your course context at Trent. All links open in a new window.

Introduction to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• Type: Open access textbook (Pressbooks)
• License: CC BY 4.0
• Best for: SUST 5000 (Foundations of Sustainability), introductory SDG-focused courses, policy and global governance modules
• Why consider it: A clear, accessible foundation for understanding the 2030 Agenda and all 17 SDGs, helping graduate students build shared SDG literacy, systems thinking, and policy awareness before moving into deeper theory or applied research.

Environmental Sustainability in Practice

• Type: Open access textbook
• License: CC BY-NC 4.0
• Best for: Applied sustainability courses, planning and management, environmental communication, interdisciplinary practice seminars
• Why consider it: An interdisciplinary and practice-oriented text that spans education, planning, agriculture, geospatial tools, and communication, making it ideal for grounding students in how sustainability operates across real-world sectors.

Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation

• Type: Open access textbook
• License: CC BY 4.0
• Best for: Core theory courses, interdisciplinary sustainability foundations, preparatory reading for advanced seminars
• Why consider it: A globally used flagship sustainability text that integrates environmental, social, economic, ethical, and systems perspectives, providing a rigorous conceptual backbone for graduate-level sustainability studies.

Environmental Issues

• Type: Open access textbook
• License: CC BY 4.0
• Best for: Environmental systems courses, climate and biodiversity modules, environmental justice units
• Why consider it: A science-informed yet accessible introduction to pressing environmental challenges that strengthens environmental literacy and systems thinking while connecting natural and social science perspectives.

Other OER: Open Modules, Units, & Learning Objects

Not ready to swap a whole textbook?

This section highlights:

• Open course modules

• Stand-alone units

• Case studies

• Interactive learning objects

Building and Delivering Sustainability Solutions: Insights, Methods, and Case Studies

• Type: Open access edited volume
• License: CC BY 4.0
• Best for: Methods courses, applied sustainability seminars, capstones, solution-oriented research projects
• Why consider it: A real-world, case-driven collection that bridges theory and implementation, offering tools and examples across agriculture, ecosystems, climate adaptation, and technology.

Sustainable Food Systems on Campus: Case Studies

• Type: Open access case study collection
• License: Creative Commons (individual case licenses may vary)
• Best for: Food systems courses, community-engaged learning, institutional sustainability projects
• Why consider it: A place-based, experiential resource showcasing campus food system initiatives, supporting applied learning and discussions of equity, procurement, and institutional change.

Business Case Studies: Sustainability

• Type: Open access case study collection
• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
• Best for: Sustainable business, environmental management, policy, CSR, and professional practice courses
• Why consider it: A collection of real-world organizational sustainability cases that strengthen strategic thinking, ethical reasoning, and applied analysis at the graduate level.

Cultivating Change: A Prairie Guide to Sustainability Teaching and Learning Practices

• Type: Open access teaching guide
• License: CC BY-NC-SA
• Best for: Sustainability education courses, facilitation training, community-based learning, pedagogy-focused modules
• Why consider it: A place-based, Indigenous-informed guide that foregrounds relational, community-engaged, and reflective sustainability education practices.

H5P: M1 – Climate Change and Sustainability

• Type: Interactive learning module (H5P)
• License: Openly available via eCampusOntario (license as listed on platform)
• Best for: Introductory climate modules, flipped classroom activities, review sessions, online or blended learning
• Why consider it: An interactive, self-paced module that reinforces key climate and sustainability concepts through embedded activities and formative checks, making it ideal for reinforcing foundational knowledge or supplementing lectures.

Sustainability Illustrated (YouTube Channel – @learnsustainability)

• Type: Open educational video series
• License: Publicly accessible (check individual video licensing for reuse)
• Best for: Foundational concepts, systems thinking, SDG literacy, circular economy units
• Why consider it: Short, animated explainers that make complex sustainability concepts visually accessible and digestible, ideal for pre-class viewing, concept clarification, or revisiting key ideas throughout the program.

Critical Climate & Political Economy Analysis (YouTube channel collection)

• Type: Open-access educational video analysis
• License: Publicly accessible (individual creator licensing varies)
• Best for: Advanced seminars, political ecology, climate justice, critical theory modules
• Why consider it: Offers deeper structural analysis linking climate change to political economy, power, and global systems — well suited for graduate students ready to move beyond surface-level sustainability narratives.

UNESCO – Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

• Type: Policy-aligned educational video resource
• License: Publicly accessible (UNESCO media terms apply)
• Best for: Policy discussions, global sustainability frameworks, equity and SDG-focused coursework
• Why consider it: Introduces the global framework of Education for Sustainable Development, connecting sustainability education to the 2030 Agenda, equity, and long-term societal transformation — particularly valuable for grounding sustainability in global policy context.

Your Response: What Are We Missing?

Open education works best when it’s shared. We invite your contribution:

• A textbook you’ve used or adapted

• A tool that’s worked well with students

• An open assignment or activity idea

• A locally created resource that could be shared openly

How to respond/connect

• Add a suggestion via the form below

OER? Oh We Are! Because this guide grows with its community.