Greening the Mind: The Power of Integrating Positive and Environmental Education for Improving Well-Being

Growing evidence demonstrates that selected pro-environmental behaviours are associated with psychological flourishing. These include water conservation, biodiversity, and similar sustainability interventions. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many schools use climate-change education as part of their well-being programmes. However, to date, little is known about the impact of pro-environmental interventions on well-being. This chapter will describe a series of secondary school studies that used pro-environmental (e.g. turn off the tap when brushing your teeth) and positive-psychology-informed pro-environmental (e.g. Best possible self in saving the planet) interventions to enhance students’ well-being. We will discuss the implications of these new findings in the context of introducing school well-being programmes. Furthermore, we will offer a range of potential pro-environmental interventions that could be tested and introduced in schools to improve students’ flourishing.