As institutions of knowledge and innovation, colleges and universities have a responsibility to prepare students to lead in a world impacted by climate change. While sustainability and climate change have been increasingly addressed on campuses, several aspects of typical climate change education, such as the use of fear appeals, and crisis narratives, have served to disempower and disengage students from the issue. Evidence suggests that incorporating justice-oriented concepts and pedagogies may help students build the skills and confidence to engage in complex social concerns. This qualitative study sought to understand the ways in which an undergraduate environmental justice course at the University of Michigan might contribute to students’ sense of self-efficacy for climate change action. Findings indicated that teaching from a justice perspective supported students’ understanding of root causes, the need for collective action, and their empathy for others. Self-efficacy for climate action was most apparent when students were (1) confident in a particular skill set and (2) when the scale of the problem matched their ability to address it. This supported prior evidence that environmental justice can serve as a critical pedagogical approach for encouraging engagement and empowerment in climate action.
This chapter examines how integrated, participatory design and urban environmental education can enhance learning, ownership, agency, and long-term sustainability of place. Drawing on recent efforts to articulate a global urban sustainability agenda, it considers the ways that urban environmental education can help integrate the participation of underrepresented groups—such as children, youth, and low-income and minority residents—in urban planning while also improving urban planning outcomes. The chapter presents a case study that illustrates outcomes of engaging young people in urban planning: the Child Friendly Bolivia project in La Paz, Bolivia. It shows that engaging youth and underrepresented groups in urban planning offers a unique opportunity to address concerns about equity and to engage multiple innovative perspectives. It suggests that the tools of participatory urban planning and environmental education may help create more sustainable cities for all.
While landscape architects use participatory landscape design to engage communities in creating new outdoor spaces, environmental educators and activists across the country are engaging young people in similar gardening projects to improve the urban environment. These hands-on experiences can build students' connection to and understanding of their environment, thereby supporting future environmental stewardship. This paper describes the evolution of a community-based participatory research collaboration that used a participatory landscape design program called The Ugliest School Yard to explore how the participatory design process might be used to enhance environmental literacy. The pilot project revealed that the participatory process may do more than increase knowledge. It may provide a platform for collective action for landscape regeneration and stewardship.Our schools are like jails, there are bars on windows and security guards through the hall. And we have no place to play. These oft-repeated comments came from a series of neighborhood meetings held by East Michigan Environmental Action (EMEAC). These discussions came as no surprise to the staff at EMEAC, a Detroit-based nonprofit that addresses environmental justice concerns throughout southeast Michigan. EMEAC staff had seen firsthand how in some Detroit neighborhoods, dilapidated streetscapes and overgrown parks have changed the quality and safety of
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