What’s in the Walls?

Day 02 of Week 03 ; Learning, Transparency, and the Power of Declare

Welcome back to this series. My revisit of all things Living Future Certification and how we should be applying it - for me I am viewing this through three themes:

• Design for Life (Healing Buildings)

• Learning as a Catalyst (The School of Biophilia)

• Regenerative Communities

Today, we centre on Learning as a Catalyst, and how one deceptively simple tool—the Declare label—can profoundly shift how education spaces are imagined, built, and experienced.

What’s Education Really Made Of?

I often talk about curriculum, culture, and pedagogy (even though I still can’t spell it!). When I speak of education, I will often think about the where education takes place

Because education doesn’t just happen in a space—it happens with the space.

Imagine a child spending 6+ hours a day in a classroom with off-gassing carpet tiles, synthetic finishes, or lighting that subtly undermines concentration and mood. Now imagine the same child in a space made from non-toxic, transparent, ethically sourced materials. A space that breathes. A space that teaches through design.

That’s where the Declare label comes in.

Declare: The Nutrition Label for Buildings

Declare is often called the “nutrition label” for building products. It tells you:

• What’s in the product

• Where it comes from

• How safe (or unsafe) it is

• Whether it contains Red List chemicals (substances known to harm humans and the environment)

This label matters in all buildings—but in learning environments, it’s transformative.

Transparency is education.
Material honesty becomes a learning tool.
Buildings become co-teachers.

When we show students and communities what’s really in their built environment, we’re modelling truth-telling, responsibility, and empowerment. That’s a lesson that sticks.

Classrooms as Living Curriculum

What if the ingredients of a classroom were just as important as the lessons taught within it?

• A beam made from responsibly sourced timber becomes a conversation about forest stewardship.

• A low-VOC paint choice becomes an entry point into discussions on health equity and indoor air quality.

• A Declare-tagged floor tile opens the door to questions like, “What does it mean for something to be safe?” “Who gets to decide?” and “What do we leave behind for the next generation?”

This is where learning becomes catalytic. It moves from passive reception to active questioning. It shifts the student role from recipient to participant.

Learning Isn’t Neutral — and Neither is Design

Every learning space carries a message.

Sometimes the message is: "Efficiency matters more than empathy."
Sometimes it's: "Your health isn’t worth the extra cost."
But it can also say:
"You matter."
"We thought about you."
"This space was built with care."

Declare flips the script from opacity to clarity. And that clarity? It fosters trust. And trust is the foundation of real learning.

Regeneration Starts with Questions

I talk about regenerative communities in this series—not just sustainable, but giving back more than we take.

So what if a school gave back more than just knowledge?
What if it gave students a deeper relationship with materials, ecosystems, equity, and ethics?

The Declare label can be a literal starting point for regenerative thinking. It encourages questions like:

• “Why is this product on the Red List?”

• “Are there safer alternatives?”

• “Who is impacted during the manufacturing process?”

These are not just technical queries—they’re social, moral, and imaginative ones. And that’s the essence of education at its best.

It’s Not Just About ‘Green’ – It’s About Trust

Too often, sustainability messaging is abstract or top-down. But with Declare, the information is right there. Tangible. Verifiable.

It’s a kind of radical honesty.

And in a world where young people are overwhelmed by greenwashing, climate anxiety, and systemic opacity, that kind of honesty is a balm. It says:

📦 You can ask what’s in this.
🧩 You can see how it fits into your world.
🔍 You deserve to know.

Declare isn’t a marketing tool—it’s a teaching tool.

So What’s Today’s Call to Action?

If you’re designing, renovating, or influencing education spaces, start by asking:

• Is there a Declare label on this product?

• Can this material start a conversation?

• Are we teaching with our walls—or hiding behind them?

Transparency builds trust. Trust fuels learning. Learning creates catalysts for change.

And that is how we regenerate—from the inside out.

Gentle Reminder from the Series

This post is part of a larger conversation around Design for Life, Learning as a Catalyst, and Regenerative Communities. We'll continue exploring how these principles come together to shape healthier, more honest spaces.

If Declare is the label, the Petal Framework is the system, and the Just label is the conscience—then the school is the lab. Let’s use it well.