Human-driven threats are changing biodiversity and impacting ecosystem services (i.e., nature's contributions to society, henceforth 'services'). The consequences of biodiversity change for ecosystems and people are hard to predict because the loss of one species can trigger secondary extinctions of additional species when species interact (e.g.,…

Nature degradation is rooted in the disruption of the human-land connection. Its restoration requires the regeneration of environmental stewardship as a way to live within environmental limits, especially for younger generations. In this study we used the implementation of a year-round, non-formal environmental education program during COVID-19…

When students think of evolution, they might imagine T. rex, or perhaps an abiotic scene of sizzling electrical storms and harsh reducing atmospheres, an Earth that looks like a lunar landscape. Natural selection automatically elicits responses that include "survival of the fittest," and "descent with modification," and with…

Biodiversity loss is one of the biggest environmental issues in the world today and the biodiversity literacy of citizens can be key to counteracting this. Considering that children can be change agents and actively take part in decision-making from early years, we have assessed the native fauna identification skills of Primary School students…

In this article, we experiment with a form of dark pedagogy, a pedagogy that confronts haunting pasts-presents-futures in environmental education. We offer a conceptualisation of ghosts that enables us to creatively explore the duration of things and consider the relationality of time. We examine this through two situated contexts, engaging with…

Especially within the light of the current loss of biodiversity, we want our students to gain a better understanding of the issues at stake in order to take action and support plants and their pollinators. Many educational approaches focus on honeybees, disregarding the vast diversity in the context of pollination systems and the complex…

Indigenous communities at ground zero for extractive industry, industrial pollution, and climate change battle extant development agendas under coloniality that drive cycles of consumption. In this scheme bolstered by neoliberal policies, stewarding biocultural diversity is a clarion call and heavy responsibility for Indigenous community members…

Ecologically, lichen plays a significant role in the formation of flourishing ecosystems by breaking apart rock formations using small fungal threads to form fertile soil which supports a growing complexity/diversity of life. This essay uses lichen as a metaphor to describe fossilized constructs (colonial epistemologies and ontologies,…

This is a story of becoming. In this creative non-fiction essay, I share a case study of an informal science program for high school aged youth that took place over 5-weeks one summer in an urban park in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. I conducted observations, interviews, and artifact analysis to explore how youth environmental interest and identity…

In teaching, students' representations could constitute an obstacle to the construction of scientific knowledge and are often considered stable cognitive structures whose organization is sought to be inferred through questionnaires and interviews. This study aims at identifying and analyzing high school students' representations related to the…

Promoting positive agency through garden-based and outdoor learning is a powerful and engaging way of learning about the environment and helping assuage some of the undoubted damage done by climate anxiety. In this article, gardener, plant scientist and teacher, Susie Burr offers some advice on developing teaching activities that not only help…

Sensory differences are highly prevalent in autistic individuals. However, few studies have compared their presentation between autistic males and autistic females. We used psychophysics to assess and compare tactile perceptual sensitivity between autistic and non-autistic boys and girls aged between 8 and 12 years of age. While there were…

This article discusses iBiome-Wetland, the first educational game from the author's company Springbay Studio. It invites children to build virtual wetland ecosystems, learn about 54 species living in wetlands, experience biodiversity, and conduct experiments to find out how food webs work. The game has received five awards from prestigious…

Insects form a highly diverse taxonomic group, which has fundamental ecological functions, but is currently in a process of mass extinction. Here, we present the first cycle of design, implementation, and assessment of a didactic sequence oriented towards improving pre-service teachers' knowledge and appreciation of insect diversity. A…

Learning resources are everything that can be used to facilitate the learning process. Folklore is one of the cultural products that can be innovated as a biodiversity learning resource in high school. This study reviewed relevant literature regarding folklore from various regions of Indonesia to examine and analyse the potential of folklore as a…