Toward Ecological Justice in Urban Green Spaces: Engaging Secondary Students Through Walking

• In Event: Reimaging Environmental Learning for Justice and Equity

Abstract

Research on the importance of access to and engagement in green spaces is rich for children in elementary schools. This paper is taken from a larger research study that sought to examine secondary students’ experiences with a walking curriculum in local green spaces. The focus of this paper is on how the participants described what they learned from the practice of learning on the move, and their relations with nature. Students’ journals were analyzed to identify themes: walking as a practice for noticing change, walking as a space for emotional configurations, and walking as a curriculum of interrelated affectivity. Conclusions are related to rebalancing human relations with nature and ensuring access to green spaces as ecological justice.

Authors

• Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur, University of British Columbia

• Natacha Monestel-Mora, University of British Columbia

• Auralia Brooke, University of New Brunswick

• Kristiina Kumpulianen