This article reflects lessons learned from work with thousands of educators from all types of K-12 schools. While recognizing that there is no schooling-for-sustainability blueprint that fits all schools, the Center for Ecoliteracy--www.ecoliteracy.org--in Berkeley, California, has articulated a set of precepts that it calls "Smart by Nature." They are described in more detail in its recent book "Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability," which profiles schools across the United States that are putting elements of this schooling into practice. The Smart by Nature approach is characterized by: (1) an operational definition of sustainability; (2) an expanded understanding of "curriculum"; (3) a suite of guiding principles; (4) shifts of perception resulting from systems thinking; and (5) desired outcomes described by core competencies. The author discusses these characteristics of the Smart by Nature approach. (Contains 33 notes.)