Discomfort in the field—The performance of nonhuman nature in fieldwork in South Devon

ABSTRACT

Outdoor learning experiences can invoke feelings of uncertainty and discomfort, acting to disrupt human-environment narratives. In this article, the “performance” of nonhuman nature and discomfort in outdoor learning is considered, told through two vignettes from residential field trips with secondary age students, held at Slapton Ley Field Centre in South Devon, UK. This article asserts that discomfort associated with outdoor learning and fieldwork creates opportunities for learners to challenge their own environmental beliefs, values and attitudes. In particular, it is suggested that learners enter into a coproduction of place through interaction with nonhuman nature, and that this can, in turn, lead to a development of environmental sensitivity beyond the normally instrumental focus of such field trips.

KEYWORDS:

• discomfort
• emancipatory learning
• fieldwork
• outdoor education
• sustainability education

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank geography and biology groups who took part in programs at Slapton Ley during 2016 who contributed toward the empirical components of this work, as well as the staff at the field center for their support. Thanks also go to the anonymous reviewers of this article for their constructive feedback.