Eco-literate children can be stewards of nature – here’s how to boost environmental education

Eco‑literate children can be stewards of nature

As biodiversity loss accelerates, a new natural history curriculum seeks to rebuild young people’s connection with nature through fieldwork, observation and ecological understanding.

Eco-literate children can be stewards of nature – here’s how to boost environmental education

Thx4Stock team/ShutterstockMost of my ecology and evolution undergraduates have never held a pair of binoculars or looked at a bug through a magnifying glass. They don’t know how to use a key to identify a plant or insect, let alone why they should bother. They struggle to name common garden birds. They expect to learn about biodiversity from behind the safety of a computer screen. Fieldwork is considered a luxury or an inconvenience, depending …

Eco‑Literate Children Can Be Stewards of Nature – Here’s How to Boost Environmental Education

Most of my ecology and evolution undergraduates have never held a pair of binoculars or looked at a bug through a magnifying glass. They don’t know how to use a key to identify a plant or insect, let alone why they should bother. They struggle to name common garden birds. They expect to learn about biodiversity from behind the safety of a computer screen. Fieldwork is considered a luxury or an inconvenience, depending on your tolerance to rain. …