Space-timeScapes as ecopedagogy

ABSTRACT

This emergent field of ecopedagogy gives little conceptual, methodological, and empirical consideration to the significance of spatial and temporal elements of environmental learning. This article focuses on both spatial and temporal components of three ecopedagogic instances, examining experiences from participant's perspective. Specific (eco)pedagogic dimensions of each learning experience are compared and contrasted, and synthesized into an emergent concept/practice of ecopedagogy at a range of spatial scales and across life courses. The article concludes that regardless of the specific spatial context, space-time aware learning experiences offer tactile, embodied encounters with different natural settings. Such sensuous and affective dimensions of experience of scapes emerge as crucial to encouraging nature-culture interrelativity for participants. Space-time-based and alert encounters thus materialize as central to the development of ecopedagogy.

KEYWORDS:

• ecopedagogy
• experiential learning
• nature-culture
• space-time