Biography Prof. Dr. Daniella Tilbury

Prof. Dr. Daniella Tilbury is a globally recognized expert in sustainability education, leadership, and policy development. She has played a crucial role in shaping international frameworks for sustainability education, working with supranational institutions such as UNESCO, various governments, and higher education institutions around the world.

Tilbury's research and policy contributions focus on the transformation of education systems to foster sustainability, innovation, and future-oriented learning. Her work has been recognized with over 27 competitive grants and 18 awards. She has over 120 publications and is one of the most highly cited academics in the field of sustainability education.

Daniella was a member of the Board of the World Wide Fund for Nature WWF Australia that brought the Earth Hour to the World in 2007 and has been actively involved in international initiatives that inspire transitions towards sustainability and climate positive futures.

She is currently an Honorary Fellow of St. Catharine’s College, at the University of Cambridge, an adviser to the European Commission on learning for sustainability and the UK government’s focal point at the UN Economic Commission for Europe on matters of education and environment.

Daniella was University President, Vice-Chancellor, Dean, Director of Research and Chair at universities in UK, Australia, Hong Kong, and Gibraltar.

Her latest book published in 2025 is called Education and learning for sustainable futures: 50 years of learning for environment and change and is available open access.

Short Summary of the Interview

In this episode, Dr. Stefan T. Siegel speaks with Prof. Dr. Daniella Tilbury about the scope, challenges, and transformative potential of sustainability education. They discuss common myths, institutional barriers, and the need for systemic change in higher education.

Prof. Tilbury distinguishes between different forms of sustainability education, emphasizing that true education for sustainability goes beyond knowledge transfer to critically challenge societal structures and power dynamics. She highlights the risks of just rebranding or labeling sustainability-related educations without ensuring real reform.

She debunks widespread myths, including the belief that sustainability education is only about the environment, that knowledge leads to action, or that it is too complex for young learners. Furthermore, she also challenges the misconception that sustainability education is indoctrination, arguing that it fosters critical thinking rather than imposing beliefs.

She warns that superficial SDG integration and an overemphasis on individual responsibility can dilute sustainability education’s impact. Instead, she advocates for deep critical thinking, empowering learners, and institutional transformation.

Tilbury’s insights reinforce the urgency of rethinking sustainability education. She challenges educators to move beyond myths, integrate systemic perspectives, and embrace transformative pedagogies. The conversation underscores how sustainability education is not simply about “teaching sustainability” but about reshaping education itself to equip learners for a rapidly changing world.

• Daniella's Profile at St. Catherine's College at Cambridge University: https://www.caths.cam.ac.uk/directory/professor-daniella-tilbury
• Earth Hour:

Biography Melanie Trecek-King

Melanie Trecek-King is an Associate Professor of Biology at Massasoit Community College. There she teaches a general-education science course designed to equip students with empowering critical thinking, information literacy, and science literacy skills. Melanie Trecek-King has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry and a Master of Arts in Ecology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Currently, she is also the Education Director for the Mental Immunity Project and part of the Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative. These initiatives aim to advance and apply the science of cognitive immunology to foster mental immunity against misinformation. In the past years she has created a wonderful website on critical thinking https://thinkingispower.com/ where she shares regularly insights and educational materials such as infographics, videos or lessons plans.

Short Summary of the Interview

In this episode, Dr. Stefan T. Siegel interviews Melanie Trecek-King, Associate Professor of Biology at Massasoit Community College and Education Director for the Mental Immunity Project. Trecek-King shares insights on fostering critical thinking, combating misinformation, and addressing myths in sustainability education.

Key topics include:

• Defining Core Terms: Differentiating beliefs, misinformation, myths, and pseudoscience to establish clarity in educational discourse.
• Critical Thinking and Mental Immunity: Trecek-King discusses her broader definition of critical thinking as a combination of dispositions and skills, aligning it with the concept of mental immunity, which uses an analogy of cognitive defenses to combat misinformation.
• Myths in Sustainability Education: Common misconceptions such as “sustainability is only about saving the environment” are addressed.
• Inoculation Techniques: Trecek-King advocates for active and experiential inoculation exercises to help students identify and resist misinformation. Examples include creating misinformation to understand techniques like cherry-picking or logical fallacies.
• Addressing Core Beliefs and Values: The conversation highlights how the (perceived) restriction of autonomy or solution aversion can drive resistance to sustainability efforts and how educators can align to the values and (core) beliefs of learners to foster understanding and action.
• Effective Educational Practices: Trecek-King uses diverse media formats and humor to engage students while making critical thinking approachable and relatable.

The episode concludes with practical strategies for addressing misconceptions, fostering intellectual humility, and equipping students to navigate complex sustainability challenges critically and independently.

• Thinking is Power: http://thinkingispower.com/
• Mental Immunity Project: https://mentalimmunityproject.org/
• Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative: https://cognitiveimmunology.net/about-circe
• Burls, N., Pegion, K., & Cook, J. (2019). Misconception-Based Learning To Cement Learning. Innovations in Teaching & Learning...

Biography Marco Rieckmann

Marco Rieckmann is a Professor of Higher Education Development at the University of Vechta in Germany. He graduated in 2004 in environmental sciences at the University of Lüneburg where he then was a research assistant at the Institute for Environmental Communication. He obtained his doctorate in 2010 with the topic: "The global perspective of education for sustainable development - A European-Latin American study on key competences for thinking and acting in the global society".

His research focuses on academic development, education for sustainable development, global education, and the sustainable development of higher education institutions. He has published his research in national and international outlets, and he is Speaker of the Network ‘Teacher Education for Sustainable Development’, and Representative of the German Educational Research Association in the Council of the European Educational Research Association.

Short Summary of the Interview

In this episode of the Sustainability Education Podcast, Professor Marco Rieckmann identifies common myths, such as the misconception that sustainability education is primarily about environmental issues and the belief that more knowledge automatically leads to behavior change. He advocates for a holistic approach that considers socio-economic factors alongside environmental ones.

Rieckmann differentiates between environmental and sustainability education, emphasizing that interpretations of these concepts can vary significantly depending on regional contexts. He discusses the challenges in teacher education, noting that sustainability education is often seen as an "add-on" rather than a perspective that can be integrated into existing curricula. He argues that sustainability should be viewed through a lens that informs all aspects of education rather than as additional content.

Cultural and societal factors contributing to these myths are explored, with Rieckmann pointing to traditional views of education as mere knowledge transmission. He underscores the need for a more complex, constructive understanding of education.

The role of academic staff development is highlighted as crucial for equipping educators with the necessary competencies to teach sustainability effectively. Rieckmann calls for ongoing capacity building and professional development to ensure meaningful implementation.

Finally, the conversation touches on the importance of measuring the outcomes of sustainability education, emphasizing the need for empirical research to assess its effectiveness in changing behaviors and developing competencies. Overall, Rieckmann advocates for a nuanced, context-specific approach to sustainability education that fosters real societal transformation.

• Marco Rieckmann: https://www.uni-vechta.de/erziehungswissenschaften/team/rieckmann-marco
• Impact Project: https://impactforaction.eu/
• Hopwood, B., Mellor, M., & O’Brien, G. (2005). Sustainable development: Mapping different approaches. Sustainable Development, 13(1), 38–52. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.244
• Stephen Sterling: https://sustainableeducation.co.uk/
• Goller, A., & Rieckmann, M. (2022). What do We Know About Teacher Educators’ Perceptions