The 2022 International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD) aimed to raise global awareness that “Basic sciences provide the essential means to meet crucial challenges such as universal access to food, energy, health coverage and communication technologies.“
This year’s articles focused on this with different slants: 
- the first being the nature of basic sciences,
- the second about flooding, which was devastating some parts of the world at that time,
- the third tied in to the 2022 IY of Glass and the fourth tied in to the IY of Artisinal Fisheries and Aquaculture.
These articles provided background resources for educators and activities for learners.
Curiosity for Basic Sciences (issue 171) This first IYBSSD article provided suggestions for educational activities to draw attention to science in our lives. It began with things that fall, then definitions of the ‘basic sciences’ and their benefits in our lives. Some of the basic sciences in chairs, smart phones and tackling Covid 19 were explored.
Basic Sciences for Ustanding Floods (issue 172) In this second IYBSSD article, the focus was on understanding flooding. Suggestions were given for exploring the nature of water droplets and mini- water cycles, before considering the impact of land form and land use. The link to sustainable development came through SDG11 – the human response to flooding. A global perspective on this ends the article.
Basic Sciences in Glass (issue 173) The third article integrated the IYBSSD with another 2022 IY – of Glass. It began with a question on glass in two photos to encourage awareness of the many forms of glass in the environment and was followed by the description of glass scientifically and then resources for exploring how glass can be made and the types of glass. The link to sustainable development came through SDG12 – the re-use and recycling of glass. Suggested on-line resources for learners were a series of four Brazilian on-line comic books, the Australian National Science Week booklet and ANSTO Hackathon.
Basic Sciences for Artisinal Fisheries (issue 174) This fourth 2022 article also integrated another 22022 IY – of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture, with the focus on fishing. The article began with a fisherman riddle, then covered basic fish biological science information. Next ‘artisanal’ fishing was introduced as a poorly defined term, and with the challenge of identifying any local to Victoria, while those from other parts of the world are on this IY’s website. The suggestion was made for a visit to the Melbourne Seafood Centre. Links were given for stories about Victorian and global fishermen and the sustainability in food provided by these small-scale fisher folk.
return to list of environmental articles in Otherways by IY from 2010- present
page set up 3 october 2023 and reset on 16 January 2024.