Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
riverbanks to forge links across communities by focusing their civic interests on a
common project. On the other hand, chapter 6 in this topic describes a multijurisdic-
tional river restoration project that went badly in social terms due to a lack of public
participation.
Authentic partnerships are not without challenges and require long-term commit-
ment to relationship building. To be successful, there must be a pervasive willingness
to move outside one's comfort zone and seek out unlikely partners. Stone and Bar-
low's (2009) descriptions of the social learning reflected in the Students and Teachers
Restoring a Watershed (STRAW) initiative in California is one such example. Their
experiences illustrate the critical importance of mutuality, high-quality communica-
tion and information flow, and an ability to think beyond “us versus them” mentalities
to build trust, learn from experience, and have participants engage in restoration in
meaningful ways. Likewise, Tomblin (2009) outlines the risks of community-based
ecological restoration, of which education is often a part, when restorationists alienate
disadvantaged people and neglect issues of social justice (see chap. 5, this volume).
We must find effective ways to bridge these gaps by enhancing our cultural compe-
tency and connecting RBE to social and environmental justice issues in meaningful
ways. Doing so must involve having diverse voices—including those of young peo-
ple—enter the conversations and authentically participate in the process.
Youth as Stakeholders: Beyond Tokenism
Children are key stakeholders in environmental concerns at local and global scales.
Despite research indicating their marginalization in participatory processes, children
do have legitimate concerns about the present and future state of the environment
and should be considered key stakeholders in environmental decision making (Hack-
ing, Barratt, and Scott 2007). For example, Rottle and Johnson (2007) describe Seat-
tle inner-city sixth graders' active involvement in charrettes for the design of a park-
based, outdoor learning laboratory. Their findings suggest students made gains in their
own ecological literacy, particularly in areas of understanding, caring, and compe-
tence regarding habitat creation and restoration.
An all-too-common practice in various public participation processes is tokenism
and a lack of authentic engagement in democratic processes (Hart 1992, 1997a). In
terms of children's involvement with school garden projects, Wake (2007, 2008) con-
tends that adult discourses and agendas continue to dominate, which reduces oppor-
tunities for children to become empowered and learn about nature in ways that meet
their needs. Similarly, Malone and Tranter's (2003) findings suggest that, while
schoolyards promote field-based learning opportunities, school culture and adult val-
ues predominate. Dyment's research (2004, 2005b) indicates that students were in-
volved in the design, planting, and maintenance of schoolyard greening projects, but
they had little opportunity in terms of identifying the problem and visioning phases.
Such trends must be reversed if children are to be authentic participants who share in
decision making and whose ideas are valued in environmental concerns.
