Fifteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

According to Dorothy Blair (2009), “Today’s children lack experience with natural ecosystem complexity” (p. 17). For young children growing up in Western urban environments, what can early childhood caregivers and educators do in order to increase overall interactive, nature-based experiences for younger generations? While excursions into the mountains and forested areas are feasible for some families and school programs, not all children have access to these kinds of outdoor activities. Fostering an appreciative and “reciprocal” (Kimmerer, 2013, p. 28; Mohawk, 2008, p. 129) relationship with the Earth from a young age should not be limited by the (in)ability to traverse beyond the urban environment, particularly when nature, plants and other eco-pedagogical opportunities are present in cityscapes. In my paper, I argue that, as early childhood practitioners, teachable moments exist in day-to-day urban settings that serve as preliminary education of the ecological world for infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children. Building on the environmental education literature, I will outline some practical, place-based pedagogical approaches for early learning practitioners. My analysis will disrupt the anthropocentrism characteristic of Western ‘progress’ narratives, both centring—without appropriating—Indigenous ways of knowing and illustrating the ways in which the world of play and the more-than-human world overlap. Drawing parallels between arbour and human communities (Kimmerer, 2013; Wohlleben, 2015) as a model for ecological and social change, sustainability education tailored to the early years can thus become an avenue for transformative and environmental justice.