EDUCATE & TRAIN
Sustainabilty takes root where people live, learn, and work.
The most powerful sustainability lessons don't come from a billboard or a policy brief. They come from a teacher who worked it into a fifth-grade science unit. A coworker who made reducing waste feel easy. A neighbor who showed their block how to compost. Sustainable living spreads person to person — and Urban Green Lab trains the people who teach everyone else.
Our programs reach Nashville's K–12 classrooms, households, and workplaces. We give people the knowledge, the tools, and the confidence to make sustainability part of daily life — not a burden, but a practice.
In Classrooms
Nashville's educators are curious, committed, and stretched thin. Our Sustainable Classrooms program gives K–12 teachers and youth-serving staff a free, three-hour training — in-person or virtual — that covers everything they need to bring sustainability into any subject. The curriculum is standards-aligned, experiential, and designed to engage students without overwhelming teachers. Training is free for all Metro Nashville Public School and homeschool educators. Nearly 50% of MNPS schools have participated. Our goal is 75% by 2030.
In the Community
Not everyone comes to sustainability through school or work — and that's by design. Our free Living Sustainably in Nashville workshop, held quarterly at our office, is open to anyone who wants to learn how to make more sustainable choices at home and share that knowledge with others. It's a good entry point for people who are curious but don't know where to start.
We also train community members to become volunteer sustainability educators, so they can bring what they learn back to the people already in their lives. When a tip comes from a neighbor, friend, or family member, it sticks differently. Our volunteer training gives people a clear roadmap to make that happen.
In Workplaces
People spend a third of their lives at work — which makes the workplace one of the most effective places to reach them. We offer sustainability workshops for businesses and organizations of all types, with separate rates for for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Whether you're looking to build awareness across your team or develop internal sustainability champions, we'll help you find the right starting point.
Ready to start learning?
Browse upcoming trainings and find one that works for you. Whether you're an educator, a community member, or a business, we have a program that fits.
As a former MNPS educator who wove sustainability into my classroom, I love taking complex science, dense reports, and overwhelming environmental issues and turning them into hands-on, everyday actions people can actually connect with. I've seen how those small, tangible shifts reach beyond students to families, teachers, workplaces, and entire communities across Nashville. What excites me most is where this is headed: a future where sustainability education feels accessible, empowering, and embedded in everyday life for everyone.
Karissa Hampton, Director of Education and Training
People are Talking
"Overall, teaching sustainability helps my students become responsible global citizens. They are able to consider the long-term consequences and outcomes of their actions to make better decisions, becoming better knowledgeable individuals in their life stages.”
- Carlos Calderón, Sustainable Classrooms Educator
"Thank you for empowering me, making this accessible, providing representation (in slides, quotes, sources), and being an ally in action! Thank you!"
Consuelo Torres, Sustainable Classrooms Educator
"Interacting with Urban Green Lab helped me find tools and words to start being more sustainable that I didn't have. I feel like I have a place to start from now and have hope to actually be able to be sustainable and share about sustainability in multiple areas of life that I didn't consider before."
Upcoming Trainings
Reach out to schedule a Team Training for your school or organization. Please allow at least four weeks for scheduling.
To learn more about Education and Training, contact Karissa Hampton at karissa@urbangreenlab.org.