This week, we talked about David Sobel’s book “Beyond Ecophobia”, and the ways that we as teachers can inadvertently turn students away from environmental education by using the wrong approach. When students are experiencing ecophobia, they view the Earth as something that is sick, fragile, and dying, even something that is beyond hope, a source of sadness. Some argue that the way climate and environmental education has been (mis)handled is partly to blame for a new phenomenon known as “eco-anxiety”, which is explained in a student-friendly way in the video below.
I remember being in grade eight and repeatedly being reminded to “be careful” outside at lunch, especially when I climbed trees. I was told that I wasn’t allowed to climb the trees bordering the field, because either I would get hurt by the tree or I would hurt the tree. Either way, someone was apparently going to lose a limb. I understand where this sentiment came from, there were certainly peers who would peel excessive bark off or snap off healthy branches and leave them scattered around the field. But looking back, I think a better response than to essentially ban interacting with nature would have been some gentle environmental education, that focused on how we can have good relationships with trees so they’re tall, strong, and climbable for years to come. I wonder if “bringing back risky play” could help in diminishing ecophobia and climate anxiety? Perhaps if students had some opportunities to test the resilience of both themselves and nature, they would understand that it’s actually quite easy to live in a good balance with the Earth, to not take too much. I am going to try combining “risky play” and environmental education in my future science lessons for young students.