Abstract
In this current period of the Anthropocene, where human impact on planetary systems is greater than ever before (Crutzen & Ramanathan, 2000; Guggenheim, 2006), the practice of, and research about, sustainability education for young children is becoming more nuanced and multidisciplinary. The research discussed in this chapter is based on the premise that engaging in ecological place-based stories and arts experiences for investigating the natural world help us to understand the basis of our relationship with these ecosystems in our local, regional and global environments (Ward, 2013). Indeed, the arts are an important, multifaceted lens through which to investigate, interpret and understand the natural world (for example, see contributions by Shirvington and Gray & Thomson, this volume). Our exploration of natural and manufactured materials, our understanding of their visceral realness and provenance, is discovered, conceptualised, felt, imagined and rendered tangible by the arts.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Building Sustainability with the Arts: Proceedings of the 2nd National EcoArts Australis Conference |
| Editors | David Curtis |
| Place of Publication | U.K. |
| Publisher | Cambridge Scholars Publishing |
| Pages | 229-244 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781443891332 |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |
Keywords
- sustainability
- early childhood education
- nature in art
