Informal Environmental Education: School Gardens' Affordances for Fostering Secondary Students' STEM and 21st Century Skills

• In Event: Locally and Culturally Relevant Resources for Promoting Environmental Education

Abstract

This paper explores the role of school gardens in nurturing secondary students’ STEM skills and 21st century skills/global competencies. Predominantly, the affordances of garden-based learning are highlighted in fostering students’ biodiversity and sustainability consciousness. The positive impact of school gardens as an informal learning setting is promoted which would hopefully motivate teachers to use the garden as an instructional tool in education.

Authors

• Mariam Takkouch, University of Western Ontario

• Isha DeCoito, University of Western Ontario