uses the term: "the form of the connection that can make a unity of two different elements, under certain conditions. You have to ask, under what circumstances can a connection be forged or made?"
This chapter describes and reflects upon the recent history and contemporary situation regarding Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) in the UK. It discusses how ESE is practised and understood in schools and other educational institutions and describes influencers (e.g. policy) on the practice and conceptualisation of ESE. While the focus is on the situation in England, the chapter also refers to publications and policy about ESE in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; in so doing the chapter illustrates what may be known as the 'green school movement' elsewhere. A picture emerges of multi-directional influences including policy, public opinion, civil society organisations and businesses, academic research and schools. To illustrate this varied landscape, the chapter includes three case studies, one from policy, one from school-based practice and one from civil society. The chapter concludes with commentary on the influence of the Sustainable Development Goals, wellbeing and nature connectedness and the potential of social media to shape ESE in schools in the future. Introduction -and a question of definitionsWhile the term 'green schools' is more commonly used in the US, the UK has a strong tradition of formal schooling addressing parallel issues. In the UK, schools that tackle 'green' issues are most likely to be 'eco-schools' or 'sustainable schools'. Both of these terms are significant because they arise from international policy initiatives and so demonstrate the interplay between practice in schools and the policies of both national and global initiatives. The international Eco-Schools programme, that claims to reach 18 million children worldwide, has influenced the adoption and proliferation of this label. This programme of the Danish-based Foundation for Environmental Education has been particularly successful in the UK, although this varies a little across the devolved parts of the UK. In England, according to current data, around 18 000 schools (approximately two thirds of all schools across England) have registered on the scheme with 12 000 of these holding an Eco-Schools award comprising Bronze, Silver or a Green Flag 1 . In Scotland 3 000 schools are registered with the programme through Keep Scotland Beautiful, which is also about two thirds of all of the schools in Scotland; the programme is also prevalent in schools in Wales and Northern Ireland. Alongside this,
Drawing on comparative work in primary schools in East Anglia (United Kingdom), Oaxaca (Mexico), and the North Slope of Alaska (United States), we explore what children mean when they say places are "special" to them. Focusing on information gathered during walks designed and guided by these children, we examine the experiential, affective, communicative, and dynamic bases of relationality between children and their surroundings. We set out how effective curriculum design can productively incorporate such knowledge. [child cartography, relationality, animation, environmental learning] In a recent article, Irvine and Lee consider how "play, exploration, and narrative imaginary" underpin the ways in which young East Anglian children talked to them about the significance of their "special places" (2018, 1). The present paper draws on that East Anglian material, bringing it into comparison with the experiences and conversations of young people from Oaxaca, Mexico, and the North Slope of Alaska, USA. By doing so, we expand several key concepts in that article. How do we understand children's engagement with their landscapes as "relational"? How might notions of "animation" broaden our understanding of such engagement? What role does materiality play in the enlivening process? And how might these understandings support a curriculum design that takes the existing specialized knowledge of its students seriously? Recent research demonstrates a significant decrease in the amount of time that children spend outdoors, a diminished knowledge of wildlife, and a sense of disconnect with "nature" (e.g., Hillman 2006;Karsten 2005;Malone 2007; Waite et al. 2016). Our research turns this on its head, exploring what in fact connects children to their surroundings across cultures. Here we suggest that "relationality" and "animation" as modes for understanding child/place assemblages support a nuanced comprehension of the continuing importance of taking into account what Ingold (2000) calls "dwelling places" for children's senses of being/identity.If we as anthropologists and educationalists understand better how place becomes meaningful to children, we can contribute to curricula designed more effectively to engage young people's curiosity and intellect through this connection. We argue the relational way in which places become animated for children emphasizes the need-in anthropology as well as in education-to recognize cultural specificity even as we see commonalities threading their way across our study sites. This, in turn, points to the need to take children's unique experiences seriously. Recognizing this aligns with current efforts to decolonize the curriculum, especially as it destabilizes a Eurocentric take on "powerful knowledge." Ardoin makes a strong case for the need to see senses of place (or place itself) as being multidimensional with sociocultural, political, economic, psychological, and biophysical dimensions (2006). And indeed, we find that the notion of place is highly
By considering how our actions might affect people who live in a different country, we can support the health and well-being of people all around the world," says Dr Elsa Lee, a researcher in environmental sustainability education at the University of Cambridge. Elsa is investigating various projects that are working with young people to improve local waterways in England and South Africa. She is interested in understanding if and how participation in these community GLOSSARY EQUITY -fair distribution of resources based on the needs of the recipients GLOBAL CITIZEN -a person who is aware of the wider world and understands their place within it UBUNTU -a southern African philosophy that we are shaped by our relationship with others WATERWAY REGENERATIONrestoring rivers, wetlands and water environments
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