Communication

Published: 2024-06-19
https://doi.org/10.20935/AcadEnvSci7269

Relationship with place: a transformative and sustainable

pedagogy for the planet
Julie Singleton1,*

Academic Editor: Gareth Neighbour

Abstract
The central hypothesis of this conceptual commentary is that place-based educational approaches that use local environments as the
learning context could not only provide needed educational reforms but also sow the seeds of sustainable behaviors of future
generations. Furthermore, natural environments are offered as an optimal context for the emotional and sensory-rich needs of learning
experiences that transform eco-paradigms and develop land ethics. The supporting literature examines the nexus of environmental
education, place-based approaches, benefits of nature experience, and transformational learning. Breaking barriers of current
economic, political, and educational institutions requires integrative approaches—head, hand, and heart—to transform eco-paradigms.
A conceptual diagram is offered to visualize this holistic approach. The rich context of a natural place enhances the esthetic quality of
a learning experience and is dependent on the relationships within the community of learners, sensory interaction with the learning
context or place, the emotion that arouses, thoughts derived from reflection on the experience, and the depth of engagement and
behavior change that ensues. I support the power of place as a learning context through personal narrative. Although place-based
education can be applied in any community and educational setting, I offer my own cultural perspective as an American with a critique
of the consumer culture of the place in which I reside and the effect of rigid institutions on eco-values. Place-based educational reforms
could develop caring for local environments leading to young people striving to preserve the places in which they have learned and
come to care about.

Keywords: place-based education, transformative learning, sustainability education, ecoliteracy

Citation: Singleton J. Relationship with place: a transformative and sustainable pedagogy for the planet. Academia Environmental
Sciences and Sustainability 2024;1. https://doi.org/10.20935/AcadEnvSci7269

1. Introduction
Anyone reading this journal is familiar with environmental political and economic systems is not responsive to these
problems related to sustainability. There is a litany of issues concerns. Orr [3] believes that the disordering of ecological
related to global warming that surround our dependence on systems reflects a disorder in the thoughts, perceptions, and
petroleum, a non-renewable resource. Toxic pollutants, by- priorities of the Western, industrialized mind and that our
products of manufacturing and agribusiness practices, are in our current ecological crisis has to do with how people think and feel
food chain and our bodies. For example, rainforests, coral reefs about nature. The practice of sustainability requires long-term
and wildland destruction, acid rain, loss of species, waste, and thinkers and innovative problem-solvers who have a developed
water issues—the litany goes on and on. Rachel Carson’s Silent sense of global responsibility and enlightened self-interest.
Spring [1] in 1962 was a turning point for awakening our
There is a preponderance and convergence of evidence in regard
country’s awareness to the idea that there are consequences for
to most environmental issues. But I have come to believe facts
the lifestyle of modern, industrialized society. The United States
and evidence do not change behaviors. Beyond knowing, one
celebrated the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. Yet for decades,
needs to care to act. To paraphrase Stephan Gould, without the
the grassroots efforts to raise our awareness and inspire
emotional bond of relationship, we will not strive to preserve
environmentally friendly behaviors have not accomplished the
what we do not love. Relationship may lay the foundation for
sweeping changes needed to effect ecological sustainability—
caring and encouragement of sustainability practices [4].
living in such a way that maintains nature’s ability to support
Emotions are stirred through relational experience, which can
healthy ecosystems for generations to come. If you have read Jem
generate love. I know it sounds sentimental, but relationship to
Bendell’s [2] article on deep adaptation, you might have very high
nature and love of place is vital to a sustainable society.
levels of concern regarding the longevity of our current civiliza-
tion. One might ponder that a sane society would address these In 1949, Aldo Leopold wrote in A Sand County Almanac [5]:
issues head-on, but short-term entrenched thinking within our

1Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, United States.
*email: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Conservation is getting nowhere because it is incompatible testing ground for the man” [18]. The literature related to place-
with our Abrahamic concept of land. We abuse the land based education is found in a wide variety of areas such as
because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When project-based instruction; thematic/inter-disciplinary methods;
we see the land as a community to which we belong, we may urban studies; rural education; indigenous education; ecological
begin to use it with love and respect. There is no other way for sustainability education; Science, Technology, and Society; eman-
land to survive the impact of mechanized man (p. viii). cipatory curriculum theory; action research; cultural studies;
service learning; youth development; and science and environ-
Immersive nature experience can reach the emotional threshold
mental education. Place-based education seeks involvement in
needed to generate that love and respect. Based on Aldo Leo-
communities through engaging students and school staff in
pold’s land ethic, Mayer and Frantz [6] suggest that belonging or
studying and solving community problems. Place-based edu-
connection to nature is a foundational component of fostering
cation differs from conventional text and classroom-based edu-
sustainable behaviors and may more profoundly affect ecological
cation in that students’ local community is one of the primary
values and behaviors than awareness or knowledge. Studies have
resources for learning. Thus, place-based education promotes
shown that emotional affinity to nature is a more powerful
learning that is rooted in what is local—the unique history, envi-
predictor of environmental behaviors than cognitive awareness
ronment, culture, economy, literature, and art in the learners’
and belief [7, 8]. “The emotive power of these encounters with
place: immediate schoolyard, neighborhood, town, or community.
nature derives from their dynamic, varied, unique, surprising
This experiential community-based approach helps learners de-
and adventurous character” [9]. In The Sense of Wonder, Rachel
velop a sense of civic identity and engagement by cultivating com-
Carson [10] suggested that arousing emotions encourages curios-
munity connections and fostering environmental citizenship [20].
ity, inquiry, and a sense of meaning for children. She says, “The
emotions and impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in Eco-literacy is a basic understanding of the workings of the life-
which the seeds [of knowledge and wisdom] must grow”. The support system of the planet. It includes the concepts of energy
outdoors is a novel experience for many children and just being within food webs, interdependence and diversity of life, and how
out there unencumbered by walls can excite emotions and create materials cycle in systems. The basic concepts of ecology are
memories for a lifetime. “Emotions are a critical part of a included in science teaching standards but are not often taught
learner’s ability to think rationally and experience meaning” [11]. within the social context of the communities to which schools
The affective components of interest and curiosity enhance belong. Children need to understand that their food comes from
engagement and are essential to the out-of-school application of the soil, not the grocery store; and that some food items are
academic content [12]. Many believe that educational reforms transported great distances for our consumption. Schools with
that build on local resources will help children develop not only gardens actually teach children how to grow food. Young people
the basic knowledge and skills necessary to flourish in their need to know that all the waste that is not recycled does not
bioregion but also a sense of community connection that will simply disappear; it is stored in a landfill or burned into the
inspire the emotional fuel needed to meet the call to action of atmosphere or ends up in our waterways. In nature, there is no
ecologically sustainable behaviors [13–15]. Imagine a political waste. Young people should learn that the air we breathe comes
landscape where decisions underlying environmental policies are from processes in green organisms, which emphasizes our inter-
tempered by love. dependence with other life on the planet. They should under-
stand that fresh water on our planet is limited and its distribution
Bowers [14] believes the ecological crisis is partially a crisis of
uneven. People should know that many chemicals that are
cultural values and beliefs based on urbanization and consumer-
commonly used in daily life are not compatible with the chemis-
ism. The majority of individuals in modern society are urban
try of life. Many of these chemicals are based on petroleum, the
dwellers who are alienated from the natural world and, therefore,
foundation of the Western world’s energy system, which is a non-
have little direct connection to nature [16–19]. This reduces
renewable resource. Children should learn that green behaviors
opportunities to interact with wild nature and to experience its
such as recycling, eating locally, and conserving energy and water
restorative quality. In Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv [17]
reduce our impact on natural resources and support ecological
describes nature-deficit disorder, a term used to describe the
sustainability.
cost of human alienation from nature. A disconnect from nature
contributes to a lack of eco-literacy, disregard for stewardship of Grade school students often lose what place-based educators call
the land, and diminished importance of the natural world in their sense of place by focusing too quickly or exclusively on the
education. This essay will discuss how Western values have gloom and doom of national or global issues. This is not to say
brought the planet to an environmental precipice, the benefits of that international and domestic environmental issues are
nature experience, and how eco-literacy and sustainability could peripheral to place-based education, but that students should
be a focus for a meaningful and interdisciplinary curriculum that first have a grounding in the history, culture, and ecology of their
has transformative possibilities for individuals, the institutions own environment before moving on to broader subjects. Too
of education, and the ecosystems in which learners live. often, environmental education involves large global issues such
as ozone depletion, rainforest destruction, and climate change.
This catastrophic approach may leave students frustrated, help-
2. Place-based education and eco-literacy less, and hopeless. I recall showing An Inconvenient Truth to my
Place-based approaches that support ecological sustainability are middle school students and watching them walk out of the
multilayered from a global, societal, and personal perspective. A classroom with heads hung low and depressed body language.
pedagogy of place or place-based education utilizes a local region Weaving curriculum into the community allows students to par-
as an educational resource for observation and authentic inquiry. ticipate in their own world and their learning has genuine mean-
A local region can serve as “a library of data about geology, his- ing. They develop a sense of commitment, ownership, and perhaps
tory, flora, and fauna; a source of inspiration and renewal, and a a sense of empowerment from their projects. In addition to the

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core subjects, students learn life skills such as communication, and the separation of people from the land contribute to a lack of
problem-solving, decision-making, public speaking, leadership, caring. The ability to live within natural limits in harmony and
and citizenship. They are active participants in their neighbor- balance with earth systems requires a holistic, radical approach;
hoods and in local democratic systems. There is hope that a pedagogy of place with a goal toward the development of green
developing a close relationship with nature in a local setting will values and behaviors reflective of humanistic and naturalist per-
evolve into caring, sustainable behaviors. These relationships spectives. The interdependence of life is based on relationships and
become the catalyst for actions and decision-making regarding this connection with a place may lay the foundation for caring and
caring for the places we love and want to preserve [21]. We can encouragement of conservation practices.
only imagine the empowerment these students feel in affecting
real-world changes in their local communities and the type of
communities they will create in the future. 3. Benefits of nature experience
A qualitative study by Chawla [22] compared 26 environmental The benefits of nature experience are numerous and provide
activists in Norway with 30 environmental activists in Kentucky further evidence for getting young people into natural settings.
as to what motivated them to take action for the environment. The physical benefits are apparent. With childhood obesity and
When people explained their involvement in environmental type II diabetes on the rise, romping about in the outdoors is
action, their reasons were usually very personal. Many men- much healthier than interacting with a device, playing a com-
tioned a childhood place where they played or participated in puter game, or passively watching videos. Of course, moving
recreational activities as adolescents and a beloved family about in a less structured environment helps children develop
member who directed them to look closely at the environment balance, agility, coordination, and to release the boundless
around them. Emotional affinity toward nature predicted a energy of youth. Children with symptoms of attention-deficit
willingness to protect nature [22]. It makes sense that affiliation disorder (ADD) have shown better concentration and focus after
influences emotions and emotions affect values. Values underlie contact with nature [27]. Being in nature relieves stress [28]. The
our choices and behaviors. This small, qualitative study supports intellectual benefits of a complex and multisensory experience
that love of place can affect individual commitment to environ- stimulate neural activity and brain development [29]. Kellert [9]
mental action. The international dimension also supports the claims nature experience creates an intellectual competence that
universal notion that love of place encourages caring, protective contributes to “developing and reinforcing the child’s capacities
behaviors for that place. for empirical observation, analytical examination, and
evidentiary demonstration.” There are even studies that show
What would this look like in practice? David Sobel’s exciting that children involved in consistent environmental programs
publication, Place-Based Education describes a plethora of showed higher achievement on standardized test scores [30].
community-based school projects that express the values of eco-
literacy through authentic learning. Naturalizing school grounds Nature experience adds to childhood growth by developing
for urban wildlife habitat is a common project. Sobel also dis- affective qualities in natural settings. Playing with other children
cusses garden programs that feed the homeless, local grassland and animals in the outdoors encourages compromise and coop-
and wetland restoration projects that benefit local ecologies, eration, which cultivates empathy, flexibility, self-awareness, and
community recycling and awareness programs, and interpretive self-regulation. Imaginative play in outdoor settings enhances
museum exhibits. Through critical place-based pedagogy, pos- creativity. In addition, being in natural settings minimizes anxi-
sibilities arise for students to develop a deeper understanding of ety, depression, aggression, and sleep problems while improving
ecological concepts as well as play a transformative role in their mood. A recent study showed that connectedness to nature can
communities [23]. significantly predict the degree of life satisfaction and overall
happiness [31]. The diversity of nature encourages imaginative
Education centered on local places and issues can potentially and creative play, which fosters language development, social
contribute to the well-being of community life and has trans- interaction, and creative thinking [17]. In addition, children
formative potential for students, teachers, educational practices, might just experience the thrill of a wildlife sighting or the awe of
communities, and the non-sustainable ecological paradigm of nature’s wonders. Outdoor play can lay the groundwork for the
modern society [24, 25]. A goal of place-based pedagogy is the sense of belonging and caring needed to develop land ethics and
development of green values and behaviors reflective of eco- transform eco-centric values.
centric perspectives as well as challenging educational norms and
practices. Building education around local natural environments Learning in the outdoors is a natural process that allows students
and community issues can also infuse ecological ethics and to study and experience natural phenomena in relationship and
esthetics into education and culture especially when students direct contact with the interdependence and diversity of nature.
have personal involvement, commitment, and affection for their Using a local natural area as a learning resource to study ecology
projects [26]. is a practical and effective instructional method. The natural
world is a science laboratory with limitless sensory data to
The essential question of curriculum, what should we teach, explore. Outdoor learning settings may be a pond or creek, a
should be prefaced by asking: What do our students need to know garden or farm, a mucky swamp or tide pool, or it could even be
to live quality lives not only in a global economy but also in their a schoolyard habitat or a vacant lot. The potential for increased
local communities? What is needed to learn to achieve sustain- performance in school, greater mental and physical health,
ability? How can people learn to live well in their own places with broader awareness, and even spiritual growth could find its roots
less stuff? Eco-literacy is a place to start, but not just the needed in being in nature. There is hope that personal experience in
scientific concepts and facts. Educators need to address the social natural environments will encourage green values and sustaina-
and psychological roots of the problem, which lie in the human ble behaviors.
condition. Western attitudes toward the Earth as a commodity

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Green values go beyond conservation practices. As an American, conquest of nature rather than immersion in the natural world.
I sometimes wonder how other countries and cultures perceive The American Dream of consumption, convenience, comfort, and
us. Based on our media, it appears many Americans value looking the common belief that American know-how and technical
good and having fun. Comfort and fitting in seem to be our goals, innovation will sustain unlimited economic growth is just that, a
but these are adolescent values conditioned by advertising and dream [18]. Unfortunately, there are limiting factors to this
other mass media. We are a consumer culture. If we, as a culture, lifestyle because ecosystems and resources have natural limits.
remain stuck in adolescence, we will never mature to our full These dominate modern cultural values and thought processes,
potential and continue being frivolous devourers of natural which have caused an environmental crisis. This consumerism
resources [32]. Possibilities of personal growth can occur when has caused worldwide impacts. Urban societies need a new eco-
we step out of our comfort zone to struggle, persevere, and reflect paradigm that breaks away from corporate economics and
within natural settings. “Deep ecologists recognize the vital need nationalized education. We need to decentralize our energy, utility
for outdoor recreation, rather than the more artificial need for and transportation systems, deal with our own waste, address
entertainment” [32]. Recreational activities such as mountain or large-scale agribusiness, and preserve/restore wild lands. Western
rock climbing or paddling wild rivers hold possibilities for society needs to scale down and think beyond the present to the
building character. Buddy Gilchrest, a great mountaineer and co- quality of the lives of future generations. And young learners need
founder of the Texas Outdoor Education Association, often to understand, even feel, the impact of our behaviors in our
discussed the value of re-creating ourselves through outdoor immediate world. How often are ecological concepts taught in the
recreation. This intangible quality of nature experience is difficult context of our personal lives and community ecosystems? If eco-
to express and is best understood by experience. Extreme sports literacy, sustainability, and green behaviors had greater value,
are not required for this re-creation of self. Bird watching, these literal facts of life on planet Earth would become central to
hunting and fishing, quiet strolls in the woods or along the shore, lifestyle decisions and what we teach in our schools.
and gardening are contemplative activities that bring us close to
One reason that eco-literacy is not already at the forefront of
the land. Nature’s value to humble and inspire encourages self-
education is the interdisciplinary nature of the subject. A basic
reflection and personal growth. It is my experience that people who
understanding of biology, geology, physics, chemistry, meteorol-
have relationship with the land have quiet dignity, self-reliance,
ogy, oceanography, and agriculture is required to understand
and integrity and are contemplative in their actions, especially as
ecology. Most high schools teach biology, physics, and chemistry,
consumers. I worry we export these consumer values to the rest of
but ecology is most often an elective. Why not teach all the
the world through our entertainment. As economic world leaders,
sciences within the context of local environments and ecosys-
it is time for us as a culture to grow up and approach environmental
tems? David Orr speaks of Renaissance thinking, broad-based in
issues as mature people who value more than fun and surface
science and social studies [18]. From Dewey to Pinar, curriculum
qualities and strive for temperance, love, and virtue [33]. Immer-
theorists have been encouraging more integrated, authentic
sion and connection with place offer a powerful esthetic, affective
approaches to education. This is difficult because a culture of
context that holds the possibilities of transforming eco-paradigms
fragmentation and specialization permeates the educational
as healthy young learners grow into community members who care
system. Many fiercely guard their individual disciplines. This
about the places they have explored.
compartmentalization creates artificial separate worlds that we
are trained to navigate in school, but which do not exist in the
4. Transforming mindsets and real world. I am always amazed that students are surprised when
we use math equations in physics. They wonder why we are doing
educational institutions math in science class. The walls between classrooms and between
Pyle states that nature study is “a radical, subversive, even deeply the world and school are reflected in their thinking processes.
seditious act against the status quo” [34]. Changing eco-paradigms Eco-literacy and pedagogy of place could be a central theme, an
is necessarily transformative. Transforming the institution of all-encompassing inter-disciplinary focal point that can gather all
education would require changes in cultural mindsets. Revision of the subject domains within a central concept and connect with
our educational system requires confronting the patriarchal- local communities.
driven values and habits of a fragmented Western culture that are
The same mindset of separation allows for schools that are
based on competition and centralized power structures. The
isolated, often literally fenced off, from their communities as if
domination of nature is related to hierarchal power and politics,
the places that we live do not matter in our lives or in our
but nature is holarchal. An Earth-centered, experiential education
education. Bridging the gap between home, school, and commu-
that involves our emotions, senses, and relationships to nature and
nity and between living and learning allows students to develop
each other is embedded in eco-centric values. An integrated,
and apply knowledge and skills in the context of real life in the
environmental curriculum focused on local environmental issues
present moment. This authenticity is uniquely engaging because
could segue our schools into a training ground for sustainable
it not only gives meaning and purpose but also taps into natural
thinkers. Still, this daunting task will take a major shift in modern
ways of learning and knowing. In the same manner, a place not
society’s perception of priorities, power, and institutions.
only adds active engagement and a spark of inspiration to a
Sustainability will require a change in modern lifestyles toward child’s learning experience but also encourages a pragmatic
simplicity and localization of infrastructure needs. There are knowledge of what goes on around here. Harnessing this natural
many communities in the world—indigenous communities, small interest and curiosity is emotionally compelling, which adds a
villages and towns—where people live simply and within ecologi- sense of relationship and belonging to a place [35]. This sense of
cal means; they are already living a place-based mindset. As a US belonging to the land is central to Leopold’s land ethics.
citizen, I offer a generalized critique of my culture, which is
Personally, I was part of an alternative school-within-a-school in
grounded in “rugged individualism” rather than community and
the mid-1990s called the High Adventure Learning Center. This

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experiential program for eighth-grade youth-at-risk has been the environmental sustainability. Greg Cajete [37] describes the
highlight of my teaching career. I became the teacher I idealized archetype of the teacher as one who “should help integrate the
I could become when I was still an undergraduate in teacher power of the soul with the power of the intellect and apply it to
training. Place-based educators are not just facilitators of relationship.” From this view, learning is a life process and a
learning, but they are co-learning with their students [36]. My teacher is a “facilitator and choreographer” [37] of not only her
colleagues and I nurtured the whole child in this program by student’s growth but also her own. The transformative quality of
blending adventure activities in nature with academics. I want to a place-based pedagogy extends from the student through the
share a story of one young lady’s reaction to being at the ocean teacher into the community and ripples out to the planet. This
for the first time. The class was finishing our six-week-long begins the path to sustainability.
watershed/aquatic unit, which began at our neighborhood bayou,
Local neighborhoods, environments, and naturalized areas are a
continued at the San Jacinto River into Galveston Bay, and ended
context for direct experiences that holistically engage head, heart,
on a beach in the Gulf of Mexico. After completing data collection
and hands for the inner work of discovering one’s place and
(which included salinity), we let the kids just play in the ocean. A
identity in relationship to the immediate world that surrounds
young lady was splashed with water; she made a face and
young people [18, 38]. The framework of head, heart, and hands
exclaimed, “This water is salty!” I was amazed that a child who
moves students from knowing to caring to doing. Place is the
lived 45 minutes from the beach had never tasted the ocean. I
context that brings it all together and helps people create
reminded her that the ocean had the highest salinity readings
purposeful and meaningful learning. Through deep engagement,
than any other bodies of water we had tested. “I guess I didn’t
reflection, and relational understandings, students find personal
really know what that means,” she replied. In a traditional class-
meaning and relevance in learning locally that adds purpose to
room, she would have never had the opportunity to personally
their education. These value-laden educational experiences can
experience that the ocean is salty—to smell, taste, and float in the
be transformative by bringing a new perspective of relationship
salt water. How many children lack the authentic experiences
and responsibility to self and community with an improved
needed to understand the basic workings of nature? Direct
attitude toward the personal growth that can result from
experience provides concrete learning to build upon and offers
learning.
context for deeper meaning.
Figure 1 represents a multi-layered model that views trans-
I am still in contact with many of my former students decades
formative learning through the context of place [39]. The model
later. They post pictures of taking their own children camping,
seeks to frame why the place has the potential to spark trans-
fishing, and on other outdoor excursions. I wish I could bottle our
formative experiences needed to transform eco-paradigms. The
High Adventure Learning model and share it with other
head is related to the cognitive domain. Hands refer to changing
educators. But it may not work in another place at a different time
behaviors and the heart includes the affective domain. The place
with other students. Eco-literacy is necessarily place-based and
offers an authentic context for learners to build meaning and
programs are built locally by committed teams of educators and
belonging. Relationship with a place and within a community of
community members. This approach to authentic learning in
learners is an essential element of transformative experiences.
place cannot be easily encapsulated and marketed for quick
Beyond awareness of local ecosystems and the life-sustaining
consumerism. It reflects that the uniqueness of every region
services they provide, personal experience can change percep-
requires attention to local ecosystems and neighborhood cul-
tions of the environment. It is hoped that changes in environ-
tures. These challenges are difficult to overcome.
mental worldview and love of place will affect behaviors and
The most transformative possibility of a place-based curriculum consumer choices. This holistic approach to meaningful,
is the idea of an ecosystem as a pedagogical model that connects transformative learning could also contribute to the personal
the outer world of nature to the inner self. Tending to the growth growth and development of self-directed learners. This model
of the whole child, mind, body, and spirit will facilitate knowledge can serve to help design programs and evaluate the effectiveness
that could flourish into wisdom and passion to work toward of program outcomes.

Figure 1 • Head, heart, and hands model for transformative learning.

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The transformation of the Western paradigm of the land as a politics, and so on. Blending it all together is a daunting task,
commodity to a new paradigm of the land as a place to which especially in the environment of specialization that permeates
humankind belongs is needed to achieve a sustainable future [18, academia. Moving beyond cognitive gains and instructional
40]. If educational institutions provided a pivotal role in fostering methodologies is why a holistic framework from the personal
a student’s sense of place, young people could reunify with nature perspective of head, heart, and hands is the starting point to
and gain an understanding of human dependence on nature affect critical changes in the approach to ecological sustainability
through personal experience. This approach will contribute to a and pedagogy of place.
planetary pedagogy for ecological sustainability through a
This requires a transformation of the dualist framework that is
holistic approach of joining head, hands, and heart in the
the basis of the hierarchy of knowledge that permeates
educational process. Mediating a relationship with the natural
standardized educational systems in the United States as well
world, which includes an emotional dimension, ignites the
as other developed or colonized nations. Just like energy and
passion of community members and forges collective purposes
agribusiness systems, education is an institution entrenched in
and land ethics [26]. Education centered on local places and
its own bureaucracy. The essential elements of transfor-
issues can potentially contribute to the well-being of community
mation—deep engagement, relational knowing, reflection, and
life and has transformative potential for students, teachers,
an authentic context for meaning-making—are not valued in
educational practices, communities, and the non-sustainable
today’s educational system. Through place-based curricula,
ecological paradigm of modern, urban societies [24, 25].
learners can move from I know to I care to I will do something
[18]. Studies have shown that students are not actively engaged
5. Conclusion in their schooling experience [42], but relevance, purpose, and
authenticity can be infused into the curriculum through place-
Most people are out of touch with the daily ways in which our based education.
lifestyle choices affect the ecosystem and, for that matter, where
it all comes from and where it all goes when we are done with it. Engagement, experience, and active learning will require active
Because we are so far removed from life-sustaining systems, we bodies and hands. It is unnatural for children to sit at desks for
give them little thought. If people were aware of how their local hours each day and their bodies need to move. Over-stuffed
ecosystems functioned, the services they provide, and how curricula with too many learning objectives require teachers to
systems fit together in a fragile and functioning whole that utterly rush through instruction, and there is little time for reflection and
supports our lives, perhaps they would consider the everyday metacognitive activity. Reflection on the quality of one’s school
choices that affect those ecosystems [34]. With place-based work, personal learning assets, sense of self, and one’s place in
curricula, local environments can serve as a resource or labora- the community and ecosystem takes time and is essential for
tory to investigate water issues, food production, energy, materi- depth of learning. This cognitive insight engages the head in
als, and waste flows, which will lead to eco-literate citizens who learning. Relational knowing is tied to the heart and to the
reflect upon their impact on their own environment and value the network of connections involved within the complex context of
reduction of their ecological footprint [3]. schools and of place. Understanding relationships within ecosys-
tems and the human place in upsetting or creating balance within
Underlying the educational and environmental importance of local systems is essential for sustainability. Part of the process of
place-based education is the hope of personal growth and the transformation that will lead to sustainable societies involves
valuing and enactment of ethical and cooperative character traits building and valuing relationships between schools and the
among young community members. One of the early proponents communities they serve, between group members involved in
of outdoor education, Julian Smith, stressed the use of the purposeful community goals, and between people and the places
outdoors as a science laboratory; He also discussed outdoor where they live. Valuing relationships puts people and wildlife
education’s unique contribution to behavior changes such as above profits. “The transition of consciousness with the environ-
better self-concept, creativity, awareness of and respect for the ment may be the bedrock of a needed social transformation” [26].
natural environment, communication skills, lifelong interests, Ultimately, seeing the ecosystem as an extension of self will
and development of the inner man [41]. Place-based education contribute to better outcomes through enlightened self-interest.
has the possibility of meeting the instrumental, emancipatory, Perceiving the land as our home, the place where we belong, will
and personal transformational needs of young people. Place encourage responsible behaviors in our home. To some extent,
provides a testing ground for a deeper journey to self- this notion of belonging to the environment is an indigenous
knowledge that goes beyond the acquisition of knowledge to a perspective, but it is also reiterated in the land ethics work of
process of personal growth and responsibility [37]. There is an Leopold. The holistic approach of engaging head, hands, and
indigenous nature to grounding local knowledge to inform heart in the context of place reclaims a personal perspective,
policies and practices that benefit communities from a which brings nature into the curriculum and authenticity into our
generational perspective [21]. From the perspective of ancient schools and student’s lives.
wisdom traditions, knowing thyself is a transformative path of
trial and tribulation that allows one to discover one’s calling and One feels something from the place, the experience. Some
purpose in life. powerful living force—despite the years of schooled reduc-
tionism—touches a person when they have such an experi-
Multiple frameworks converge and support place-based ap- ence. They are held in the embrace of what world’s touch
proaches, which are often interdisciplinary. Ecology itself is a taken out of the mechanical world in which they have been
multidisciplinary study that includes all branches of science: submerged since their schooling began, experiencing, as our
biology, hydrology, meteorology, chemistry, forestry, agriculture, ancestors once did, the living reality of the world.
etc. The interaction of people with the environment adds subjects
such as psychology, anthropology, philosophy, economics, Stephen Harrod Buhner [43]

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