This case study invites a collaborative exploration with Exceptional Learners (ELs) in the Transition from School to Work (TSW) program, and Multilingual Learners (MLs) in the IB Spanish language class and the Spanish for Spanish Speakers class at Coconino High School, to create an ADA accessible garden under the leadership of EL students. The partners in this collaboration included Special Education students, Spanish Language students, and the students in a Woods, Career and Technical Education (CTE) class. The Community Engaged Critical Research (CECR) case study worked through inclusion and demonstrated how working across content and ability amplifies voices that may have been silenced in exclusionary models of education. Engaging participant observation, action research, and relational qualitative approaches, this case study moved through a project-based, co-created learning process to inspire student growth in awareness and connection to local ecologies, environment, and sustainability. In addition, building from Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Teaching (CRST), Sustainability Education, and Critical Disabilities Studies (CDS), this case study offers additive perspectives of ELs and MLs in Sustainability Education, that may have been left out. The collaboration across ability and languages encouraged all participants to embody a community focus and local ecology in the process of creating a garden and path of inclusion, together.
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Mitigating climate change is among the most urgent challenges humans face. However debate regarding sustainable energy and options for reducing carbon dioxide emissions tend to be polarizing and frequently unproductive. Too often facts are lost in jargon and numbers that have little meaning for many, including policy makers. Further compounding the problem is the lack of a tangible connection for most citizens between fossil fuel use and environmental degradation. This lack of understanding limits our ability to have sensible discussions about our climate and energy future. A human ecological approach to teaching energy literacy is essential to ensure responsible environmental stewardship in the age of climate change. A powerful and effective way to address this is through project-based learning that helps prepare students, across disciplines, by providing them with the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind to be effective advocates for energy choices that reduce environmental harm. Having an informed and energy literate society is crucial to overcoming barriers and adopting policies that address climate change.
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Journal of Sustainability Education is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. 
