Learning from the Land: Developing Capacity for Place-Based Learning at the University of Waterloo

Image of seven individuals walking through a creek

Project Team

Steffanie Scott, Geography and Environmental Management

Nikola Barsoum, Geography and Environmental Management

byron murray, Guelph Outdoor School

Danielle Gehl, Guelph Outdoor School

Project Summary

By changing the relationship that many non-Indigenous people have with the land, it has the potential to lead to a healthier Earth for allCanadian Commission for UNESCO

This project examines research on Land-based Learning (LBL) and how it is being practiced in post-secondary institutions across Canada. Reported outcomes on students learning will be highlighted, as will approaches that use an Indigenous lens but are aimed at non-Indigenous students. We will develop a framework and set of LBL resources specific to UW to guide interested instructors, to highlight the meaning of a LBL approach, its benefits and learning outcomes, and outline how instructors can integrate LBL into their courses. Finally, the findings will be shared with faculty and grad students through a workshop that offers an opportunity to experience LBL. We strive to plant the seed for LBL as a teaching model at the University of Waterloo going forward.

References

Bowra A, Mashford‐Pringle A, Poland B. (2021). Indigenous learning on Turtle Island: A review of the literature on land‐based learning. The Canadian Geographer.65(2): 132-140.

Clarke, M. (2015). Indigenizing environmental education: How can land-based practices become an educational journey of reconciliation? Master’s thesis. Lakehead University.

Canadian Commission for UNESCO. (2021). Land as teacher: understanding Indigenous land-based education. CC-UNESCO.

Waddell-Henowitch, C., Gobeil, J.,and Tacan, F. (2022). A Collaborative Multi-Method Approach to Evaluating Indigenous Land-Based Learning with Men. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21.

Kimmerer, R.W. (2013). Braiding sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants. Milkweed editions.

Ljubicic, G. J., Mearns, R., Okpakok, S., & Robertson, S. (2021). Learning from the land (Nunami iliharniq): Reflecting on relational accountability in land-based learning and cross-cultural research in Uqšuqtuuq (Gjoa Haven, Nunavut). Arctic Science, 1-40.

Puttick, Steven. (2022) Geographical Education I: Fields, Interactions and Relationships. Progress in Human Geography, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 898–906.

Scott, Jacqueline L. & Ambika Tenneti. n.d. Race and Nature in the City Engaging Youth of Colour in Nature-Based Activities: A Community-based Needs Assessment for Nature Canada’s ‘NatureHood’. Nature Canada.

Simpson, L. B. (2014). Land as pedagogy: Nishnaabeg intelligence and rebellious transformation. Decolonization: indigeneity, education & society, 3(3).