Using nature sanctuaries to consider sustainable futures

Abstract

When children and young people participate in education visits to green spaces such as parks, zoos, and nature reserves, little is known about the connections they make to sustainability issues or how they conceptualise sustainable futures. This article uses insights from interviews with children and young people who visited Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, a predator-free conservation environment in the heart of Wellington, New Zealand. It suggests three place-based approaches to using nature sanctuaries and other learning environments to enrich sustainability education outside the classroom.