The conference we organized at the end of January 2020 on “Environment, Climate Crisis and Ecosocial Work” marked the starting point for a discussion on environmental issues in social work. One of the acknowledged findings was that, while environmental issues were addressed in several modules, there was no clear module that explicitly thematized these issues. This evolved into an array of teaching programs: the “Green Social Work” module of Prof. Dr. Yari Or and Prof. Dr. Ute Straub examined the professional approaches of international Social Work to the field of ecology and nature.

The “Contemporary Environmental Movements” module of Prof. Dr. Chaitali and Youssef Abid (coordination) was aimed at investigating contemporary environmental issues and their relationship to Social Work practice. Students developed four projects during the summer semester that probed the various aspects of environmental movements, namely

• Environmental movements of the right-wing/extreme right-wing groups
• Impact of fast fashion on the environment
• Pork production and its impact on the environment
• A critical analysis of the Extinction Rebellion movement

During the winter semester, students took part in an online exchange program with social work students from the University of Strasbourg to explore and discuss the impact of the environmental crisis on migration.

The course offered students an opportunity to critically examine current ideas on the environment and to engage in discussions on the ways in which Social Work addresses these issues, as well as on the boundaries of Social Work’s remit. Students learned in project-based groups and shared their findings in group presentations.

In this way, students were able to broaden their ideas and knowledge on selected topics, develop skills in research group work and group presentations and study cross-national aspects of these issues.