How to Protect Nature in Your Programs

Program Ideas: How to Protect Nature in Your Programs

Learn how experiential education (EE) programs can effectively foster a deeper connection with nature and encourage responsible environmental behaviors. 

CONNECT

Exposure to nature and observation of human impacts helps people to develop environmental sensitivity. This empathetic perspective towards the natural environment is difficult to develop in a classroom, but is one of the best predictors of responsible environmental behaviors.

Therefore, EE programs cannot afford to ignore the importance of environmental sensitivity and protecting nature. They must purposefully help their clients to connect with nature through deliberately designed curricula and pedagogies. Here are several tactics to aid with this effort.

ATTITUDE

Avoid language that positions nature as an adversary to be overcome (e.g. conquer a peak). Instead, promote nature as a place that is home and that we can come to know as a friend. Help clients to appreciate the natural history and cultural heritage of the particular place where each activity is based so nature is not simply a “backdrop” for their experience.

PROTECTION

When active in natural or urban areas, consider present and future human visitors, as well as wildlife. Leave No Trace (LNT) provides general guidelines and specific practices of “minimum impact” camping and travel for a variety of settings and activities. When teaching LNT, avoid exacerbating the human-nature divide by making clients feel like “visitors” who don’t belong in nature. Facilitate dialogue that helps them connect LNT principles and practices with larger questions about modifying behaviors to suit the needs of specific places.

EXPAND AWARENESS

The LNT curriculum, as written, does not help us protect the environment beyond the specific areas we visit. We should also work to protect the planet. Consider the ecological footprint and carbon footprint of food, gear, and travel choices. Involve clients in discussions about these choices, and help them make connections to their actions as consumers and citizens.

• Instead of buying new gear, practice the 5Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, and Repair. If new purchase is unavoidable, then look for certifications of sustainability (see list in the supplementary materials).
• Consider growing your own food or buying it from local farmers. Source in bulk to reduce packaging. Choose reusable food bags, not single-use plastic ones. Fine-tune menu quantities to avoid waste. Compost food scraps. Choose plant-based proteins, rather than animal-based ones.
• Opt for travel destinations that are closer to home. Explore ways to travel with lower carbon intensity (human-powered or public transportation where possible).
• Track your progress in the above with As Sustainable As Possible apps (see ASAP list).

SERVICE

Work with land managers to arrange service projects for your groups. Clients can develop an appreciation for areas through service like trail or campsite maintenance, trash removal, control of invasive species, and citizen science projects. Offset your carbon impacts by planting trees, investing in renewable energy technologies, donating to climate research, and contributing to poverty eliminating social justice (which reduces a major threat to sustainability).

AUTHORS: Elizabeth Andre & Simon Priest (published in 2022)

FURTHER RESOURCES

READING 

Jickling, B., Blenkinsop, S., Timmerman, N., & De Danann Sitka-Sage, M. (Eds.). (2018). Wild pedagogies. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN-13: 978-3319901756

Stonehouse, P. (2022). Sustainable Adventure? The Necessary “Transitioning” of Outdoor Adventure Education. The Journal of Sustainability Education, 26. ISSN: 2151-7452

Wattchow, B., & Brown, M. (2011). A Pedagogy of Place: Outdoor education for a changing world. Melbourne, Australia: Monash University Publishing. ISBN-13 : 978-0980651249

VIEWING

Leave No Trace provides training on basic practices for minimizing impact to local recreation areas and helping to preserve the experience of other recreationalists: https://lnt.org/

The 5Rs of Zero Waste detail how to cut down on waste. Consider, however, adding “Repair” to this list and making sure that “recycle” is a last option. https://zerowastexchange.org/551/the-5-rs-of-zerowaste-a-practical-guide

OTHER ASAP 2.0 (As Sustainable as Possible).

Get a benchmark for the ecological footprint of your programming and track yearly improvement. https://www.outdoored.com/articles/asap-20-sustainable-possible

Repair gear rather than replacing it. Many outdoor equipment stores have repair departments. REI lists some helpful resources: https://www.rei.com/repairs?cm_mmc=aff_AL-_-133155-_-160935-_-NA&avad=160935_b28192125  

Start a garden to provide some of the food for your programming. The USDA has tips for starting a school garden: https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/08/13/start-school-garden-heres-how

Buy carbon offsets to reduce your carbon foot print from an organization like https://native.eco/ or https://terrapass.com