Hi there! My name is Terese Thoni and I work as education coordinator at Lund University Sustainability Forum. The Sustainability Forum is Lund University’s umbrella organisation for strategic support and coordination for sustainability issues. We have in the past years intensified our focus on education for sustainability and to find new and interesting resources for our teachers. I support the integration of sustainability aspects in study programmes at all levels and the development of new educational initiatives focused on sustainability, collaborate with external partners, arrange events, and support networking activities. To more easily coordinate efforts in the area of education for sustainability across the whole university and all faculties, the initiative Teaching for Sustainability was created in Spring 2023, coordinated by the Sustainability Forum in collaboration with the Division for Higher Education Development and the Centre for Engineering Education (CEE) at Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering.
I have a background in research and teaching in the fields of environmental science and political science. My research interests include international climate politics and the net-zero targets, Carbon Dioxide Removal-technologies, Ecosystem-based Adaptation, and ecological compensation.
I have been interested in sustainability for as long as I can remember. My elementary school teacher often talked about deforestation, and it saddened me to think about the many animals losing their homes. I decided at an early age to work with nature protection in one way or another. I engaged in all kinds of small-scale projects as a child, from building homes for insects, to collecting trash, to taking an interest in what we eat and how this affects the environment. At the age of 8, I decided to build a compost at home in our kitchen in our small apartment in Stockholm – a decision that led to a minor bug invasion, which I found very exciting. With time, I have tried to focus less on individual change (even though I try my best to live as I learn) and more on change at a group level. I see the integration of sustainability competences in education as fundamental to our ability to address our large sustainability crises. I look forward to engaging with teachers and students and to hearing how we can best support efforts to this end.
