Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Unfortunately, not all schools provide the same level of education. For example,
research by Dyment (2005a) raises the concern that schools with higher socioeco-
nomic status (SES) may have access to more resources and hold different perceptions
of the schoolyard spaces than lower-SES schools. The potential impact of this trend
should not be underestimated. For young people living in areas with little outdoor
space, green school grounds may be the only place to be with friends. Other factors
beyond SES (e.g., increased safety concerns, decreased access to natural areas, devel-
opment and urbanization) also limit the access youth (and adults) have to the out-of-
doors (Malone and Tranter 2003; Louv 2008). Given this perspective, programs that
meet their educational mandates while providing relevant and meaningful outdoor
experiences for all youth are essential.
Another factor to consider is that researchers have discovered some natural envi-
ronments can be alienating, at least for some young people. In the United Kingdom,
for instance, Milligan and Bingley (2007) found that, while woodland areas can be
restorative and therapeutic for some young adults, perceptions of closed, dark wood-
land environments can create stress for other youth. These researchers suggest that
more research is needed to untangle the variety of influences on young people's rela-
tionship with woodland sites and warn that we must not uncritically accept that natu-
ral environments are beneficial and restorative.
Restoration-Based Education: A Starting Point for Understanding
Restoration-based education is embedded within the larger field of EE. 2 For the pur -
poses of this chapter, RBE refers to ecological restoration efforts that are intentionally
designed to include an educational purpose. Like ecological restoration, RBE is a pro-
cess that occurs over a lifetime and includes both ecological and social components
(Jordan 1995; Clewell and Aronson 2007). 3 The challenge for learners of all ages is
gaining the skills, knowledge, awareness, and motivation to seek solutions and under-
stand causal relationships and dynamics needed to make wise decisions in their per-
sonal lives and their communities. The depth of understanding required cannot be ex-
pected to occur in response to one-time events or mass-media informational snippets.
In the following sections, a variety of issues integral to RBE, including ecological lit-
eracy, biological diversity, and instilling a culturally relevant sense of place are dis-
cussed. Planning considerations for a successful RBE program are considered later.
Intersections of Learning Landscapes and Conserving Biodiversity
Concerns raised about ecological literacy come at a time when there is tremendous
need to restore natural habitats being lost to development and other sources of envi-
ronmental degradation (Noss and Cooperrider 1994; Noss, LaRoe, and Scott 1995;
Hails 2008). Restoration-based education offers learners an opportunity to contribute
positively to reversing these trends, which, in turn, creates empowering learning expe-
riences. As one elementary-age student put it, “The habitat in the world is getting
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