Conceptual Contributions to Early Childhood Environmental Education

The research presented below integrates diverse theoretical approaches to investigate the experiences of children aged four to eight who participated in a nature stewardship program in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. It also explores how nature stewardship became a purposeful activity for these children. The overarching questions driving this research were: (1) How do children describe their experiences of participation in nature stewardship? (2) How do children relationally engage with and learn from the greater community of life through their participation in a stewardship program? And (3) How might stewardship activities that include opportunities for reflection support children in cultivating a sense of purpose and understanding their contributions to the greater community of life?

To investigate these questions, I designed and implemented environmental stewardship programs in a primary school and outdoor nursery. I employed participatory methods informed by the Mosaic methodology. Key findings indicate that children participated in the stewardship programs with joy and exercised their agency to contribute to the greater community of life. I also found that while caring for nature, children developed affective relationships with more-than-human nature and were attuned to nature’s agency. Finally, I illustrate how stewardship became a purposeful activity and how it enabled children to express a sense of purpose in contributing to the greater community of life.

I make three conceptual contributions to Early Childhood Environmental Education literature. First, stewardship-play: a concept that positions children as agents of change who enact ecological contribution through playful engagements. Second, relational stewardship: a term that recognizes the relational child and encapsulates ideas around forming affective relationships with more-than-human nature. Third, nature purpose: a concept that captures how children find meaning by contributing to and relating with the greater community of life. By highlighting children’s perspectives, this research contributes to knowledge that can inform and enrich the development of Early Childhood Environmental Education research and practice.