Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
ongoing learning process, recognizing the potential role both formative and summa-
tive evaluation can play in better understanding and strengthening an educational
process.
Conclusion
Restoring landscapes at any scale—whether in a backyard, schoolyard, vacant lot, or
large-scale ecosystem restoration—has the potential to restore the earth and ourselves,
as individuals and communities. When conducted on school grounds, learners have
unique opportunities to study diverse ecological communities, conduct scientific re-
search, and celebrate a new personal relationship with the land. The restoration pro-
cess can profoundly affect individual and community relationships to nature and pro-
vide an opportunity for positive environmental actions. Restoration-based education
can nurture a respect for nature at a time when children are forming their view of the
world, as well as invite parents, teachers, volunteers, and others to strengthen their
own commitment to the land and their community. When done well, such educa-
tional efforts bridge the gap between the natural and humanmade environments
through year-round curricula that synthesize the interconnectedness of all living
things.
This chapter outlined some of the benefits of connecting with nature, particularly
among young people. It highlighted how RBE can create learning landscapes with
the potential to enhance biodiversity while engaging learners in their “place” in per-
sonally relevant ways. To be most effective, RBE efforts must incorporate the interests
of learners of all ages as well as partnering organizations, which takes time and
thoughtfulness to do well. Youth are key stakeholders who can bring fresh ideas and
energy to the process. Considerations of developmental appropriateness, curricular
integration, cultural relevance, and sensitivity to the interests of youth are critical to
success. In all cases, we must consistently consider RBE evaluation and research, as
only then can we demonstrate the educational and ecological benefits of our efforts.
Restoration sites turn out to be outdoor learning laboratories for a new generation
of learners to become both ecologically literate and better equipped to deal with com-
plex environmental and cultural issues. Unfortunately, our past includes dramatic hu-
man degradation of the natural world across the globe. Thankfully, RBE offers limit-
less opportunities for current and future generations to learn from that past and add
something better to it. As Mohandas K. Gandhi (1956) reminds us, “To forget how to
dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.”
Notes
1. “Children” are defined by the United Nations as anyone under eighteen, while fifteen- to
twenty-five-year-olds are defined as “young people” or “youth.” Under these definitions, this de-
mographic accounts for more than 50 percent of the population of a given city or town in de-
veloping countries (Chawla 2001). This chapter will consider youth and young people, espe-
cially in the K-16 contexts and nonformal community-based contexts.
