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Understanding is not action

A learner may understand sustainability without having the time, money or opportunity to participate.

Participation is not proven impact

Completing an activity does not establish a measurable environmental or social outcome. Independent evidence is needed.

Why this exists

Knowing about sustainability is not the same as knowing how to take part. Students may encounter the Sustainable Development Goals in a lecture, a news story or a campus campaign, yet still wonder what they can realistically do with that knowledge.

CommonGround was created to help close that gap. It brings short, evidence-informed lessons, playful challenges and practical activities into one place, then helps students choose a next step that fits their interests, studies, time and circumstances.

There is no single route into sustainability. A student on a technical course, an apprentice and a postgraduate researcher may have different opportunities to contribute. Here, each can learn, try something manageable, reflect on the outcome and build a personal record of participation.

Our ambition is simple: make sustainability feel less like a distant global agenda and more like something students can understand, question and shape in their own communities.

The approach draws on sustainability education and reflective practice. Its educational effects will need to be tested with students.

Our principles

Open to different learners. Clear language, flexible time commitments and options for different qualifications, abilities and circumstances.

Learning that leads somewhere. Every topic should help students think more clearly, make a decision or identify a practical action.

Curiosity over perfection. Questions, games and reflection are opportunities to learn, not tests of personal worth.

Evidence before assumptions. We distinguish what someone knows, what they report doing and what can actually be verified.

Respect for people and place. Local and Indigenous knowledge matters, but all claims and practices deserve thoughtful, contextual examination.

Progress worth recognising. Students can record activities and celebrate milestones without confusing self-reported participation with an accredited qualification.

Dr Abbas Mohammed

Educator, researcher and the person behind CommonGround. Dr Abbas Mohammed brings together experience in teaching and academic research with a longstanding interest in how people learn about sustainability and put that knowledge into practice.

His work in Education for Sustainable Development dates back to 2016–17, when he explored sustainability with students through questions about everyday decisions, communities and the wider world. He completed his PhD at the University of Plymouth in 2024, further developing his commitment to careful enquiry and meaningful education.

CommonGround grows from a question that has stayed with him: what happens after a student understands the problem? The application is his response : a place where learners across vocational, further, higher and professional education can explore ideas, test their judgement, discover realistic opportunities and reflect on what they do.

At its heart is a belief that sustainability education should not stop at awareness. It should help people develop the confidence and practical opportunities to participate, while recognising that every learner starts from different circumstances.

From the classroom to the wider community

Dr Mohammed’s interest in sustainability extends beyond formal teaching. Through public discussion and educational work, he encourages people to ask how environmental and social challenges affect their communities : and what informed participation can look like in practice.

The conversation below offers another perspective on the ideas that helped shape CommonGround.

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