Thirteenth International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses

Abstract

The humanities must equip learners to think critically about issues of climate change. Urban communities, in particular, face erosion of natural space as Earth’s climate changes and urban sprawl increases. This change demands that we encourage meaningful engagement with nature to prepare learners to develop innovative solutions to environmental challenges. From fall 2019 to fall 2021, the authors conducted a study that asked the question: To what extent does experiential learning within the framework of a nature-themed humanities writing course lead to an increased sense of responsibility for the human impact on natural environments in local urban communities? CUNY / Queensborough Community College is located in Queens, the most diverse borough in New York City, with students who hail from more than 140 countries and speak 84 languages. Queens also has a diversity of housing stock and geographical terrain: the beaches of Rockaway, the boating communities along Jamaica Bay, the suburbs of Douglaston, the dense urban sprawl of Flushing. The study focused on learning outcomes of writing classes that assigned humanities texts about nature (namely, Thoreau’s Walden and Into the Wild by Jon Krakaurer) in addition to embarking on a nature walk where the class collected information about their observations. Post-pandemic, individuals either went to their local park or utilized a live stream to experience nature. Students were surveyed at the beginning and end of the semester to ascertain the extent to which attitudes about nature, and human responsibility to preserve the environment, had shifted and students’ knowledge base increased.