Anthony O. Kola-Olusanya

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAIN ABILITY: UNDERSTANDING YOUNG ADULTS' LEARNING, THINKING, AND ACTIONS

A dissertation submitted in conformity with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, University of Toronto

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By Anthony Kola-Olusanya

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning, University of Toronto 2008

ABSTRACT

This thesis explores the ways in which young-adults' environmental learning and experiences influence their decision to live sustainably. In particular, this thesis focuses on young adults' environmental and sustainability learning. It elaborates on young peoples' views about environmental and sustainability issues, such as climate change, the sources for their learning about these issues, and how young adults' learning encounters, in turn, affect their actions toward environmental protection and decision-making.

Through a series of in-depth individual interviews with 18 young adults from three universities in southeastern Ontario, this qualitative study provides in-depth insight into young adults' understanding, learning experiences, and actions in relation to environmental and sustainability issues. Employing a Contextual Model of Learning framework the narratives of the young adults in this study are analyzed and discussed within three overlapping environmental learning contexts: personal, sociocultural, and physical settings.

This framework allows for an examination of the complex interactions and relationships that shape how and where environmental learning occurs. The findings in this study suggest that the three overlapping learning contexts, that is the personal, sociocultural, and physical play an important role in shaping young adults' learning about environmental and sustainability issues. The data reveal that despite the unavailability or near-absence of environmental studies and education within the formal school curriculum (particularly at the elementary and high school levels), the young adults rely on other locations for learning, such as the internet, environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs), television, and family. In light of this, the research participants

suggest the re-introduction of environmental programs and content in the school curriculum. Finally, the results of this study demonstrate the centrality of knowledge and experience in relation to environmental and sustainability issues in the actions and thoughts of the young adult research participants.

This study makes an important contribution to the field of environmental and

sustainability education by demonstrating the critical role of learning in a knowledge

society. It illuminates the implications of various learning contexts for a sustainable global

environment and future. Furthermore, it provides insight into the views of young adults regarding the future of the global environment and current sustainability initiatives in a world that faces ever-greater challenges.

tu Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge the financial assistance I have received from the University of Toronto, through the Guaranteed Doctoral Fellowship.

My interest in the topic of environmental management and sustainability issues was nurtured in the 1990s in Lagos by Professor Peter Okebukola, the first director, Centre for Environment and Science Education at Lagos State University who hired me as a junior faculty and encouraged me to return to the graduate school for my doctorate. Professor

Okebukola is also influential to my membership of the Science teachers' Association of

Nigeria (STAN) National Environmental Education Project team, making it possible for me to be involved in the development of effective strategies for teaching concepts on the environment in Nigeria.

I am also grateful to my teachers and elders for my early exposure to the sacredness of the Earth - the source of life. My understanding of humanity's connection to the environment and nature dates back to my childhood days. Back then, I remember being told for example, never to collect the rain with my palm or stand near the door-post nor rest my back against wall during lighting. As well, I was taught not to throw garbage into the

stream or any flowing water or even drainage because of the risk of flooding. I was also taught to respect the sacredness of the Earth - the source of life, as well as all life forms, whether plants or animals, care, nurture, and protect them, for as much they are there for humanity's sake, we are also here for their sake.

This symbiotic relationship, I was told, is responsible for the overall happenings,

events, and cycles that occur on Earth. With these learning experiences, I developed my understandings of the culture, worldview, and the paradigm of Yoruba people, my people and my race and the centrality of the environment and nature in our ways of life. These learning experiences would later form the basis of my understanding of the implications of humanity's actions and the struggle of the people of the Earth for its protection.

Today, as an adult, these learning experiences continue to guide my thoughts, consciousness, awareness, and understandings that the environmental crises, currently threatening humanity's existence on Earth are the result of our lack of respect for the Earth

- the source of life. Considering the enormity of threat, the question is therefore no more, whether we need to unlearn our unsustainable ways of livelihood and work for the attainment of an environmentally just and sustainable society. Rather, it is about 'how soon will it be for us to get there?'

It was with this question on my mind, that I arrived at the University of Toronto,

Canada for a doctorate degree in environmental studies on that very cold and balmy wintery night almost 6 years ago. With this research, I hope that some of the questions regarding environmental learning and sustainability have been answered. I hasten to say this dissertation being the outcome of my doctoral research which spanned about three and half years wouldn't have been possible without the support of so many wonderful people who played key roles in my life, as I navigate my way through the thorny field towards this doctorate.

Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Linda Cameron, who welcomed me with open arms and offered to be my advisor (and later my supervisor) when first advisor Dr David Selby suddenly left the University. Arriving with scant winter clothing

on back and having travelled thousands of kilometres away from home in search of the

V 'Golden Fleece,' in ways I least expected; Dr. Cameron's pleasant and kind nature provided warmth for me on arrival during the very cold month of January 2003 and also for my wife and son on their arrival in Canada few months after. Mother, mentor, colleague, friend, supervisor, connector... Dr. Cameron is all of these things, and she displays such understanding and insight into what supports I might need, as I work to balance and fulfill my family role and academic responsibilities. My experience with Dr. Cameron truly has been transformative, and I consider her a role model in the greatest sense. I am greatly indebted to Dr. Cameron for the help and insightful feedback but also her constant encouragements throughout my dissertation writing process. Her words of helpful advice, including positive criticism received throughout the course of the project and my dissertation will be remembered.

I wish to thank my external examiner, Dr. Constance Russell the Chair of

Graduate Studies at Lakehead University, for her comments, suggestions and critical feedbacks, all of which helped to improve the final text. At the University of Toronto, I am grateful to Dr. David Booth, who gave me encouragement and perspectives during and throughout my doctoral work. I am also grateful to Dr. Erminia Pedretti, Dr. Mark Evans, and Dr. Lee Bartel for their detailed attention to my project and my dissertation. Dr. Joe

Heimlich, of Ohio State University was particularly accommodating in providing me with his constructive comments and professional advice regarding my research methodology on my draft dissertation proposal. I am particularly grateful to all the university students who participated in the study.

I was blessed with good friends who enriched my learning experiences during the

course of my doctoral studies, at University of Toronto. I would like to particularly thank

vi Kimberley Bezaire, Lanasana Gberie, Albert Osei, Xavier Balducci, Dr. Barnabas

Emenogu, Joseph Mulongo, Bathseba Opini, Nancy Dawe, David Bateman, Ronell

Mathew, Wakako Isikawa, Mahadeo Sukhai, and the staffs of the Graduate Students' Union among many. I wish to also thank Dr. A. O. K Noah, Dr. Ayo Omotayo, Dr. George Dei and Mrs Nike Fatogun for their help and encouragements. Although there are too many to list individually here, I would also like to acknowledge friends like, Mike Ahove, Remi

Ojeyomi, Seun Babalola, Wale Alamutu, Femi Adekunjo, Lekan Akinosho, Dr. Udo

Osisiogu, Sina Oke, Tope Sanni, Ade and Kemi Ojelabi, Lade and Feyi Adunbi, Lanre

Ajiboye, Akin Fatogun, Taiwo Joseph, Samson Fwangkat, and Akeem Ajonbadi, for

sharing my thoughts; struggles and joys. I want to express my sincere thanks to Tony

Moses, a good friend who helped to recover my data when my computer crashed twice while writing my dissertation.

I also acknowledge the support of my second family. I am very grateful to my

father-in-law Pa David Ajayi who always let me how important I am iEnia daada loje,'

and to my mother-in-law Mrs Catherine Ajayi, who called on several times to pray for my

success. I wish to also thank Mr. and Mrs. Ademola Ajayi, Dr. and Mrs. Adefisayo

Oduwole, Kayode and Funmi Akindunni, and Dr. and Mrs. Idowu Ajayi.

Finally, my own family has given me every kind of support and assistance. I

would like to express my love and appreciation to my wife, Olushola and our children for

their patience and understanding throughout my studies. Their support and prayers made

the completion of my doctoral studies and indeed the writing of this dissertation possible.

My father and best friend, Pa W. O. Olusanya, taught me never to give up, and that

perseverance is the key to success in life. I am so very happy that God spared your life to

vii see me complete my graduate education. I thank my two elder sisters Mrs. Ebun Pedro, and

Mrs. Omotunde Aje, for supporting me materially and with prayers, right from primary one through graduate student process. I would also like to thank Chief Sunday Olusanya, for sharing my dreams always. I also thank my nieces and nephews, uncles, aunties and cousins. Last but not the least; I will continue to remember Mr. Segun Sanya, Emmanuel

'Olu' Olusanya and my mother, Lydia Olusanya. I dedicate this dissertation to our children and toall my teachers.

Finally, I give glory to God for seeing me through my educational journey and crowing my efforts with this great achievement.

'Ojo ririje, okere, ojo airije okere, ojo t'okeref'ebi sun lopo'

vm TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract i

Acknowledgement iii

Table of Contents viii

Lists of Figures xiii

List of tables xiv

Chapter One 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Focus of the Study 4

1.3. The Context of the Study 6

1.4. Perspectives and Significance of the Study 9

1.5 My Interest in the Topic 13

1.6. Limitations of the Study 18

1.7 Thesis Outline 20

Chapter Two 23

Learning

2.1 Introduction 23

2.2 Conceptualizing Learning 24

2.3 Contextual Model of Learning 29

2.4 Knowledge, Experience and Learning Style in Open-Ended (Informal) Settings 34

2.5. Learning in Formal Education Settings 36

ix 2.6. Summary 39

Chapter Three 40

Environmental Education

3.1. Introduction 40

3.2. The Field of Environmental Education 40

3.3. Environmental Education in Canada 45

3.4. Environmental Education in Ontario: An overview 48

3.5. Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Education for Sustainable...52

3.6. Learning for Environmental Sustainability: Making Connections 58

3.7. Other Settings for Environmental and Sustainability Learning 66

3.8. Nature of Young Adult Development and Environmental Learning 69

3.9. Defining Young Adults 72

3.10. Young Adults, Sustainability and Environmental Learning 74

3.11. Consumerism, Young Adults and the Environment 77

3.12. Conclusion 82

Chapter Four 83

Research Methodology

4.1 Introduction 83

4.2. Towards a Phenomenological Research Methodology 84

4.3. Research Design 86

4.4. Research Participants 87

4.4.1. Participant Recruitment 88

X 4.4.2. Choice of Participants 89

4.5. The Research Context 91

4.6. Research Procedures 92

4.7. Pilot Interviews 93

4.8. Data Gathering 94

4.8.1. The Interview 94

4.9. Data Analysis 97

4.9.1. Analysis of Qualitative Data 97

4.10. Summary 99

Chapter Five 100

Contextualizing Environmental and Sustainability Issues

5.1 Introduction 100

5.2. Level of information and Awareness of Environmental Sustainability Issues 101

5.3. Climate Change 105

5.4. Connecting Global Warming to Climate Change 112

5.5. Education about the Consequence of Climate Change 115

5.6. Conclusion 121

Chapter Six 123

Young Adults' Environmental Sustainability Learning Experiences: Locations and

Actions

6.1. Introduction 123

6.2 Personal Learning Context 125

6.3 Sociocultural Learning Contexts 135

xi 6.3.1. Family as a Learning Context. 136

6.3.2. The Mass Media 142

6.3.3 NGOs as Channels of Learning 152

6.5.4. Accounting for Environmental Sustainability Learning within

Sociocultural Context. 156

6.4. Physical Learning Contexts 159

6.4.1. Schools as Sources of Learning Experiences 160

6.4.2. Formal Education (School. 163

6.5. Most Appropriate Sources for Learning about Environmental Sustainability 165

6.6. Summary 168

Chapter Seven 173

Environmental Sustainability: Exploring the Intersections of Learning and Action

7.1 Introduction 173

7.2. Working Towards Environmental Protection and Quality 175

7.3. Locating Action in Environmental Protection and Quality: Where and How? 181

7.4. Translating Learning Experiences to Action 189

7.5. Conclusion 194

Chapter Eight 196

Young Adults, Environment, and Sustainability: Challenges for the Future

8.1. Introduction 196

8.2. Environmental Protection 196

8.3. Consumerism and a Sustainable Future 203

8.4. Economic Growth, Environment and Sustainability 212

xll 8.5. Environmental Sustainability: Sustainable Practices and Decision Making 218

8.6 Conclusion 224

Chapter Nine 226

Environmental Sustainability:

A Glimpse into the Future of a Sustainable Learning Society

9.1. Introduction 226

9.2. Summary of Findings 226

9.3. Implications for Theory and Practice 230

9.4. Directions for Future Study 232

9.5 Conclusions 232

References 234

APPENDICES 272

Appendix A 272

Appendix B 275

Appendix C 277

Appendix D 278

XUl LIST OF FIGURES

Number Page

2.1. The Contextual Model of Learning 29

3.1. Type 1 Approach to Learning and Environment 62

3.2. Type 2 Approach to Learning and Environment 62

3.3. Type 3 Approach to Learning and Environment 63

3.4. Society and Environment, Change and Learning 64

XIV LIST OF TABLES

Number Page

4.1. Frequency Distribution of Respondents by Sex and Level of Study 87

4.2. Frequency Distribution of Respondents by Discipline / Major 88

4.3. Frequency Distribution of Respondents by Race/ Ethnicity 91

XV Chapter One

1.1 Introduction

I begin this dissertation with the story of Carmen Salva, an Argentinean teacher

nominated for the Cable News Network (CNN) 2008 Global Heroes Award for her

environmental youth initiative in Northern Argentina. This story helps to establish a

connection among daily environmental initiatives, young people's environmental efforts

and my research. Salva's story offers a sense of the meaning and purpose of this research's

central focus — young peoples' environmental actions.

As Johnson (1995) notes, a story is an arrangement of words and images that re

create life-like characters and events; it is a vehicle that carries us on an engaging, dramatic journey to a destination of resolution we find satisfying and fulfilling. Most importantly,

what struck me about Salva is not her nomination for the award, which she truly deserves,

but rather her ability to connect with young people who are the driving force behind her

initiative; I was also impressed by the enthusiasm with which the youth work to clean the

environment. Here is her story:

Carmen Salva's mission may be ambitious, but her belief is simple:

"It's never too early to start caring for the land you live in and grow up

in. " That's why on Saturdays, Salva and a group of 60 to 100 students,

parents and teachers can be found venturing into the high altitude of their

northern Argentina mountains, trash bags in hand and llamas in tow.

They're part of Esperanza de Vida (Hope for Life), Salva's youth

1 environmental group that is out to clean up the surroundings, one plastic bottle at a time. Salva, 49, was born and raised in the Jujuy province of northern Argentina, an area known for its rich culture and spectacular vistas- "the reason why most people fall in love with it, " says Salva. But despite its beauty, Salva says there's no real environmental consciousness in her community. "We have a lot of issues to work on-the problem of water contamination; there's so much trash," Salva says. "We can't just think that it will take care of itself. " Salva, who has been a teacher in

Jujuy for 20 years, says the environmental issues aren't recent ones. Ten years ago, she and her students noticed a lot of trash outside the school.

"The parks surrounding the school were littered with plastic bottles and beer bottles, " recalls Salva. They began volunteering with a government program, collecting and bagging waste in the area. But the program waned after a year, and students and teachers could no longer continue their environmental efforts. "Our city had no formal recycling program or even knowledge of why it was important to learn about fresh water, forestation, and the importance of recycling, " says Salva.

So Salva began Esperanza de Vida in 1997 to organize and lead young participants in "making our streets and our environment cleaner. "

"I believe that change begins with the youth, " says Salva. "They will teach future generations how to care for nature and everything that surrounds us. " At first, the group's activities were limited to cleaning parks near and around the school. But the organization's efforts have expanded well

2 beyond the immediate area, and other Jujuy schools have joined in. About

150 people now take part, including about 80 children. Salva says her students are deeply impacted by the "Pachamama" concept or caring for

Mother Earth. She and fellow teachers have noticed their students apply as much energy and commitment to the weekend environmental activities as they do to their general subjects. "Some even wait by my house on

Saturday for the program to begin," beams Salva. The group convenes early in the morning to hike together into the mountains, where they work for hours, picking up trash and separating recyclables. "We have long days and we accomplish a lot. It gets tiring because it's a lot of walking and sometimes there are cliffs," says Salva. "[But] the students enjoy it a lot.

They're making changes while having fun."

On an average Saturday clean-up, it's not unusual for the group to collect roughly 60 bags of trash for recycling, clearing thousands of bottles from the mountains. The llamas help carry the heavy load down from the mountains. The local government has also pitched in, helping to provide transport of the collected recyclables to the drop-off center, located nearly

50 miles from Tilcara. Salva says the group is making strides, raising awareness throughout her community, continually adding new volunteers, and implementing new projects. Carmen says the children are even teaching their parents to care for the environment around them. "It's a great joy to know that I am preparing a new generation to respect the

3 environment, " says Salva. "Their children's children will have another

mentality, and [our] goal will be accomplished. (Culled from CNN, 2008)

1.2 Focus of the Study

Especially in this day and age, young adults in universities and colleges are being primed for employment and entrepreneurial roles. Making informed and sound decisions in the context of sustainability and environmental protection, therefore, is essential to secure humanity as well as the planet. Furthermore, young adults form the core of soon-to-be decision-takers/makers who are expected to make a difference in building a sustainable future and better environmental management practices. (Cullingford, 2006) As such, this study provides an understanding of the nature and scope of young adults' enrolled in tertiary institutions in Southern Ontario.

Although some significant quantity of research into environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours has been done (Rickinson, 2001), research on young adults' experience and learning about sustainability and environmental issues in particular is sparse or non existent. The former has been too teacher oriented, so this present study focuses on learner's perspectives. In this research I address the gap in literature and draw on the

Contextual Model of Learning framework (Falk & Dierking, 2000), to explore young adults' environmental learning and actions and its impact on their decision to live sustainably. The central question that shaped this research is: "flow do young adults' learning and experiences influence their decision to live sustainably? "

4 In particular, this thesis seeks to answer the following questions which relate to

young adults environmental learning and sustainability: What are young peoples' views

about environmental issues like climate change? What are the sources for learning about

environment and sustainability issues? How do the learning encounters and engagements in

turn affect the young adults' actions toward environmental protection and decision making?

Central to this study is the notion that learning is not a solitary activity; it is contextually

and inherently situated within social and physical milieus as well as within our whole

being; we learn with our bodies, minds, and emotions all rolled into one (Blewitt, 2006a).

The contextual model of learning framework delineates three overlapping contexts: the personal, the sociocultural, the physical and time. This framework considers learning as

both the process and product of interaction among these three contexts (Brody, 2005) and

occurring over time. The three contexts influence both the learning experience as it occurs

and what people gain from it. Although much of what constitutes learning takes place

within the brain, that is, learning from the inside out there is increasing evidence that such

learning is also strongly influenced by sociocultural and physical factors, that is, learning

from the outside in.

In using the contextual model of learning framework in this research, the time

component within which young people learn is not considered, because an understanding of

learning, or the process of learning takes time and this makes it very difficult to measure in

a study like this which does not involve longitudinal data gathering over time. (Pedretti,

2002; Rennie, 2007)

5 This research will inform future work on young adults' learning engagement and actions in relation to sustainability issues that could be used in planning, designing, and development of environmental and sustainability education programs within and outside of schools. This study on young adults learning contexts, action and thinking in relation to environmental and sustainability issues will be of interest to teachers, teacher educators, school administrators, curriculum planners and policy makers at the school, Board and

Ministry levels.

1.3. The Context of the Study

Almost a quarter of century has passed since the landmark Brundtland Commission

Report on Sustainable Development in 1987 and two decades have passed since the Rio

Earth Conference in 1992, yet the human race continues to grapple with the threatening problem of climate change and its likely consequences. At the same time global, unsustainable, economic production and development continue to cause anxiety, particularly regarding how far the planet can absorb its continued abuse.

Tragically and six years after the 2002 World Summit of Sustainable Development in Johannesburg and three years after the launch of the United Nations' Decade of

Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2015), a global efforts to employ education

(lifelong, formal1 and informal learning2) toward sustainable development and sustainability have yet to yield major results in most contexts.

Formal learning is planned learning that derives from activities within a structured learning setting. Informal learning is unorganized and not formally defined learning at home, work, and throughout society. For many learners this includes speech acquisition, cultural norms and manners. Informal learning for young people may happen during out of school, as well as in youth programs and at community centers.

6 In recent years, the planet has suffered one major environmental crisis after another.

Between late 2005 and 2008 environmental catastrophes, such as the Tsunami in East Asia,

Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of the US, the earthquake in Southern China, the cyclone disaster in Myanmar (Burma), the loss of tropical forests in the Amazon further demonstrate the fragile nature of the planet as well as the need to take action. During this time period, the world's attention has been drawn to the different dimensions of environmental catastrophes and their consequences for humanity and the earth's biodiversity through communications' media, such as television, public movies, books, newspapers and the Internet.

For over two decades, while environmental problems such as, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, the extinction of species, ozone layer depletion as well as ongoing, human- induced, climate change and global-warming have continued, it has yet to receive concrete efforts within governments, the business and financial sectors. In addition, the global consequences of rising temperatures include threats to the world's most spectacular migratory animals, such as North Atlantic whales, several bird species, white-beaked dolphins and Baikal teals. Other consequences of climate change are threats to national security and prosperity as well as a disastrous effect on the world's economy, with a

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change defines climate change as: "a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods". In other words, the FCCC uses the term Climate Change to mean only those changes that are brought about by human activities.

Global warming refers to an average increase in the earth's temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate. A warmer earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns, a rise in sea level, and a wide range of impacts on plants, wildlife, and humans. When scientists talk about the issue of climate change, one of their concerns is about rapid global warming caused by human activities.

7 possibility of shrinking it by 20% each year. (Flavin & Topher, 2002b) The effect of humanity's actions on the planet is justifiably a matter of general concern. Environmentally, the world is under threat of climate change, and the potential for associated disasters is very real. In terms of land, an estimated 150-300 million hectares of cropland (10-20 percent of the world total) are now degraded. (Flavin & Topher, 2002a) In addition, according to

Flavin and Topher, (2002b) due to car-centered transportation, the world's fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions have continued to rise exponentially, further worsening the incidence of climate change.

This research coincides with several discussions and events that have taken place in

Canada and around the world, on issues related to the environment and climate and environmental sustainability. Notable among global concerted efforts aimed at drawing attention to climate change and other environmental problems are a 24-hour-long worldwide concert, Live Earth, in the summer of 2007 and 60 Earth Hour in the spring of

2008, when millions of people around the world powered down as part of a mass commitment to reversing climate change.

Global environmental efforts have found great support among Canadians who are reputed to be environmentally conscious. In line with the general trend in the world, several pro-environmental measures, such as a tax on curb pollution, the banning of "old" incandescent light bulbs and other inefficient lighting technologies, cutting down on packaging due to its impact on landfills and the introduction of a carbon tax (a tax on the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases) have been proposed or are being proposed in Canada at different levels of governance; these measures aim to help preserve the environment as well as reduce the continued threat of climate change.

8 Although global and national environmental efforts and initiatives have found great support and acceptance among all Canadians, the most substantial support for this cause originates from a highly enthusiastic army of young people across social strata. (Clover,

2001) According to Clover (2001) these youths constitute the epicentre of energy behind many environmental sustainability efforts in the country. They "convene through throughout Canada via teach-ins, workshops, research, community projects, and so on to confront and design alternatives to economic globalization, cultural homogenisation, media manipulation and corporate rule." (Clover, 2001, p. 74) This intriguing phenomenon among young Canadian in schools makes them an appropriate focus for this research study, particularly in the context of the United Nation's Decade of Education for Sustainable

Development.

1.4 Perspectives and Significance of the Study

An understanding of the manifold and complex connections between human actions and the environment suggests that unless a more powerful and shared global political agenda is established concerning minor environmental catastrophes, the larger dangers

(such as starvation, desertification, drought, genocide and global warming) will get out of hand. (Cullingford, 2006) The great challenge of our time, therefore, is to build and nurture sustainable communities, that is, communities designed so that ways of life, businesses, economies, physical structures and technologies do not interfere with nature's inherent ability to maintain and preserve life.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO)

9 there can be few more pressing and critical goals for the future of humankind than to ensure steady improvement in the quality of life for this and future generations, in a way that respects our common heritage — the planet we live on. As people we seek positive change for ourselves, our children and grandchildren; we must do it in ways that respect the right of all to do so. (UNESCO, 2004, n. p.)

According to UNESCO (2004) a sustainable society should incorporate learning as an intrinsic and continuous part of the social process of environmental protection and sustainability. Following the general agreement on the role of education and learning in fostering a sustainable future, new declarations and international partnerships for education emerged at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. The summit recommended that the United Nations General Assembly declare the years 2005-2015 as a

Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. As a result of this recommendation, the expectation is that environmental sustainability education will emerged from its marginal beginnings and evolved and claim its indispensable role in learning for sustainable future.

(John Huckle & Sterling, 1996) In its preamble to the Decade of Education Sustainable

Development, UNESCO (2002a) stated that

we must learn constantly, about ourselves, our potential, our limitations, our relationships, our society, our environment, our world. Education for sustainable development is a life-wide and lifelong endeavour, which challenges individuals, institutions and societies to view tomorrow as a day that belongs to all of us, or it will not belong to anyone, (n.p.)

10 This realization has set the tone for the perception of learning as a veritable and potent tool towards the attainment of sustainability and environmental protection. The term sustainability refers to the systemic continuity of the economic, social and environmental aspects of human society. It is a positive concept that relates to achieving well-being for people and ecosystems as well as reducing stress or negative impacts on them. According to

Fien and Rawling (1996) "sustainability implies the use of resources in a manner which

does not jeopardize the environment and the well-being of humans living on other

continents, and which does not destroy the capacity of future generations to satisfy their

needs adequately." (p. 47) By raising young peoples' awareness and sensitivity to

environmental and developmental issues, environmental sustainability education indicates the possibility of fundamental change in our collective view of the purposes and nature of

education and learning, a change that could be critical to the quality of life for future

generations. (Sterling, 2006) It has also become a strong force in shaping thought in the

area of global citizenship particularly in the development of global strategies for

environmental action to promote sustainability. (Bonnett, 2002; McNaughton, 2004)

In this context, environmental sustainability education is more of an approach than a

discipline. It has become an integrating concept, a way of thinking about how humans fit

within the biological and physical world. (Falk, 2005; Lieberman & Hoody, 1998) Issues

related to knowledge and understanding of environmental processes (environment and

sustainability, in particular) is not easily confined into the rigid, disciplinary-focused

curriculum of traditional schooling and hours. (Falk, 2005) Hence, the emphasis of

environmental sustainability education is on learning rather than teaching, instruction,

11 training or other input processes. Accordingly, the experience of learning presented in this thesis is inclusive and draws on all learning experiences between birth and death, in

addition to formal education.

As noted by World Bank (1998) promoting sustainable practices among young

adults, who comprise about 30% of the world's population, and educating them about the

impact of their consumption on the environment, sustainable communities could be

achieved. While this assumption might seem to be true, studies have shown that pro-

environmental attitude, environmental knowledge and awareness, played little or no role in

pro-environmental behaviour (cf. Chawla, 1998; Hines, Hungerford, & Tomera, 1986-87;

Kollmus & Agyeman, 2002). Since "more education does not necessarily mean increased

pro-environmental behaviour" (Kollmus & Agyeman, 2002, p. 257), emphasis should

therefore shift towards "learning for change." (Sterling, 2003, p. 3) In this regard,

environmental learning and sustainability initiatives focused on knowledge, skill building,

values, attitudes, motivation and active learning or participation, should involve learners in

interrelated ways of understanding. Such learning is essential to help young-adults build

their "personal and social capacity" (Scott & Gough, 2004, p. 3) to grapple with the

challenges and benefits of sustainability in their own lives and work. Specifically,

environmental knowledge and learning should lead to a broader adoption of sustainable

practices and a broader interest in environmental issues.

12 1.5. My Interest in the Research Topic

My involvement in environmental education began with my membership in the

Science Teachers' Association of Nigeria's National Environmental Education Project

(STAN-NEEP) 1997. Prior to this period, I had been an environmental researcher at the

Lagos State University Centre for Environment and Science Education, (LASU-CESE) with an interest in environmental degradation, poverty, and human displacement. My

interest in environmental issues is rooted in the Yoruba5 culture, spirituality and tradition.

In Yorubaland, children are taught that nature is sacrosanct and to respect it, because nature

represents God the creator. Like every other child, I was taught the care for nature and the

land from childhood and this include respect for all living creatures (plants and animals, no

matter their sizes). Environmental learning/ knowledge is passed from generation to

generation through stories and folklores, poems, idioms, and proverbs or in what

Sitthiraksa (1993) referred to as the unwritten curriculum. Most of the poem dwells on

humane and environmental ethics as well care for other creatures though it may be as tiny

as an ant. For example;

Yi ese re si apa kan

Ma sepa kokoro ni

Kokoro ti iwo ko le da

Olorun lo le daa

Ma se da 'gi I 'oro

Ma se gbon iyepe di odo

5 The Yorubas are one of the largest ethno-linguistic in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language. The Yoruba found predominantly in Nigeria, constituting approximately 48 million of the 200 million populations.

13 Gbogbo won I 'oni ise ti won

Translated literally to English from Yoruba,

Turn your feet to one side

Do not step on that insect

An insect which thou cannot create

Only God can create

Don't be wicked to plants

Do not sand-fill the rivers/water-bodies

They all have their functions/purposes.

Further environmental knowledge and awareness are built through participation in

household activities such sweeping. Sweeping and maintaining a clean surrounding is

important in Yoruba culture and tradition, since it is the belief that it only those that keeps

the land clean that the land always blesses. In retrospect, I am able to say that these

environmental teachings and learning experiences are instrumental to the shaping of my

environmental consciousness and commitment. Although, my so-called connection with

nature and concern for environment will not mean much until the 1980s when toxic waste

was dumped in Koko village in the present Edo in Nigeria. My foray as a young adult into

environmental education (EE) programmes coincided with the struggle for environmental justice in the Niger Delta by Movement for the Survival of Ogoni Peoples (MOSOP) and judicial killings of Ken Saro Wiwa and Ogoni nine in the 1990s. Simultaneously,

environmental education was emerging in Nigeria with considerable effort from the

Science Teachers Association of Nigeria National Environmental Education Network

14 (STAN-NEEP) directed at developing effective strategies for communicating and teaching environmental education in both the formal and informal educational contexts.

As a junior faculty at the Lagos State University Centre for Environment and Science education (LASU-CESE), I became involved with STAN-NEEP in the "development of environmental education materials for schools, and for promotion of general literacy on environmental issues, and training of science education teachers on how to teach environmental education in schools." (Okebukola, Ahove, Kola-Olusanya, Akpan, &

Ogunsola-Bandele, 1997, p. 81) My involvement with STAN-NEEP has helped to shape the focus of my work at the LASU-CESE and has also helped in the development of the focus I present in this proposed research study.

My interest in the subject of young adults' thoughts and actions in relation to environmental protection and sustainability grew out of my attempt to understand the intergenerational challenges and expectations of environmental protection and sustainable development. My interest and enthusiasm for the topic strengthened with the launch of the

United Nations' Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) in December

2002. "The overall goal of the DESD is to integrate the values inherent in sustainable development into all aspects of learning to encourage changes in behaviour that allow for a more sustainable and just society for all." (UNESCO, 2002a) Embedded in this goal is the assumption that educational intervention can effect changes in behaviour and lead to a more sustainable future, for present and future generations, in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability, natural resources and social justice. In a follow-up forum, organized by

UNESCO in 2003, the important and direct role of young adults in the promotion of

15 sustainable development was emphasized. As such the importance of helping young adults build their personal and social capacity so that they, as social actors, can grapple with the issues of sustainable development and relate them to their own lives and work was recognized (Scott & Gough, 2003).

Environmental learning and sustainability, in terms of providing young people with a mastery of the knowledge and skills necessary to reverse environmental degradation is critical to attaining a sustainable future. The focal points of environmental learning, according to Ahlberg (1991), are learning about environmental problems, learning about how they are caused and learning skills to solve them. Opportunities for learning about environmental sustainability issues and acquiring the skills to address them could enable young adults' to think and act more critically, systemically and skilfully and become global citizens that are locally involved but globally responsible.

Unfortunately, despite global efforts to establish an agenda for social change, and widespread concern about the state of the environment, there continues to be a gap in efforts towards abating environmental crises. The reason why this gap exist in the first place according to Kollmus and Agyeman (2002) is because environmental alone per se is not a prerequisite for pro-environmental behaviour " (p. 250) As Jensen (1993), this gap exist considering the fact that traditional knowledge about the environment as it is taught in school is not in essence action oriented. He add further that "environmental education at school has traditionally focused on passing knowledge to pupils, who have thus not been afforded the possibility of actively appropriating and internalising that knowledge/'(Jensen, 1993, p. 329) Underlying this gap is the fact that "very little is known is about learning processes, experiences of, and responses to environmental programmes"

16 (Rickinson, 2001,2006). Another reason for this gap stems from a lack of attention to the

learning, which accumulates from and engagement with the environment or environmental

ideas (Scott & Gough, 2003: p. 14).

In addition, I found that very little is known about the nature and dynamics of young adults' environmental learning experiences. I realized that more work is needed in

this area to explore all forms of environmental learning experiences, particularly in relation to young adults' commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development.

Further knowledge and understanding in this area will contribute to achieving the long-term

aims of improving the management of the environment and natural resources and

promoting satisfactory solutions to environmental problems.

As I continued to research existing literature in this area, I began to consider

inclusive learning in relation to sustainable development; that is, learning in, by and

between institutions, organizations and communities, where most learning occurs. I believe

that inclusive learning is necessary for understanding real-life environmental and

sustainability issues, such as preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems and planning

and acting to maintain these ideals indefinitely. The concept of inclusive learning can be

employed to build a clear understanding of the knowledge and skills that lead to

environmental awareness and transformative education.

The focus of this research lies in the connection among young adults, sustainable

development, the environment, and learning, that is, all learning that occurs, both in formal

17 and informal settings , regardless of whether or not it is planned or sought after. (Gough &

Scott, 2006)

1.6. Limitations of the Study

In order to provide a balanced account of this research study, it is necessary to examine some of its limitations. The methodological approach and research processes I employed in this study were the most effective methods in light of the time and resources available to me. However, a number of key limitations must be considered when looking at the findings or repeating the study.

First, the literature chapters (Chapters two and three) do not pretend to put forward an exhaustive review of nature of environmental education globally, inherent and intricate positions and critiques of education for sustainable development, sustainable development, education about sustainability. In particular, this review focused on topics such as sustainability or sustainable development and its critiques, learning, the Contextual Model of Learning, and educational practices in environmental education / environmental and sustainability education. However, the purpose of this literature review is to highlight the learning contexts in environmental and sustainability education as well as focus on young adults' environmental and sustainability learning and the contexts for their learning.

Second, it is important to note that although the literature review includes exemplars of out-of-school learning settings, such as museums and parks, the research participants included in this study were not recruited from these locations. Furthermore, this study does

Informal settings or contexts are locations (other than schools) where learning can take place.

18 not include environmental learning by young adults who are no longer in school or those in

the secondary or vocational schools. This study is limited to an examination of the

environmental and sustainability learning and action of young adults in higher education.

Third, only 18 participants participated in the research interviews. As reported by

interviewees, they were all middle class7, young adult university students in the Greater

Toronto Area. The limited number of participants and the homogeneous nature of the

research sample limit the study's external validity and generalizability. The number of

cases studied is too limited for broad generalizations.

Fourth, a significant limitation of this study is associated with the research analysis.

The Contextual Model of Learning framework I employed in analyzing the interview data

(see Chapter 4, Section 4.3.) may raise questions as to whether this is an inductive or

deductive mode of analysis. However, this framework is employed both inductively and

deductively in the analysis of the research data, moving back and forth between modes. It

should be noted that this has not affected the overall accuracy of the research analysis and

findings. Finally, the time limitations of the study made it impractical to assess how the

young adults' learning may influence their thoughts and actions over time. Longitudinal

effects are beyond the scope of this study.

7 The middle class refers to people neither at the top nor at the bottom of a social hierarchy. In many countries, it is predominantly the amount of money that determines an individual's position in die social hierarchy. In other countries, social factors may have as strong an influence. These factors include education, professional or employment status, home ownership, or culture. The middle class is made up of typically semi-professionals and craftsmen with some autonomy (lower middle class) and highly educated professionals and managers (upper middle class). In Canada, the middle class earning is between $30, 000 and $65, 000 (Stats Canada index on earning).

19 1.7. Thesis Outline

This study investigates the dynamics of young adults' learning in the context of their thoughts and actions in relation to environmental sustainability. The study is represented in eleven chapters. Following the introduction of the study in Chapter One,

Chapter Two presents existing literature on learning and illustrates the key terms employed in this study, including: the concept of learning, the contextual model of learning, knowledge, and experience and learning in open-ended and formal education settings. The chapter also presents an overview of the state of environmental learning in Ontario schools.

Delving into relevant environmental education literature, Chapter Three gives an overview of the different developments in environmental education. In particular, this chapter discusses issues such as environmental sustainability, sustainable development and education for sustainable development, learning for environmental sustainability: Making

Connections, young adult development and environmental learning, consumerism, and young adults and the environment. While the definitions and terms to follow are neither exhaustive nor conclusive, they do provide starting points for further discussion throughout the thesis.

Chapter Four outlines the research design and methodology I utilized in this study.

This study is based on a series of in-depth interviews with eighteen (18) young adults who are enrolled in three of the large Canadian universities located within the Greater Toronto

Area (GTA), Ontario. Although race was not a factor investigated in this research, the young adults in this study reflect the racial and cultural diversity of Canada. The research

20 participants are aged between 18 and 38 years old; they are located between their first undergraduate year and doctoral levels of study; and they believe that their future is intrinsically tied to the future of the earth.

Chapters Five through Nine discuss the research findings. Chapter Five provides insight into the young adults' learning experiences and their understanding of environmental and sustainability issues; since these are regarded as precursors for responsible environmental action (Dussel, 2001; Hodgkinson & Innes, 2001; Inglehart,

1971; Shetzer, Stackman, & Moore, 1991). In Chapter Six, the results of this are presented in terms of the contextual model of learning, to show the overlap between the three learning contexts: personal, sociocultural and physical. I examine the various factors that the young adults identified as contributing to their learning about environmental sustainability.

Furthermore, the issue of what makes learning for a sustainable future and/or about environmental issues and sustainability interesting to young adults is explored. I discuss the role of the socio-cultural and physical contexts of the research participants' environmental and sustainability learning; how the young adults connect with learning within these contexts, as well as the influence of these contexts on their learning processes and actions.

Chapter Seven explores how the young adults' environmental knowledge intersects with their pro-environmental actions. The young adults' narratives of learning and action demonstrate how learning and knowledge play a central role in their willingness to take action towards environmental protection and a sustainable future.

The final chapters consider issues related to the future of a sustainable planet, particularly in terms of the economic and social development required within the carrying

21 capacity of the planet to avoid negatively impacting the earth's ecosystem. Chapter Eight examines a range of potential negative practices and concerns in relation to environmental sustainability and the future of the planet. I consider challenges to environmental protection, the implications of consumerism and economic growth and decision-making as critical issues in the attainment of a sustainable future and environmental sustainability.

Finally, in Chapter Nine, I summarize the major research findings as well as the implications of this study for theory and practice.

22 CHAPTER TWO

LEARNING

2.1 Introduction

Over time and throughout the history of humankind, learning that is the process of gaining

knowledge or understanding, or the modification of a behavioural tendency has been

recognized as the product of experience and the goal of education. Learning is also an

inevitable aspect of all spheres of our lives from everyday to the highly specialized and

tightly prescribed realms (Blewitt, 2006a). Learning is key to understanding how we

generate the wealth required to enjoy a good life; how we organize society so that a quality

of life is available to all; and how we do so in a way that protects the rich but fragile natural

world (Chambers, 2004). Learning shapes our understanding of how to manage the

increasingly complex economic and ecological risks, the uncertainties and complexities that

have become a part of our existence on earth. Research suggests that students' approaches

to learning and hence learning outcomes are closely related to their conceptions of learning

(Boulton-Lewis, Marton, Lewis, & Wilss, 2000). This understanding is essential to our

ability to care for ourselves, our communities and the larger world, in the present and future

generations.

In this chapter, I present a conceptual framework for the analysis of young adults'

learning in the context of environmental sustainability.

23 2.2 Conceptualizing Learning There is no single or right way to learn, no single place or even moment in which we learn. Learning occurs continuously, from many different sources and in many different

ways (Anderson, 1999; Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999; Falk & Dierking, 2002b;

Medrich, 1991). According to Sauve and Berryman (2003), learning is essentially an

idiosyncratic process grounded in a specific "pedagosystenV; it is ideologically and

culturally constructed, and its complexity recalls that of an ecosystem.

According to Hergenhahn and Olson (2001), learning is one of the most important

topics in the present day, especially in light of the current shift from industrial-based to

knowledge-based economies in the developed world. Colwell (2003) stresses the

importance learning in a knowledge society:

Learning is humanity's quintessential contribution to the great unfolding story of life's evolution on earth.... We have the knowledge, the tools in hand, if not today then soon, in the future, to help us along the way. But our journey will falter, if we do not seriously take up the challenge.. .to teach a new generation of citizens to understand interdependent life on earth — to recognize the evolutionary process through which we arrived on the scene, to preserve the ecological balances that sustains us, and to see the vulnerability of the planet and our co-inhabitants on it as our vulnerability. (n.p.)

Learning, according to Falk and Dierking (2002b), is broadly defined "not only as

something children and young people do when they are in school, it is more and more what

all people, children and adults, do everyday of their lives" (p. 6). Hartley (1998) argues that

24 learning results from inferences, expectations and making connections. Learning involves a

great many processes. Perception is strongly influenced by prior experience for example, what we see we know; what we know, we recognize. Learning is influenced by motivation

and attitudes, by prior experience, by culture and background, by design and presentation

and by physical setting (Evans, 1995).

Furthermore, learning is a uniquely personal, contextual experience; it is

constructed from both internal (head and body) and external (physical world and

sociocultural contacts) experiences. According to Bernard and Armstrong (1998), learning

is a process by which people make sense of their social and physical environments in

progressively more intricate ways; it is a process through which people derive meaning,

develop guiding principles and become better able to predict the consequences of their own

and others' actions. Learning is both an individual and a social activity. Its realization is

largely a function of one's experience over time; it is motivated and influenced by one's

sociocultural and physical environment (Bernard & Armstrong, 1998; Falk & Dierking,

2002b).

Illeris (2002) describes learning as made up of three fundamental dimensions,

namely, first,

a cognitive process that is, an acquisitive process comprising both intellectual and behavioural learning; second, an emotional or psychodynamic process involving psychological energy, feelings, emotions, attitudes and motivations; third, a social process learning can only really take place as an interaction between an individual in his/her surroundings,

25 that is, the historical, societal and, one might add, environmental conditions of existence (Illeris, 2002).

Evolving from earlier cognitive theory, learning has also been explained in terms of conceptual change (Brody, 2005; Nyberg & Sto, 2001); learners' relevant prior concepts can help form a type of cognitive anchor for newly acquired information. This view is considered to be a fundamental reality of learning; it is a complex system of fusion among diverse perceptions into an integrated reality (Brody, 2005).

Learning is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon, making it difficult for researchers to agree on a common definition. However, most would agree that learning involves some kind of change. As Handy (1989, p. 4) notes, "change is intimately associated with learning: change after all is only another...synonym for learning." In this thesis, I follow Boocock (1966), Brody (2005), Dewey (1938), Falk and Dierking (1995;

2002a; 2002b; 2001), among others, and conceptualize "learning" as a measurable change, resulting from prior experience and involving the acquisition of a new body of information

(i.e., cognitive learning); or a shift or change in values, attitudes, interests or motivation

(i.e., non-cognitive learning).

Learning, I maintain, occurs over time and involves three overlapping contexts: the personal, the sociocultural and the physical. The learner is changed in some way as a result of the learning experience and based on the interaction of these three contexts. In addition, the process of learning involves seven major related factors: prior knowledge and experience; subsequent, reinforcing experiences; motivation and attitudes; culture and

26 background; social mediation; design and presentation; and the physical setting (Falk &

Dierking, 1995).

In this thesis the concept of learning is expanded to include those learning

experiences that transcend formal learning settings (schools, colleges and universities), such

as learning that takes place throughout society, in community groups, in front of the

television, in the workplace, at the supermarket or through the Internet. Research evidence

shows that out-of-school and open-ended (informal) learning environments play a vital role

in the development of competence in language, reading, mathematics and a variety of other

school-related domains (Lave, 1988; Morrison, Smith, & Dow-Ehrensberger, 1995;

Stevenson etal., 1990).

These studies lend tremendous support to the important role non-school sources

also play in sustaining learning in general (Falk & Dierking, 2002b). Learning in open-

ended environments, however, also requires that the learner make explicit choices about

what to learn at the outset as well as throughout the learning encounter. There is a small

body of literature that explores how learners formulate or find a problem in such contexts

(see for example, Arlin, 1990; Dillon, 1982; Getzels & Csikszentmihalyi, 1976).

Within this broad conception of learning, this thesis focuses on learning in the

context of sustainability/sustainable development and environmental protection, as it occurs

within and outside of schools. This type of learning known as learning for sustainability

could be major factor in attaining a sustainable world. As Sterling (2003) notes,

society has broadly learnt, albeit falteringly, that environmental problems are not self contained, but are a critical and integral part of the sustainability issue, which is concerned with the well being and longevity of interlocking

27 human and natural systems, at a time when both appear increasingly vulnerable, (p. 69)

According to Sterling (2003, p. 19) if we are to "accelerate the transition to a sustainable future"", it will require further and deeper learning shifts that either reinforce the existing world view, or precipitate the "movement of mind." (Senge, 1990, p. 13)

Learning has been consistently seen as a key component of innovation and development as well as a prime vector of social change in relation to environmental protection, sustainability or sustainable development (Scott & Gough, 2004). Applied to social change, it is useful to make a distinction between intentioned learning, or "learning by design" on the one hand and reactive learning or "learning by default" on the other.

According to Sterling (2007), learning by default (a reactive form of learning) occurs when learning takes place either unconsciously or by surprise, shock or crisis. Conversely,

"learning by design implies a prior awareness, a willingness and intention to learn in response to a perceived innovation threat or opportunity" (Sterling, 2007, p.73).

The participants' learning processes and experiences in terms of learning about environmental sustainability issues are examined in relation to these two levels in the following section. It has also continued to feature prominently as an effective means of encouraging awareness of environmental protection and sustainability/sustainable development, (see for example, Ahlberg, 1998; Ballantyne & Packer, 2005; Bonnett, 2002;

Foster, 2002; Scott & Gough, 2003; Scott & Gough, 2004)

28 2.3 The Contextual Model of Learning

The contextual model of learning is widely accepted as a theoretical construct for understanding and investigating learning. (Ballantyne & Packer, 2005; Falk & Dierking,

2000) This model conceptualizes learning as being constructed over time; it is the process and product of interactions among three overlapping contexts that is, the personal, the

socio-cultural and the physical. (Falk & Dierking, 2000; Pedretti, 2002) These contexts

cumulatively influence the interactions and experiences that people have when engaging in

informal learning activities, such as visiting museums or zoos. (See Figure 2.1)

* >^ •

••c IOC u £ a re f

Figure 2.1: The Contextual Model of Learning. (Source: Falk and Dierking, 2000)

29 The Contextual Model of Learning contends that learners have a range of prior experiences and motivations for learning that influence the way they experience the learning environment, and that learning is a cumulative process, drawing on a wide variety of

sources over long periods of time. (Ballantyne & Packer, 2005) The model portrays this contextually driven dialogue as the process/product of the interactions between an individual's (hypothetical)personal, sociocultural, andphysical contexts over time. None

of these three contexts are ever stable or constant; all are changing across the lifetime of the

individual. The model is more descriptive than predictive, and according to Falk and

Dierking (2000) the contextual model successfully accommodates much, if not most, of

what is currently known about learning and motivation. As Falk & Storksdieck (2005, p.

745) pointed out,

the contextual model of learning is not a model in its truest sense; it does

not purport to make predictions other than that learning is always a complex

phenomenon situated within a series of contexts. More appropriately, the

"model" can be thought of as a framework.

To them, the view of learning embodied in this framework is that learning can be

conceptualized as a contextually driven effort to make meaning in order to survive and

prosper within the world; an effort that is best viewed as a continuous, never-ending

dialogue between the individual and his or her physical and sociocultural environment

(Falk & Storksdieck, 2005). The key feature of this framework is the emphasis on context;

a framework for thinking about learning that has also been emphasized by others (see for

example, Ceci, 1996; Ceci & Bronfenbrenner, 1985; Sternberg & Wagner, 1996)

30 The contextual model of learning is consistent with recent constructivist (Hein,

1996; Hein & Alexander, 1998) and sociocultural (Schauble, Leinhardt, & Martin, 1997) theories of learning that view learning as an active process of meaning-making that emerges

as individuals interact with phenomena and cultural knowledge in a social context (Bruner,

1960). A number of theoretical and pedagogical perspectives are helpful in explaining the

Contextual Model of Learning. Such theories include Bandura's (1977) theory of social

learning; Vygotsky's (1962,1978) social development theory; Lave's (1988) theory of

situated learning; Bruner's (1960,1973) constructivist theory; and Csikszentmihalyi's

(1990) theory of optimal experience.

The personal context describes the characteristics that a person brings to a learning

situation, including his or her interests and motivations, learning style preferences, prior

knowledge and experience—critical components of successful experiences and learning.

According to Bruner's (1960) constructivist theory, learning is an active process in which

learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current or past knowledge

Learners select and transform information, construct hypotheses and make decisions,

relying on cognitive structures to do so. Cognitive structures, that is, schemas or mental

models, provide meaning and organization to experiences and allow the individual to go

beyond the information provided (Bruner, 1973).

Research about learning suggests that interest and motivation are important

variables that greatly influence later learning, directly affecting what people do and what

they learn from objects and experiences. For this reason, learning is always considered

31 highly personal. Csikszentmihalyi and Hermanson's (1995) work on flow and intrinsic motivation serves to explain this point. As Pedretti (2002) explains a flow experience occurs when a visitor is totally immersed in the experience, and time and place boundaries disappear.

The sociocultural context recognizes that learning is both an individual and a group experience. What an individual experiences and learns as well as why and how he or she engages in such experiences, are inextricably bound to the social, cultural and historical context in which the experience and learning occur. Furthermore, more often than not, learning experiences are shared experiences and provide opportunities for collaborative learning. Bandura's (1977) social learning theory helps to explain human behaviours in terms of continuous reciprocal interactions among cognitive, behavioural and environmental influences within learning settings. According to Bandura,

Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them on what to do. Fortunately, most human behaviour is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action. (Bandura, 1977, p. 22)

This accounts for the fact that universally, people respond well to information and remember more when it is recounted in a story or narrative form, an ancient sociocultural vehicle for sharing information. (Dei, 1993)

According to the Institute for Learning Innovations Network (ILINET) (2002) learning does not occur in isolation; it is situated within a. physical context. The social

32 mediation of learning theory emphasizes its situatedness within a context and that involves an open process of interaction with the environment. According to Lave (1988),

"learning as it normally occurs is a function of the activity, context and culture in which it occurs (that is, it is situated)." [n.p.] The nature of the situation significantly impacts the process.

Learners inevitably participate in communities of practitioners and... the mastery of knowledge and skill requires newcomers to move toward full participation in the sociocultural practices of a community. "Legitimate peripheral participation" provides a way to speak about the relations between newcomers and old-timers and about activities, identities, artefacts, and communities of knowledge and practice. A person's intentions to learn are engaged and the meaning of learning is configured through the process of becoming a full participant in a sociocultural practice. This social process, includes, indeed it subsumes, the learning of knowledgeable skills. (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 29)

Situated learning theory, like Deweyian theory, maintains that all learning occurs within experiential transactions and coordination between personal agency and environmental structures. Situated learning theory, like Vygotsky's social development theory, also emphasizes the social construction of knowledge. Falk and Dierking (1998) observe that the differences between formal and informal education sectors are partially in the settings, but equally, if not more importantly, the underlying motivation of the learner, as well as the socially constructed dialogue that takes place between the learner and his or her sociocultural and physical environment. This observation builds on Dewey's (1916,

1938) and Vygotsky's (1978) notions of the significance of the social milieu in individual

33 learning. According to Falk and Dierking (2000) the "most fundamental aspects of learning, including perceptions, processing and meaning making, are socioculturally constructed." (p.

43)

2.4 Knowledge, Experience and Learning Style in Open-Ended (Informal) Settings

A major characteristic of learning within informal/open-ended settings is that it is intrinsically motivated; learning is undertaken for its own sake, even in the absence of external award or reward. Falk and Dierking (2002b) content that people are intrinsically motivated to learn when they are freely learning for the pure joy and inherent benefits of doing so. At the same time, it is worthwhile to note that

not all intrinsically motivated activities involve learning, but surprisingly high percentages of them do. When learning occurs for intrinsic reasons, it has been shown time and again to be highly effective. Students in schools whom are intrinsically motivated tend to have higher achievement scores, tend to more successfully make the most of their abilities. Intrinsic enjoyment of learning also appears to be associated with higher creativity. (Falk & Dierking, 2002b, p. 39)

Major themes in theories regarding informal learning are curiosity or intrinsically motivated learning, multiple models of learning, exploration during the learning process and the existence of self-developed worldviews, models and prior knowledge. (Brody,

2005, p. 1122) According to Csikszentmihalyi (1987), the way people learn in informal settings consists of two components: prior knowledge and opportunity. Furthermore,

Bresler (1991) states that informal learning provides socially interactive settings for

34 learning through experience. Carr (1999) emphasizes the link between prior knowledge and connecting new information with our everyday lives.

In general, the capacity to learn is dependent upon prior knowledge and experience as well as upon interest, motivation and expectations. According to constructivist theorists, learning within open-ended, informal settings is dependent on the individual's own effort to make sense of an experience, while adapting the educational event to fit his or her past understanding. (Ballantyne & Packer, 1996; Robertson, 1994; Von-Glaserfeld, 1995)

Informal learning is further influenced by the social structures and cultural assumptions a person lives within. (Fay, 1986; Goodson, 1990) Bannister and Fransella (1980) describe the tension between the personal and social construction of knowledge: "living in a similar

culture, we come to share constructs with others of our group, although the implications of

these constructs may not be identical." (p. 105-106) The individual often leaves these social

constructions unexamined. (Haluza-Delay, 2001) Berger and Luckmann (1966) call this

phenomenon ,taken-for-granted-knowledge\ Such constructions form the basis for much of

the learner's prior experience. Peled (1989), in Haluza-Delay, (2001) explains the

importance of understanding the constructions people use to order their understanding:

our experience of places and our intentions and actions towards them are determined by the way we construe them, by the way we perceive the entities that populate them: people, objects, hills, fields, space.... Thus, one's readiness to preserve the existing ecology of a wooded hill will be shaped by whether he or she construes it as a holiday resort, a reserve, picturesque landscape or as raw material, (p. 19)

35 In addition to social and cultural factors, the American National Research Council

(NRC) (1999) includes the concept of "subject uniqueness" as influencing prior knowledge and supporting effective learning within informal learning settings. Falk and Dierking

(1998) explain that the vast majority of learning occurs within informal educational settings and involves learning that is primarily driven by the unique needs and interests of the learner. Informal learning depends upon the learner's ability to experience the world, but more importantly, his or her ability to maximize the quality of the learning environment, in

other words, the more appropriate the setting for what is being learned, the more

meaningful the learning results are. Pedretti and Hodson (1995) stress the importance of the personalization of learning as a means of ensuring that "learning is rooted in the

personal experiences of individual learners." (p. 465) According to Resnick (1987),

informal educational activities commonly involve intellectual or physical tasks of a group

that allow for learning to have greater meaning.

2.5. Learning in Formal Educational Settings

Formal learning is recognized as one of the processes through which human beings

and societies can reach their fullest potential. Formal learning is the process of making

learning more conscious in order to enhance it. (Rogers, 2003) A "consciousness of

learning" implies that people are aware that the task they are engaged in entails learning.

Formal learning is characterized by guided episodes of learning that occur, for the most

part, within schools (Smith, 1999) and through other formalized programs where a

knowledge authority selects strategies and tools for instruction. (Austin & Pinkard, 2008) It

is "educative learning" rather than the accumulation of experience and the responsibility for

36 learning is shared among educators and learners. It is intentional learning from the learner"

s perspective.

The Association Europeenne des Conservatoires (AEC) (2004) defines formal

learning as learning that is typically provided by educational or training institutions. It is

structured in terms of learning objectives, duration, content, method, and assessment and

leads to certification. Coombs (1973, p. 11) offers a more precise definition of formal

learning as "the hierarchically structured, chronologically graded educational system,

running from primary school through the university and including, in addition to general

academic studies, a variety of specialized programs and institutions for full time technical

and professional training."

According to Omerzel and Sirca (2007) and Kodelja (2005), learning8 and formal

education have become an imperative. Formal learning enables individuals to submit

themselves to the economic logic and has become the condition for their employability in

capitalist societies; whereas the responsibility for learning and education are in the hands of

individuals. Formal learning as occurs in schools involves:

various activities in which we are somewhat more conscious of learning ...using material common to all the learners without paying any regard to their individual preferences, agendas or needs. More formalized and generalized (and consequently less contextualized) forms of learning are the distance and open education programs, where some elements of acquisition learning are often built into the designed learning program. (Smith, 1999)

8 Formal learning and education are used in this section to reflect the same meaning.

37 Supporting the common educational orientation and obvious potential of learning relationships that school-based education offers, Gardner (1991, p. 202) noted that formal school learning "offers the potential to engage students, to teach them, to stimulate their understanding, and most important, to help them assume responsibility for their own future learning."

Learning within formal educational settings (i.e., schools and classrooms) encompasses the acquisition processes of knowledge and competences. Cambourne

(1988) argues that necessary requisites for learning and formal education are a series of conditions that utilize immersion, demonstration, engagement, expectations, responsibility, approximation, use, and response . Referring to school-based learning

Cambourne (1988) further stresses that it is these conditions that make whatever a learner is trying to learn worthwhile, valuable, relevant, functional, and useful.

Learning in schools is differentiated from other types of learning in terms of its potency, and system of learning. (Cohen, 1971; Scribner & Cole, 1973) Learner intentionality and learning structures based on the educational program design and delivery differentiate formal learning from informal learning. (Austin & Pinkard, (2008)

School learning, according to Scribner and Cole (1973 ), enhances the role of language in learning in three ways language is used in school learning as an explicit means of information exchange; school learning restricts the amount of information exchanged or imparted; school learning proceeds from verbal to formulation to empirical evidence or referents, that is, learning ideally starts with verbal description and is eventually connected with the empirical referents from which it has been abstracted. Furthermore, school learning

"encourages a scientific approach to learning, it is decontextualized and results in

38 acquisition of a new functional learning system or learning to learn. (Scribner & Cole,

(1973 ) Ogbu (1995) argues that it is through, learning to learn that learners acquire generalized rules or the ability to generalize and to apply knowledge across a wide range of tasks and contents.

2.6. Summary

The view of learning presented in this chapter is inclusive of all types of learning experiences that occur across different learning contexts. The continuous and almost seamless nature of the learning process is particularly important for motivating young people's interest in environmental issues and sustainability. By illuminating the relationship among young people, learning and contexts for learning, it is thus clear that learning can and does play a role in the pursuit of a sustainable future.

39 CHAPTER THREE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

3.1. Introduction

As Chambers (2004) notes, the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 in Johannesburg, demonstrated the overwhelming need for learning in relation to sustainable development. In the Decade of Education of Sustainable Development (2005-

2015), understanding learning in the context of sustainability is an imperative. It is with this need in mind that this thesis explores the environmental sustainability learning experiences and actions of young adults enrolled in tertiary institutions in Southern Ontario.

Learning about sustainability occurs throughout society; it takes place not only in formal educational institutions, but also in informal learning contexts, such as the home, museums, community groups, family and friends, and through the media.

3.2. The field of environmental education

The literature on environmental education suggests evolution from the significant influence of some of the 'great' eighteenth and nineteenth century thinkers, writers and educators, notably Goethe, Rousseau, Humboldt, Haeckel, Froebel, Dewey, and

Montessori. (Palmer, 1998) Environmental education is defined as the,

process of recognising values and clarifying concepts in order to develop

skills and attitudes necessary to understand and appreciate the inter-

40 relatedness among man, his culture, and his biophysical surroundings.

Environmental education also entails practice in decision-making and self

formulation of a code of behaviour about issues concerning environmental

quality. (International Union for Conservation of Nature, 1970)

Palmer (1998) and Stevenson (1993) traced the evolution of environmental education from nature study to the current rhetoric that emerged from the Belgrade (1975) and Tbilisi

(1977) international conferences. According to UNESCO (1977) the Tbilisi

Intergovernmental conference recommended five categories of objectives, or general goals,

for EE, which are; to foster clear awareness and sensitivity to the environment, knowledge

of the environment and its associated problems, the motivation for active participation in

environmental improvement and protection, skills for solving environmental problems, and

participation in working towards resolution of environmental problems. (Palmer, 1998;

Stevenson, 1993)

Building on the achievements of the previous conferences, the 1992 United Nations

organized Conference on Environment and Development otherwise known as 'Earth

Summit' held in Rio, Brazil; accorded environmental education a stronger role of educating

the citizens of world towards living sustainably. The centrepiece of Rio agreements is

Agenda 21, a major programme setting out what nations should do to achieve sustainable

development in this century. (Palmer, 1998) Specifically, chapter 36 of Agenda 21

recognise the central role of education in shaping value orientations and social action, this

document describe environmental education as socially, transformative, continuous

learning process based on respect for all life. (Lotz-Sisitka, 2002; Palmer, 1998)

Constructively, Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Environment and

41 Development (UNCED) laid the groundwork for moving environmental education into the

21st Century.

Environmental education, with its associated notions of environmental/ecological

sustainability, represents a serious challenge to the field of education whose dominant

discourses are complicit in accelerating the degradation of the natural environment. (Hart,

2004b) According to Palmer (1998), it is a field characterised by paradox; whilst few would

doubt the urgency and importance of learning to live in sustainable ways, environmental

education holds nowhere near a priority position in formal school curriculum around the

world. Yet environmental education (EE) has been assigned the role of preparing

individuals to be responsive to a rapidly changing technological and industrial world. Also

to play an effective role in the maintenance, protection of the environment as well as to

bridge the personal, local and national to a global education, linking the actions of today

with the consequences of tomorrow. (Ramsey, Hungerford, & Volk, 1992)

In recognition of this important role, Hungerford, Peyton, and Wilke (1980)

proposed a four-level goals for curriculum development in environmental education. Level

I focus on building ecological foundations in areas such as interaction and interdependence,

energy flow and material cycling, and ecosystem succession. Curricula for Level II will

help students understand how humans perceive and value the environment. Level III, the

investigative and evaluative curricula, develops students' to investigate environmental

problems. Finally Level IV teaches students skills needed to take necessary environmental

action. (Hungerford et al., 1980) As pointed out by others, these four-level goals helped in

shaping the direction of environmental education and the promotion the long-term aims of

improving management of the environment and promoting satisfactory solutions to

42 environmental issues. (Morrone, Mancl, & Carr, 2001) Because of this, the scope of environmental education has no doubt expanded with increasing emphasis on the role of education in responding to wide-ranging; complex environmental issues and risks. (Clark &

Harrison, 1999) In addition to this, a great deal of time and energy has gone into creating fields of research and curriculum development that communicate important ecological principles and skills. (Bondar et al., 2007; Hart, 1998b) As a result, the environmental

education movement across the world has become important, and environmental education has emerged in response to concern for the quality of the environment at the local and

global levels (Klein & Merrit, 1994).

Within the formal school sector, World Conference on Environment and

Development (WCED) recommended that environmental education should run through

other disciplines of the formal education curriculum to foster a sense of responsibility for

the state of the environment and to teach students how to monitor and protect and improve

it. (WCED, 1987) The belief is that increasing the environmental studies content in the

curriculum can lead to an improved understanding of environmental problems and new

form of environmental management. (Huckle, 1983, p. 104) According to Pande (2001) the

infusion approach is based on the belief that environmental concerns affect every aspect of

life; thus, each school subject must have an environmental orientation, and base on the

recommendations of the 1977 Tbilisi conference about EE (and guided by international

action in this field since), creators of the national school curriculum have adopted this

approach.

43 Simply stated, infusion refers to the integration of content and skills into existing courses in a manner as to focus on that content (and /or skills) without jeopardising the integrity of the courses themselves. (Ramsey et al., 1992) To Gaff (1989) an integrated

curriculum helps the students understand a complex, inter-related world. Tyler (1949)

considers integration as the horizontal relationship of curriculum experiences and as a

"must" to help students gain a unified view of their learning. In the case of environmental

education, the educator carefully analyses the existing courses for areas where

environmental content and associated skills could be incorporated. (Tyler, 1949)

In other words "subject integration implies that environmental education is a

derived area of study, that it relies on knowledge of existing disciplines for its information

base." (Wingston, 1977, p. 24) Research findings on environmental content and issue

revealed that environmental content and skill can often be integrated into existing course

without interfering with the contents and skills desired by the involved educators, (see

Lieberman & Hoody, 1998; Ramsey et al., 1992) Some insights into successful integration

of environmental issues using interdisciplinary approaches can be found in science, science

education, language arts, and social studies curricula. The chief shortcoming of the infusion

approach however, is that although it encourages awareness of environmental problems, it

does not focus adequately on the student's immediate habitat and does not present the

spectrum of a habitat's problem in a holistic manner; thus students are unlikely to be

motivated to solve such problem. (Pande, 2001)

44 3.3. Environmental Education in Canada

Development of environmental education in Canada can be traced to the 1960s when environmental issues gained public attention. Since then, educators from diverse

fields such as nature study, natural history, conservation education and outdoor education have worked to construct the emerging area of environmental education. (Hart, 1998a)

Over the course of the last twenty years, environmental education has witnessed remarkable

growth and development in Canada.

As observed by Paul Hart a frontline Canadian environmental educator such

growth and development is partly due "... official government activity within Canada

which has served to legitimize and reinforce a large a number of environmental-related

activities that are occurring daily within Canadian school classrooms. (Hart, 1996, p. 58)

As such it is unusual that "environmental education, in each province and territory has

tended to reflect the geographic, political and cultural features as well as the influence of

long-standing provincial environmental education organizations. (Hart, 1998b, p. 174) As

part of the growth of environmental education in 90s, came the birth of the Canadian

Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM) in 1993, and the

founding of the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education (CJEE) in 1996 to

strengthen the discourse and practice within the field of environmental education

throughout Canada as well as the exploration of environmental education in a more co

ordinated fashion. (Hart, 1990, 1998b; Russell, Bell, & Fawcett, 2000)

While environmental education is not a school subject such as science or social

studies, it has evolved through the 80s to become everyone's concern, especially

considering that school based environmental education in Canada is less than thirty years

45 old. (Hart, 1998b; Russell et al., 2000) As observed by Russell and Burton (2000, p. 287) if it occurs at all, is offered as an isolated elective course (often in science or geography) or as an extracurricular activity, and its existence in a school is frequently due to the efforts of one or two committed teachers (Russell et al., 2000), who are personally convinced that environmental education is crucial to basic public education. (Hart, 1990)

In order to prevent any eventual loss of interest or program withering, when a motivated teacher changes school, teacher education or training is essential for promoting the growth and development of school-based environmental education, (see Beckford, 2008;

Lin, 2002; Russell et al, 2000) Beckford (2008) noted that the problem is not limited to the primary and secondary levels of education. According to him the same appears to be true in faculties of education where pre-service teachers are prepared. (Beckford, 2008)

Corroborating Beckford (2008), Russell et al. (2000) and Lin (2002), blamed the discipline-centred culture of the faculties of education as a constraint to interdisciplinary, critical, problem solving focus of EE.

As noted by Beckford (2008) teachers are important change agents in the society, they play important role in the improving human capacity in environmental awareness, protection and problem-solving. To do live up to the expectation of their roles, teachers require the knowledge, skills, and commitment to environmentalize their curriculum and produce environmentally educated students. (Beckford, 2008; Fien & Rawling, 1996;

Smith-Sebasto & Smith, 1997; Tilbury, 1997) According to Tilbury (1992) pre-service education appears as the most effective vehicle for achieving an acceptable level of EE among the larger population. However, till date teacher education programs have failed to produce more environmental education teachers for many reasons for example; there

46 are a few numbers of Canadian universities offering EE courses at pre-service levels, dearth of environmental education faculty with degree in the area, lack of awareness, commitment, and interest of faculty members in EE programming and so on. (Beckford,

2008; Lin, 2002; Russell et al., 2000) Consequently, the need for teacher preparation in

EE becomes more urgent in the context of the lack of EE expertise and the generally narrow focus of EE teaching. (Beckford, 2008)

Paul Hart once asked where is environmental education in Canada today? (Hart,

1998a) The answer to this question can be found in the Emily Lin's nationwide study on

EE in Canada. In her study, the result shows

over 65% of the teacher training institutions surveyed do not offer either environmental education courses and/or specialization programs for environmental education. This indicates that the provision of environmental education within teacher preparation programs has remained relatively unchanged for nearly two decades, despite the increasing commitment to teacher preparation in environmental education at important international conferences. (Lin, 2002, p. 211) Responding further Emily Lin wrote "generally environmental education in Canada has not progressed greatly in the last two decades." (p. 211) The field appears to be bogged down with the same problems, such as the low priority of EE in Canadian institutions; EE has remained on the fringe and prosperity of significant program implementation appears dim while the number of Canadian teaching institution offering EE courses and programs has remained low for nearly two decades. Other observable surface-level discrepancies between theory and practice betray deeper, more fundamental pedagogical contradictions between environmental education and schooling (Hart, 2004a) are as follows:

47 • Whereas a function of knowledge in environmental education is immediate

use for the social value of sustainable and emancipated quality of life, the

major function of school knowledge is storage for future use and the

enhancement of individual status and economic well-being.

• While an environmental education curriculum should be interdisciplinary

and focus on real practical problems, school curricula, especially in science,

are disciplined-based and emphasized abstract theoretical problems.

(Stevenson, 1987, p. 75-76)

3.4. The State of Environmental Education in Ontario Schools: An Overview

Historically, environmental education (EE) in Ontario schools, as in other Canadian jurisdictions, has been reflected in the Ontario curriculum and supported by innovative

outdoor educational programs and partnerships developed by school boards and school

across the province. (Bondar et al., 2007; Hart, 1998b) However, in 2000 the Ontario

Ministry of Education removed Environmental Science from the secondary school

curriculum as single-focus, stand-alone courses. (Puk & Behm, 2002, 2003) Following the

removal of Environmental Science as a single-focus subject, the Ontario Ministry of

Education decided that environmental concepts were to be "infused" or integrated into other

science and geography courses. As noted by Puk and Behm (2003) this implied that the

new system would be superior to the old one where environmental science was offered as

single-focus elective courses in grade 10 and 12.

While environmental education is reflected in elements of Ontario's elementary and

secondary school curricula, few topics directly focus on environmental education, and

48 content tends to be fragmented and inconsistent. (Bondar et al., 2007) Currently, the

Ontario curriculum does not articulate a sequence of environmental expectations, nor does it adequately address the need for environmental education across the curriculum, (see for instance, Working Group on Environmental Education Report, 2007) Just like in other provinces, it is unusual to find environmental education infused into all secondary subject.

(Russell & Burton, 2000)

Research into the practice and progress of Ontario's "infusion model" shows that

secondary school teachers in the geography and science disciplines allocate very little time to teaching environmental/ecological concepts within their subject areas, (cf: Puk & Behm,

2002) Evidence of the failure of the infusion model can be found in a study by Behm and

Puk (2002; 2003) which reported the failure of the Ministry-intended "infusion model" of

environmental science and environmental studies. As reported in the study, the failure of

the infusion model is due to too little instructional time afforded to teaching and learning of

environmental concepts in the other courses. The main reason for this is because teachers

must teach what is in the guidelines, and there is a limited and ineffective emphasis on

learning about environmental science topics or promoting ecological literacy in the current

curriculum guidelines. (Behm & Puk, 2002) These findings point to the failure of the

"infusion model" in environmental/ecological education. (Puk & Behm, 2002) As Knapp

(2000, p. 3) suggests, infusion has been a "delusion of substantial proportions."

Environmental education in Ontario today, compared to 20-30 years ago, lacks a

system-wide framework or strategy. There is a general attitude of indifference on the part of

the provincial government as well as a lack of funding for the development of

environmental education programs. In addition, many teachers currently lack the

49 knowledge, skills, and background to teach EE effectively due to the relatively low visibility of EE within the curriculum and the absence of EE subject focus in the teacher education programs. According Beckford (2008, p. 56) "the dearth of teacher education programs in EE results in a teaching force that lacks the necessary competencies to effectively address the aims and goals of EE."

Today only a limited number of teacher education institutions in Ontario offer EE courses for prospective teachers and these programs for new teachers have a small reach.

(Working Group on Environmental Education, 2007; Lin, 2002) The result is an apparent

lack of understanding amongst teachers of the interconnectedness of environmental

issues, society, economy, politics, and the implications for EE arise. To this, Lin (2002)

and Beckford, (2008) warned that if the current approaches to EE remains, it will be

difficult to achieve a minimal improvement in environmental literacy. In their study of the

"Ontario Secondary School Integrated Environmental Studies Program" Russell and

Burton (2000) highlighted one striking limitation of the Ontario teacher education programs

as being heavily based in sciences or geography and less focused on the arts. They argued

further that because "most of these programs are not team-taught so are limited by the

individual teacher's expertise and comfort level with various subjects." (Russell & Burton,

2000, p. 299)

At same time, despite current obstacles, some teachers and learners have formed

strong working relationships with a range of community agencies and groups (Robottom,

1998) such as the Ontario Environmental Network; Ontario Wildlife Rehabilitation &

Education Network (OWREN); Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA); Learning for a

Sustainable Future-Ontario (LSFO to promote environmental learning beyond the school

50 curriculum. According to Beckford (2008) in Ontario schools, a growing number of environmental programs are being initiated, under the Ontario Eco Schools program. This program seeks to build on previous green programs in elementary and secondary schools

and by matching environmental concepts with school operations. (Beckford, 2008) The

danger with these programs, is that there is a lack of environmental education expertise,

which mean that same narrow focus of EE programs and teaching is perpetuated."

(Beckford, 2008, p. 59)

Recently, however, the Government of Ontario has made efforts that suggest a

change in its commitment to improving EE in Ontario schools, as documented in the

Bondar's Working Group on Environmental Education Report (2007) "Shaping Our

Schools, Shaping Our Future: Environmental Education in Ontario Schools":

Ontario's education system will prepare students with the knowledge, skills, perspectives, and practices they need to be environmentally responsible citizens. Students will understand our fundamental connections to each other and to the world around us through our relationship to food, water, energy, air, and land and our interaction with all living things. The education system will provide opportunities within the classroom and the community for students to engage in actions that deepen this understanding. (Report of the Working Group on Environmental Education, 2007, p. 4) The above statement indicates the provincial government's recognition of the importance

and relevance of EE in schools. Whether the report will herald a new beginning for

environmental education in Ontario schools is yet to be seen.

In the area of teaching and teacher education, the report noted if environmental education in

Ontario is to succeed; it must without question be introduced as a requisite part of teacher

51 training. The report suggested further that "faculties of Education should make

environmental education teachable subject, providing all teacher education students with

training in environmental education, including the science behind environmental issues

Working Group on Environmental Education Report." (Working Group on Environmental

Education Report 2007, p. 15) In addition, the report also suggested the need for in-service

professional learning experiences and training for teachers and others working in education

as well recommends an Additional Qualifications course in EE in Ontario. Finally, the

report recommends an integrated approach to environmental education in Ontario, in which

case, environmental education would be highly visible within, and reflected across the

Ontario curriculum. (Bondar et al., 2007, p. 13) In order to maintain the integrity of such an

approach, the recommended that the scope and sequence of topics directly related

environmental education be mapped across the curriculum and reviewed and updated as

revisions occurs.

3.5. Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable Development and Education for

Sustainable Development

This section offers a theoretical overview of environmental sustainability

(sustainable development9) and education for sustainable development (ESD) or education

for sustainability (EFS) as a tool for social change. An understanding of environmental

sustainability requires its consideration in relation to global environmental management.

9 The terms "environmental sustainability" or "sustainability" are derived from the notion of "sustainable development" and are used interchangeably in debates surrounding the environment and its development.

52 The complex and manifold connections of the global environmental crises that characterize our world today have resulted in human apprehension, worries and fear.

There is a general recognition that the profligate, extravagant and inequitable nature of current patterns of development, when projected into the not too distant future, lead to biophysical impossibilities. In order to address this issue the United Nations World

Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) produced a report, entitled Our

Common Future, better known as the Brundtland Commission Report (World Commission

on Environment and Development 1987). The Brundtland Commission Report contains the most commonly employed definition of sustainable development. Sustainable

development is defined as "development which meets the need of the present without

compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs." (World

Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p. 8) It is a "process of change in

which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of

technological development and institutional change are made consistent with future as well

as present needs." (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p. 9)

The Commission's definition of sustainable development is a departure from

prevailing norms and marks of a change in politics in the areas of global and national

development. This definition redefines the concept of development to include the

attainment of basic needs for all people, the improvement of opportunities for a better life

and maximizing present human interests without depriving future generations of the same.

53 Similarly, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (1993, n. p.), sustainable development is: "improvement in the quality of human life within the carrying capacity of supporting systems". Both definitions, according to Gillis and Vincent (2000), represent an attempt to make conservation the 'handmaiden" of development, while protecting the interests of future generations. A key aspect of sustainable development in these definitions

is the focus on future human needs or intergenerational equity. Sustainable development, as

such, is strongly biased towards the moral and ethical responsibility of the present

generation for the sustenance of the global environment and its resources so that current

development will not "deprive the future generation of the ability to attain a level of well

being equivalent or superior to that achieved today." (Drummond & Marsden, 1999: p. 8)

Implicit in this notion of sustainability is the realization that we are "a part" of the planet,

rather than "apart" from it.

Despite the clarity of the Commission's definition, in terms of the purpose and

goals of sustainable development, it is still a subject of challenge and contestation.

(Disinger, 1990; IDRC, 1992; Orr, 1992; Plant, 1995; Sauve, 1996) Some authors argue

that sustainable development means total development. As Blackburn (2000), explains the

concept of sustainable development consists of many elements. These include, at the very

least, a consideration for the future generations, a fusion of economic, ecologic and

community issues and the development of cooperative structures for dispute resolution and

for daily living. Rauch (2002) views the notion of sustainable development combining both

economic development and the avoidance of environmental strains.

54 Vaughan and Bearse (1981) argue that sustainable development refers to a qualitative change, that is, not only economical change, but institutional, social and environmental changes as well. Such change, according to Munier (2005: 19), requires a decrease in consumption rates of non-essential items, a decrease in water usage and the use of recycled water many times over, a reduction in the consumption of paper and board products and the use of fibre produced from trees in planted forests. In this sense,

sustainable development is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the

direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and institutional

change operate in harmony and enhance both the current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.

Conversely other scholars have argued that sustainable development / sustainability

is anthropocentric, that is, it seeks to elevate human values and experiences, privileging

human self-interest above ecological systems, uni-dimensional (Jickling, 2001) and

"mostly idea-centred." (Barrett & Sutter, 2006, p. 12) As Jickling (2004) pointed out, the

term is contested and there is an ongoing discussion about what forms the teaching about

this topic should take. "To some, the term sustainable development is an oxymoron - a

self contained non sequitur between noun and modifier." (Disinger, 1990, p. 3) Slocombe

and Van Bers (1991) on their part reminded us that this term is only a concept and that it is

characterized by a paucity of precision.

According to Bonnett (2002, p. 13), "this view can be seen as lying well within that

constellation of ideas which constitute the current Western view of global natural

55 resources." Furthermore as Daly (2006) argues, while future generations should be at least

as well off as the present in terms of the flow of nature's resources through the economy

and back to nature in a non-declining manner, this flow-back process which guarantees

sustainability or the endless continuity of resources is lacking in the current definition of

sustainable development.

Goodland (1997), on the other hand, argues that focusing on the future diverts

attention from today's lack of sustainability. In Goodland's view, "rather than focussing on

the intergenerational equity concerns of environmental sustainability, the stewardship

approach of safeguarding life support systems is preferable for intragenerational

sustainability." (p. 69)

In the same vein, according to Bartlett (2006), it is impossible to maintain

sustainable economic growth without an increase in the consumption rates of non

renewable resources. Theorists, such as Beckerman (1992) and Dasgupta and Maler (1995),

also challenge the concept of sustainable development and view it as morally indefensible

and devoid of operational value, because no clear criteria exists to distinguish between

"sustainable" and "unsustainable" economic activities, or for balancing the interests of

present and future generations. Others scholars view this concept as Utopian; they point to

inherent and irreconcilable contradictions between "development" and "sustainability."

(Blewitt, 2006a; Langehelle, 1999; Robinson, 2004) Given this critical contradiction

Robinson (2004: 370) redefines sustainability as a process that focuses on the ability of the

humans to continue to live within environmental constraints.

56 According to Goldie, Douglas and Fumass (2005), sustainability refers to the capacity of the biosphere to provide for the full range of human concerns in the long term.

Based on this definition, sustainability could be the destination, the end-goal, while sustainable development is a means of getting there. Environmental sustainability seeks to sustain global life support systems indefinitely, principally those systems that maintain life; it is essential for humanity's survival on the planet.

Environmental sustainability outlines pragmatic operational methods to reverse environmental damage and reduce poverty. Its aim is that the (aggregate) environmental impacts shall not impair the functioning of resource regenerative systems and waste assimilative systems, and the use of non-renewable resource is compensated for by equivalent increases in supplies of renewable or reproducible substitutes. (Dietz & Van der

Straaten, 1992; Opschoor, 1994,1992; Opschoor & Van der Straaten, 1993)

To achieve sustainability requires learning how to manage renewable resources for the long term, reduce waste and pollution (Goodland, 1997). Goodland further stresses that

we must learn how to use energy and material with scrupulous efficiency; we must learn how to use solar energy in all its forms, and we must invest in repairing the damage, as much as possible, done to the earth in the few decades by unthinking industrialization and violence in many parts of the globe, (p. 85)

Heuristically, one of the principles of sustainability or sustainable development is the promotion of behavioural change. Sustainability or sustainable development can be attained through learning and reflection on everyday assumptions, habits of behaviour,

57 structures of feelings and expectations. The adoption of sustainability practices can be achieved through education for sustainable development (ESD) or education for sustainability (EFS), a method or system of education or learning that enables a person to discover and to fully appreciate the contested nature of knowledge, nature, the environment and its sustainability.(Macnaghten & Urry, 1998; Sterling, 1996,2003,2006)

In the context of education, sustainable development involves a system of values and ethics as well as lifelong-learning based on passion for the radical transformation of society its moral character. Education for sustainability could leads to an informed and involved citizenry, with creative problem solving skills, scientific and social literacy and a commitment to engage in responsible individual and co-operative actions. The long term goals that underlie education for a sustainable future, according to Lopez (1997), include promoting understanding of the interdependence of natural, socio-economic and political systems at the local, national and global levels; encouraging critical reflection and decision making that reflect personal lifestyles; and actively participating in building a sustainable environment. While the above stated is relevant, Sauve (1996) cautions against redundancy considering that "the ultimate goal of environmental education is the development of responsible societies, and sustainability is one the expected outcomes." (Sauve, 1996: 29)

As such the promotion of responsible development must be contextually defined.

3.6. Learning for Environmental Sustainability: Making Connections

In the rapidly changing world, with its ecosystems in danger of collapse, existing skills and knowledge are becoming obsolete. According to Blewitt (2006b) learners draw

58 lessons from experience, assimilate new ideas and develop new practices and skills as they pragmatically revise their conceptual frameworks. Blewitt further adds that experience can be invested with a plurality of significant meanings. (Blewitt, 2006b) Flaccavento (2002)

further argues that

the practice of sustainability is rarely a result of conscious decision to one's way of life, rather it emerges from a reflexive relationship between thinking about priorities and the actual experience of living in the world, of making a living and protecting the prospect of the next generation during a period of change. (Blewitt, 2006b, p. 30)

The importance of learning in the attainment of a sustainable future appears in the

works of Barton (2002) as well. According to Barton, "it is by understanding everyday

practice and everyday learning that we can support sustainable activities." (p. 148) Key to

development is that the "complexity of the environment becomes a text to be continually

reread and interpreted, constantly helping people to build and rebuild themselves."

(Orefice, 2002, p. 84) People must go beyond the limits and contradiction of

anthropocentrism towards an understanding of living with others and with all living

creatures.

More recently concepts of learning in the context of environmental and

sustainability learning or Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) have assumed

importance particularly in discussions and debates. As Blewitt (2006b) notes, learning is

key to the way individuals manage the increasing economic and ecological risks, the

uncertainties and complexities that often seem beyond our control, but, nonetheless, shape

our lives, hopes, expectations and anxieties.

59 The need for environmental and sustainability learning is more important now than ever in light of the recent increase in unpredictable weather patterns, with spring appearing earlier than expected and summers recording higher than normal temperatures. Learning for the young adults, as Scott and Gough (2003) argue, therefore becomes an element of the sustainable development process rather than simply an instrument or means towards realizing the dynamic goal of sustainability.

According to Benn (1999) environmental and sustainability learning promotes the explanation and understanding of the meaning of sustainability. It encourages young adults to actively engage with sustainability issues in order to promote lifestyles that are compatible with the sustainable and equitable use of resources. Drawing on their earlier work, Gough and Scott (2006) explore the connection between sustainable development and learning. They argue that not all models of learning and sustainable development have an explicit theory of change. However since sustainable development clearly implies change of the status quo, implicit in it is the assumption that change may occur whether its proponents are aware of the possibility or not (Gough & Scott, 2006). Using Crick's

(1999) concept of individual citizenship, Gough and Scott (2003) argue that learning is implicit in the practice of citizenship, and citizenship is implicit in the practice (not just the content) of learning, that is, as we learn, we live; as we live, we learn. This argument applies to learning for the environment and sustainable development as well. In this context, knowledge of environmental and sustainability issues constitutes the basis for active citizenship and a predisposition to engage with social, civic and environmental affairs that democratize everyday lives. (Van Steenbergen, 1994, p. 32)

60 To further establish the connection among learning and natural (environment) and/or sustainable development (sustainability), I employ Scott and Gough's (2003) threefold typology of learning approaches in the context of sustainable development.

Type 1 learning interventions are identified as those in which it is assumed that environmental problems have environmental causes. This leads to an attempt to identify solutions through natural scientific inquiry. In the process, new information may be identified that must be communicated. Once this communication has taken place, appropriate behaviour change is expected to follow.

Type 2 approaches to learning, on the other hand, work from the premise that the problem of environmental sustainability is essentially not environmental at all but social. What citizens need, it is claimed, is not natural scientific insights and technology, but rather social-scientific insights and technology through which they will come properly to understand the social obstacles to sustainability, and thus, see the need for appropriate, collective social, political and environmental action (P. 268-269).

Type 3 approaches depend on the notion of coevolution of society and its environment, and involve different perspectives on citizenship and change.... From a type 3 perspective, however, the key skill is learning to manage, individually and collectively, a nexus of environmental and citizen behaviour in the context of problems that may have multiple, contested definitions and shifting, contingent solutions. (P. 273, 275)

In the Type 1 environmental learning model, both learning and citizenship are tools

for the achievement of environmental maintenance. As Gough and Scott (2006) note, "the

61 citizen is seen as vector through which the objective knowledge is turned into social

action." (p. 268)

Learning Citizenship Environmental Sustain ability

Figure 3.1: Type 1 Approach to learning and environment. Source: Gough & Scott, (2006, p. 269)

The Type 2 approach to environmental learning involves two rounds of learning. In the first

round, citizens become knowledgeable and their "eyes are opened to social and

environmental truths" (Gough & Scott, 2006, p. 270). In the second round of learning, the

citizens come to a realization of the need to "learn with others, how to live sustainably,

through collective action" (ibid), based on their earlier knowledge and awareness of

environmental and social truths.

Learning Citizenship Learning Environmental (revelation) (action) sustainability

Figure 3.2: Type 2 Approach to learning and environment. Source: Gough & Scott, (2006, p. 270)

62 In the Type 3 approach to environmental learning, citizens learn to manage the

environment and their actions in relation to it. Type 3 learning interventions are

characterized by open-endedness; the learning that emerges through this process is new,

exploratory, critical, reflexive and life-long and "lifewide" in nature (Blewitt, 2006b;

Gough & Scott, 2006). Learners draw lessons from experience, assimilate new ideas and

develop new practices that determine the quality of the environment and their relationship

to it (Blewitt, 2006a; Illich, 1973). This approach (see figure 3.3, p. 63) points to the

centrality of learning within the debates about sustainability and the weakness of notions of

sustainable development or sustainability where learning has no part.

Nature

Learning —i

Environmental and

Figure 3.3: Type 3 Approach to learning and environment: Espouses the relationship between society, nature and learning. Source: Gough and Scott (2003, p. 9)

63 The Type 3 approach amplifies (Gough & Scott, 2003) the point that human society exists in a dynamic context of social and natural reality which it is possible to know (for the present at least) only imperfectly, which is constructed and given meaning in different ways by different people and organizations. As this context changes, learning takes place, both planned and unplanned, giving rise to further, often competing theories, of nature, of society and of change itself, (n.p.)

The society-environment relationship is 'loosely coupled' (Weick, 1976), and demonstrates the way we think about society as well as the way we think about the environment. This dynamic relationship can also be viewed as a model for thinking about the role of learning in sustainable development (see Figure 3.4 on p. 64).

Environment « ; M--- f Change Society t

•Jin* w Thinking about the environment Thinking about change _, i Thinking about M- society

Figure 3.4: Society and environment, change and learning: "loosely coupled" relationships. Source: Gough & Scott, (2003, p. 45)

64 The three typologies of learning stress the important role of environmental learning

as "an integral of our everyday lives" (Wenger, 1998) and, therefore, as central to any theory of environmental change. As Figures 2.2-2.5 demonstrate, learning is central to the relationship between society and nature (environment). It is through membership in society that the individual can learn and shape society and the environment since all learning that

emanates from doing things differently shapes our values and "sense of possibilities"

(Blewitt, 2006b). The relationship between society and nature is rooted in the assumption

that the social relevance of learning is irrespective of whether it is explicit, conscious or

planned (Young, 1998).

3.7. Other Settings for Environmental and Sustainability Learning

In addition to school settings, which provide learners with formalized forms of

learning through classroom instruction, out of school settings also provide individuals with

opportunities for intrinsic, self-motivated and stimulating learning experiences, which help

them develop a positive relationship with and understanding of the environment. Out of

school settings also provide opportunities for learners to gain knowledge beyond the

abstract, which is necessary in environmental education, because such learning is not as

easily forgotten as learning that is acquired through the assimilation of information (Miles,

1991). In this section, I discuss some examples of informal learning contexts for children

and young adults and how learning occurs in these settings, namely the home/family,

museums, the zoo and nature centres and the wilderness.

65 For most children, learning about the natural and social worlds occurs through their own investigations, through observing and imitating older children and adults, through play, through listening to stories and through forms of instruction linked to the performance of certain tasks. The home (as an open-ended setting for learning) is reputed to be where the child's foundation and development of interest and sensitivity towards the environment are formed. The familiarity of learners with a setting is an important factor in their choice to

learn and forge connections with their immediate surroundings. Familiarity also helps

learners acquire the awareness, knowledge and skills needed for this localized learning, which then becomes the basis for moving out into other systems, broader issues and a more

sophisticated comprehension of causes and consequences. (Kola-Olusanya, 2005)

Learning for the child is predicated on involvement and grounded in experience and

interaction. It is not abstract or removed from the life of their communities. Particularly

during the child's formative stage of development, the focus of environmental learning is

centred on health (environmental sanitation), ethics and sustainable living, as well as on the

development of the child's affection for nature. According to Dierking and Falk (1994),

family learning involves both cognitive and affective domains; environmental learning

forms a part of the socialization process, which prepares a child for life in the later years.

Identified as a learning environment, the museum is one of the many places where

people go for the purpose of engaging in learning through personal experience. Today,

museums have become a fascinating learning centre for children and adults because they

can facilitate and promote lifelong learning. According to Stransky (1986) museums are

66 admirably equipped, through their diverse collections, their long experience in display, in conservation and their vast clientele to play an important role in making the public aware of environmental problems as well as of the means for their solutions. Museums offer learners opportunities for meaningful participation by actively engaging, motivating and inspiring them, as they respond to learners' needs, provide direction and structure for learning as well

as for developing meaning. (Noessel, 2003)

The zoo is another open-ended learning context capable of affording the public,

including children, opportunities to freely set their own learning agendas while navigating through contextually rich environments. (Falk & Dierking, 1998) Zoos are places where

varieties of wild species are kept for the purposes of conservation and protection from

extinction by strengthening their genetic variability when it has been lost. With the decline

in direct and spontaneous encounters among most people with the natural world, the

expanded opportunities presented in zoos seem a sufficient or adequate substitution for zoo

visitors, including children. (Kellert, 2002a) At the heart of learning in zoos are certain

perceptual strengths or preferred modes of processing information including auditory,

kinaesthetic, tactual and visual. Beyond these perceptual strengths, learning in the zoo is

crucially dependent on motivation, which is driven by the unique intrinsic needs and

interests of the learner, the duration of the interactive experiences as well as the relevance,

choice and discovery and the stimulating environment. Zoos also provide compelling

experience necessary to attract and maintain personal connections with nature, thus

preparing visitors for learning and reflection on their relationships with nature. (Povey &

Winsten, 2003) In the present days where opportunities for real contact with wild animals

67 are dwindling zoos may offer a wide range of opportunities which though cannot substitute for real life experience in the wild for learners to engage freely in learning experiences through interactions with naturalistic exhibits, without entering a wild forest.

Nature centres, parks, and the wilderness are informal learning settings that provide opportunities for enjoying outdoor recreation and leisure, and unique opportunities for environmental education. (Kellert, 2002b; Kola-Olusanya, 2005) In places such as these, people may develop increased concern for nature through direct contact with the natural environment; they may develop an increased awareness of the threat of human activity to nature. (Kellert, 2002b) These settings represent the few remaining places where people can

experience an alternative to the generally degraded environment. (Negra & Manning,

1997) Visitors to nature centres and wilderness areas can engage in explorations of

ecosystems and natural environments; they can enjoy wild flowers, a variety of birds or

butterflies, discover living organisms and habitats, wooded swamps, marshlands, observe

and photograph both common and endangered wildlife and develop their sensitivity to

nature. These natural environments provide a tranquil sanctuary for wildlife as well as, an

informal learning setting that offers an opportunity to directly encounter and learn about

nature. According to Kellert (2002a), such direct encounters with nature serve as powerful

motivators and stimuli for environmental learning and development. Nature centres and

wilderness areas present children with opportunities to learn freely, at their own pace, from

an information-rich environment and to develop a connection with the natural world.

(Louv, 2006) Collectively, open-ended settings are veritable places for learning outside of

school for young adults.

68 3.8. The Nature of Young Adult Development and Environmental Learning

Learning as a natural lifelong process is conceived less as an outcome associated with individuals and more as an ongoing activity that occurs in social interactions.

(Schauble, Beane, Coates, Martin, & Sterling, 1996) As such it is largely based on three factors: it begins with the individual, involves others and takes place somewhere. (Falk &

Dierking, 2002b) Learning in open-ended settings produces learning episodes, which may vary from incidental to unintentional projects. (Heimlich, Diem, & Farrell, 1996; Tough,

1972) Broadly speaking, learning experiences can be classified as direct experience (actual physical contact), indirect experience (regulated and contrived), and symbolic or vicarious

experience (occurring in the absence of actual physical contact or a regulated and contrived

experience). (Heimlich et al., 1996; Kellert, 1996)

Direct contact involves instinctive activities in one's backyard or nearby places,

such as the neighbourhood park and other natural areas, such as a forest or ravine. Indirect

contact, on the other hand, ranges from contact with domesticated animals, such as dogs,

cats and birds to encountering animals or plants in zoos, botanical gardens, vegetable

gardens and nature centres. Symbolic and vicarious experience depends largely on

symbolic, metaphorical or stylized images, that is, depictions occurring in modern society

through television, the Internet, books and magazines.

Learning during early childhood is characterized by an emphasis on the child's

innate drive to explore and discover. It is during this stage of development that children

cultivate and develop the foundation for free-learning skills that are useful for learning

69 throughout life. (Falk & Dierking, 2002b) It is also during early childhood that children cultivate a sense of affection for the natural world as well as for the individual needs of other creatures. According to Moore (1997) and Louv (2006), children live through their senses. Sensory experiences link the child's exterior world with their interior, hidden, affective world. Since the natural environment is the principal source of sensory

stimulation, freedom to explore and play with the outdoor environment through their senses, in their own space and time, is essential for healthy development of an interior life.

This type of self-activated, autonomous interaction is what we call free play. Individual children test themselves by interacting with their environment, activating their potential and reconstructing human culture. (Moore, 1997) He argues further that,

the content of the environment is a critical factor in this process. A rich, open environment will continue to present alternative choices for creative engagement. A rigid, bland environment will limit healthy growth and development of the individual or the group, (p. 203)

It is through interactions with their environment during early childhood that children

engage in what is referred to as "primary experience" that which is felt, tasted, heard or

smelled. Primary experience often begins with direct contact with nature, that is,

domesticated animals and plants, since most learning at this age is acquired through

creative play. (Kola-Olusanya, 2005)

In contrast, during middle childhood learning shifts from independent creative play

at home to domains beyond the home where children become familiar, comfortable and

appreciative of other creatures and natural settings within proximity of their homes.

70 (Kellert, 1996) In middle childhood, learning in these domains is dependent on the combination of indirect and direct experiences and, as a result, challenges children to employ higher-order thinking skills. According to Shepard (1996), it is during this stage that children cultivate greater affection and curiosity for other creatures and the environment with their expanded interest and capacity for assimilating knowledge and understanding; rapid cognitive and problem-solving skills are achieved through their interaction with and coping in the natural world. (Kellert, 2002a)

Children develop a unique, direct and experiential way of knowing the natural world through discovery and interaction with concrete experiences (Fleer & Hardy, 2000;

Malone & Tranter, 2003). During the middle childhood stage, vicarious and symbolic

contacts with nature assume significance. These contacts may occur through encounters

with tales, legends, stories and myths involving scenes and characters drawn from the

natural world. (Bettelheim, 1977; Engel, 1995; Kellert, 1997, 2002a) Vicarious and

symbolic contacts constitute an additional means for environmental learning to takes place

and are especially fundamental in promoting a sense of identity in the child. They also serve

to help children develop the special skills needed to achieve autonomy and discover their

ability to protect nature.

Adolescence constitutes the period of becoming cognizant and appreciative of

larger ecosystems, landscapes and evolutionary processes as well as assuming

responsibility for environmental stewardship. This is largely the age of daring exploration,

and the adolescents participate in and visit the natural world to experience nature. (Kellert,

71 2002b) At this age, the adolescent is ready for new experiences and for the development of personal identity; this sense of identity includes various roles, traits and abilities. (Elkind,

1984) Adolescence is the period for developing deep interest and mastery of skills that persist throughout life. The adolescent is fully developed intellectually, and his or her learning moves away from the abstract and imagination to real-world contexts.

Following adolescence is the transition to adulthood, otherwise referred to as young adulthood. By definition, although the young adult is no longer considered a child, he or she is not yet considered an adult. In relation to commerce, this generation is seen as a socially

significant group and an important target for advertising. Cellular phones, contemporary popular music, movies, television programs, video games and clothes are heavily marketed

and often popular amongst young adults. During the period of young adulthood, most

learning occurs in the open-ended settings that satisfy two major learning needs: "increased

opportunities to fill discretionary time, build identity and begin establishing intimate

relationships, and a desire to improve oneself, either personally or professionally." (Falk &

Dierking, 2002b, p. 102)

3.9. Defining Young Adults

The young adult stage in human development precedes middle adulthood. The term

"young adult" may also refer to a person in the early years of adulthood. Miedema,

Hamilton, and Easely (2007) note that the word "young" in "young adult" is a variable one.

Some studies refer to young adults as persons between the ages of 20 and 44 years, whereas

others use biological markers such as pre-menopause. (Dunn & Steginga, 2000) According

72 • to Kramer, Akhtar and Parens (1991), while it is difficult to assign a particular age to the young adult group, the ages of those in college and graduate school can be considered appropriate in defining young adults, from about the age of 17 and stretching into the age of

40. (Kramer et al., 1991)

Clover (2001) expands the definition of young adults to include individuals within the approximate age group who are in the work force, or are combining university/ college with work. According to the 2001 Canadian census, young adults are defined as those between the ages of 18 and 34 (Clark, 2007). Clark (2007) describes these young adults as the most mobile group in the Canadian population; they are a highly heterogeneous group that reflects the rapidly growing ethnic diversity of the Canadian population over the past

30 years.

Young adulthood is considered one of the most controversial and ambiguous of life

stages. At this stage young adults are at the threshold of their lives and are known to

grapple with decisions and choices that others may not view as important. Mannheim

(1952) relates young adulthood with the ability to question and reflect upon life and

experiences. Jennings and Niemi (1981) observe that the "time phrase" young adulthood

embraces what has been called the most crucial age in the creation of a distinctive, self-

conscious political generation.

According to Erikson (1965), young adulthood is part of the sixth stage of life,

'intimacy vs. isolation'10. It is in this stage of life that a developing person forms an

identity, exhibit a readiness for "intimacy, the capacity to commit to concrete affiliations

10 According to Erikson's model of human development there are eight stages in the life of an individual.

73 and partnerships." (Erikson, 1965, p. 263) However, this stage can only occur after an individual has successfully completed the previous stages. As Ornstein (undated) argues chronology of age is often not the most important factor. Age differentiation, according to

Erikson (1965) is used to express the importance of living in the present, "the up-to- datedness of youth, therefore, consists in their being closer to the 'present' problems."

(Erikson, 1965, p. 300-301)

3.10. Young Adults, Sustainability and Environmental Learning

Environmental problems appear in various forms and plague all members of society differently. Although more is known about the state of the global environment than decades

ago, major gaps surrounding the process learning in relation to the environment and

sustainable development persist. The decisions and actions of individual members of

society and businesses have been accused of being responsible for global environmental

degradation, destruction and wastefulness. Several authors, including Tenbrunsel, Wade-

Benzoni, Messick, and Bazerman (1997), have argued that changing those decisions is

crucial to the saving the earth for future generations. Based on this premise many argue

that the transition to sustainable development requires the involvement and participation of

young adults. The UNCED's Agenda 21u (1992a) encourages the involvement of youth at

all relevant levels of the decision-making processes, because it affects their lives today and

has implications for their futures. More importantly, contemporary youth's intellectual

11 Agenda 21 is a blueprint for sustainable development into the 21st Century. It is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment. Its basis was agreed during the "Earth Summit" at Rio in 1992, and signed by 179 Heads of State and Government

74 contribution, ability to mobilize support and unique perspectives in environmental and developmental decision-making are critical to the long-term success of Agenda 21.

(UNCED, 1992).

Today's young adults, however, appear limited by their upbringing in terms of their interactions with the natural environment. Growing and maturing in a material world they rarely experience natural settings directly and intimately; many live in large, sprawling urban areas. (Louv, 2006) Louv (2006) who has explored the staggering divide between children and the outdoors, stresses that young adults are "growing up in an era without biological absolutes." (p. 21)

According to Louv (2006) today's society is teaching young people to avoid direct experiences with nature, as our world of rapidly advancing technologies blurs the lines among humans, other animals and machines. (Louv, 2006) As such it is not uncommon to see young people plugged in to one gadget or another. Louv argues that society must

"unplug" young people from the vast technologies and encourage them to spend their lives in natural surroundings; otherwise they may suffer the narrowing of their senses, both physiologically and psychologically, and thereby reduce the richness of their experiences as humans. Louv refers to this phenomenon as nature-deficit disorder . The term nature- deficit disorder describes "the real cost of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses."

(Louv, 2006: 34) Nature-deficit disorder can be viewed as evidence of humanity's

12 This term is not used by Louv (2006) to mean a disorder in clinical psychological sense, but as a catchy phrase

75 unsustainable relationship with the environment, the result of the socially unjust allocation

of resources, opportunities and influence.

Furthermore, the compartmentalization of instruction in schools limits opportunities

for young adults to learn directly from their environment. Although this situation may jeopardize current global efforts towards a sustainable future, not all young people today

are distant from nature or inactive in environmental matters. For example, several research

studies provide insight into the capacity of young adults to influence or act as catalysts of

environmental change in society. (Ballantyne, Connell, & Fien, 1998a, 1998b; Evans, Gill,

& Marchant, 1996; Leeming, Dwyer, Porter, & Cobern, 1993)

The current focus on environmental sustainability demonstrates that environmental

problems are increasingly viewed in terms of unsustainability. Technologies, industrial

processes and, ultimately, human ways of life undermine the resources and the

environmental base that sustains them (Ekins, 2000). According to Robson (2000),

environmental sustainability is guaranteed when renewal of natural resources systems is

maintained. The current state of environmental unsustainability is the reason that

environmental sustainability learning has become the focus of ensuring a sustainable future.

Blewitt (2006b, p. 10) contends that "learning becomes meaningful when there is a

resonance with everyday life-world of the learner." Resonance is, therefore, essential if

learning is to become a key element of any transformative process leading to a more

sustainable future.

Blewitt's argument speaks directly to the importance of young adults' ability to

connect their everyday life activities to environmental sustainability learning and practices.

It is obvious that environmental sustainability learning is a critical factor in addressing

76 unsustainability; it has the capacity to help young adults reflect on their experiences, as well as encourage them to act to improve the quality of life and attain a sustainable future.

Through reflecting on the experiences that have influenced their concern for the environment, young adults could be empowered to encourage similar experiences among people for whom they are responsible. (Plant, 1998)

3.11. Consumerism, Young Adults and the Environment

The term "consumerism" is used to describe the effects of equating personal happiness with purchasing material possessions and consumption. Consumerism is defined as "the protection or promotion of consumers' interests in relation to the producer." {Oxford

Dictionary, 1990, p. 247) According to Almond (2001), the root of consumerism lies firmly in the commercial services and private sectors. Modem consumerism, on the other hand, is built on "the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable."

(Merriam-Webster, 2008) Consumerism is largely driven by the assumption that suggests only buying can keep the economy healthy and citizens happy. According to Almond

(2001), in theory, the aims of consumerism are to create a better balance of power between consumers and providers, indicating a move towards more democratic relationships between consumers and providers. (Neave, 1994)

With its roots firmly planted in the excessive desire for material consumption of luxury goods and leisure services, consumerism has become a powerfully evocative symbol of contemporary capitalism and globalization. (Clover, 2001) As Kaza (2000, p. 30) notes,

"consumerism rests on the assumption that human desires are infinitely expandable; if there

are an infinite number of ways to be dissatisfied, there are boundless opportunities to create

77 new products to meet those desires." Hand in hand with consumerism is consumption, which in some cases means the depletion of a natural resource. According Rifkin (1996, p.

19)

The term "consumption" has both English and French roots. In its original form, "to consume" meant to destroy, to pillage, to subdue, to exhaust. It is a word steeped in violence and until the present century had only negative connotations.... Today, many in the Western countries have more than doubled their consumption.... The metamorphosis of consumption from vice to virtue is one of the most important, yet least examined phenomena of the twentieth century.

Although consumption implies choice and independence (Salvage, 1985), it economically manifests in the chronic purchasing of new goods and services, with little attention to true need, product durability and origin or the environmental consequences of manufacture and disposal.

Consumption can be regarded as a process, consisting of three phases, the

acquisition, use and disposal of products. In other words, consumption has consequences,

large environmental consequences that inflict suffering mainly on the world's poor. In the

consumerist society, not only some individuals own a lot, but consumer goods have a

central place in every person's life and values and the ways they present themselves.

(Brusdal & Langeby, 2001) Consumerism is sustained by large sums of money spent on

advertising that is designed to create both a desire to follow trends and a personal self-

reward system based on acquisition. As Mendelson and Bolls (2002) note, one of the

established effects of advertising in the short term is that it increases peoples' (especially

young adults) desires for consumer goods and promotes consumerism in the long term.

78 According to Kaza (2000), advertising deliberately fosters a climate of self- involvement, playing on people's needs for security, acceptance and happiness. Kaza further adds that by setting up idealized stereotypes, advertisements foster greed, status envy, anxiety, health fears and a sense of dissatisfaction and inadequacy. Crisp (1987), also argued that advertising overrides the consumer's decision making autonomy by creating these desires, and offering an unshakable link between products and the fulfillment of desires for them.

For a typical adult audience, advertisers, as Blewitt (2006a, p. 40) explains, "might say 'When you buy this car you are not just purchasing a means to move around, you are buying cool, you are buying sophistication, speed, sex appeal or fun." One of its intended consequences, promoted by those who profit from consumerism, is to accelerate the discarding of the old, either because of lack of durability or a change in fashion. The question for advertisers "is not really how much is enough" (Blewitt, 2006a, p. 40) but

"why we buy, buy and buy in the first place." (Blewitt, 2006a, p. 40) The answer to this question lies in the widespread notion that we need to continue to consume irrespective of the attendant / or associated effect on the environmental because it is our way of life.

For young adults the pressure is no different. As Clover notes,

Consumerism is a deeply ingrained ideological and structural problem given strength through advertising and marketing, the pervasive informal learning process that creates need and orchestrates ignorance. Like everyone, young people are influenced to establish their identities through the ways in which they consume, (p. 74)

79 Fien and Skoien (2001), also note the negative influence of today's glamorous world of advertising where the "good life" is promoted and associations between symbols are reinforced, and that materialism equals freedom and progress. On the social front, as

Clammer (1997) notes, young adults' social life is largely made possible by material objects; manufacturing, exchange and consumption provide the framework and means of most forms of social interaction and cultural exchange. As a result, owning and displaying different products signifies creating wealth, satisfying personal needs and forming and maintaining social networks. (Fien & Skoien, 2001)

Young people often define the consumption patterns of a community, because the habits they acquire today shape their adult lifestyles as well as the global consumption patterns of the future. To capture the attention of young consumers, advertisers are

spending more money and energy, and in some cases offer incentives and rewards, to

attract young people with messages that associate success, achievement, societal acceptance

and social-status mobility with consumerist culture. The "synergy between advertising and

consumption" (Bordwell, 2002) has made young people an important target on the demand-

side, and plays a determinant role in the future consumption patterns of society. (UNESCO-

UNEP, 2001) As the prime targets of consumerism, many young adults are influenced by

advertising, their peers, movies and a belief that happiness and success are derived from

owning goods.

In light of the growing environmental crisis and social transformations worldwide,

today's young adults face increasing socio-environmental instability and decline. (Clover,

2001) The United Nations Development Program's (UNDP, 1998) has documented global

concerns regarding the impact of an ever-expanding consumerist culture in its 1998 Human

80 Development Report on Consumption for Human Development. According to the Report, today's consumption is undermining the environmental resource base. The Report adds that

"the dynamics of the consumption-poverty-inequality-environment nexus are accelerating.

If the trends continue without change, today's problems of consumption and human

development will worsen." (UNDP, 1998, p. 1) The Report argues that the real issue is not

consumption itself but its patterns, process and effects, for example,

Inequalities in consumption are stark. Globally, 20% of the world's people in the highest-income countries account for 86% of total private consumption expenditures — the poorest 20% a minuscule 1.3%. More specifically, the richest fifth: consume 45% of all meat and fish, the poorest fifth 5%. Consume 58% of total energy, the poorest fifth less than 4%. Have 74% of all telephone lines, the poorest fifth 1.5%. Consume 84% of all paper, the poorest fifth 1.1%. Own 87% of the world's vehicle fleet, the poorest fifth less than 1%. (UNDP, 1998, n. p.)

The above suggests we are consuming in ways that in the long-term cannot be

environmentally or socially sustained and that are quite often inimical to our own well-

being. This reality indicates the need to curtail the impact of consumerism on the quality of

the physical environment, on the quality of those collective commodities necessary for

sustaining long term human survival. (UNESCO-UNEP, 2001; Uusitalo, 1983) Young

people can have a large impact in terms of the sustainability debate in the area of over-

consumption and the degradation of the environment. (Moody, 2000) Although this reality

is not of their making, it is a problem that requires their help to correct.

81 3.12. Conclusion

Creating a future that is ecologically sustainable is considered to be greatest challenge of this era. The literature on young people and learning for environmental sustainability suggests a pressing need for a new learning capacity, which involves learning how to anticipate the consequences of our actions, how to envision a sustainable future and how to create the steps needed to achieve an enduring sustainable world. For educators and other professionals, learning becomes an element of the sustainable development process rather than simply an instrument or a means towards realizing the dynamic goal of a sustainable future. The importance of learning lies in its ascribed role as a viable way for promoting learning for sustainability.

In the following chapter, I discuss the design of this research and the research methods I employed in data collection.

82 CHAPTER FOUR

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 Introduction

The key to creating a more sustainable future is learning. (Scott & Gough, 2004)

This study provides an understanding into the nature and scope of young-adults' activities

in relation to sustainability and environmental protection and their engagement in them, as well as the sources of their learning experiences. The central question that shaped this

research is: How do young adults' learning and experiences influence their decision to live sustainably? More specifically, this research seeks to answer the following questions:

• What are young peoples' views about environmental issues like climate

change?

• What are the sources for learning about environment and sustainability

iisues?

• How do their learning encounters and engagements in turn affect the young

adults' actions toward environmental protection and decision making?

This research pursues an understanding of learning that precipitates a "movement of mind"

(Senge, 1990, p. 13) or a transformative response to sustainability. Young adults form the

core of soon-to-be decision makers expected to make a difference in the context of building

a sustainable future and better environmental management measures. Understanding their

learning experiences and their learning sites of environmental and sustainability issues can

83 inform teachers, curriculum planners and policy-makers about learning in and outside of

school. As Osier and Starkey (2003) note, this understanding is critical to build effectively

on learners experiences for the development of a comprehensive environmental educational program.

To answer the key research questions, I explored the experiences of 18 young adults

through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. I begin this chapter with a discussion of the

method and techniques used in this study. I discuss the context of the research interviews,

and the methods of data collection and analysis I employed.

4.2. Towards a Phenomenological Research methodology

The qualitative research method for this study is grounded in a phenomenological

framework (Conceicao-Runlee, 2001) to explore the phenomenon of young environmental

sustainability learning experiences. This study is based on Moustakas' (1994)

phenomenological research inquiry approach, which focuses on a situation in which the

experience investigated occurred (Conceicao-Runlee, 2001). The rationale for using

phenomenology is based on my interest in phenomenological inquiry which grew out of "a

long-standing belief that all knowledge and understanding are culturally produced,

contextually bound, and personally interpreted." (Mott, 1994, n.p.)

Phenomenological research is a subset of the more general term and one of many

types of qualitative research that examines the lived experiences of humans in an effort to

understand and give them meaning. This usually is done by systematically collecting and

84 analyzing narrative materials using methods that ensure credibility of both the data and the results. Epistemologically, phenomenological approaches are based in a paradigm of

personal knowledge and subjectivity, and emphasize the importance of personal perspective

and interpretation. As such they are powerful for understanding subjective experience,

gaining insights into people's motivations and actions, and cutting through the clutter of

taken-for-granted assumptions and conventional wisdom.

Phenomenology differs from other approaches due to its emphasis on the

participants' experienced meaning rather than just on a description of their observed

behaviours or actions. (Polkinghorne, 1989) Van Manen (1997) suggested that the

distinction made by phenomenology between appearance and essence is what differentiates

it from other qualitative research approaches such as ethnography, symbolic interactionism,

and ethnomethodology. Contrasting phenomenological approaches with quantitative

methodologies, Bentz & Shapiro (1998) state that one gains understanding of an experience

through empathy, coming to understanding as the other. The researcher is thus regarded as

"the co-creator of the transcribed narrative, generated through interviewing or through an

experimental situation." (Grover, 2004, p. 99)

For the sake of clarity the term phenomenology study is used here to refer to

research allowing subjects to communicate their experiences without having it transformed

by the researcher so as to alter its meaning in any significant manner. (Grover, 2004)

According to Grover (2004), a phenomenological perspective requires the researcher to

prevent the data from being prematurely structured into existing categories of thinking, by

85 protecting the data in their primitive state using a recording device, doing as little editing and censoring as possible. (Bentz & Shapiro, 1998) This present study examines the lived

experience of young-adults from a phenomenological point of view and how they

subjectively learn about environmental sustainability issues.

In this study, I focused on the narratives of research participants, this work has

avoided appropriating their voices, misrepresenting them or imposing theories on what they

said and did. As noted by Dei, Butler, Charania, Kola-Olusanya, Thomas-Long, Opini and

Wagner (in press), qualitative research methodology relies on the words of participants to

reveal the subjective tensions, struggles, contradictions and ambiguities regarding the issues

at hand. The importance of "voice" in qualitative research cannot be overemphasized.

Voices convey personal feelings, thoughts, desires and politics. Voices allow readers to

bring their own interpretations to the data. (Dei et al., in press) By showcasing the actual

voices of participants, the discussion moves beyond an abstract, theoretical observation of

phenomena.

4.3. Research Design

This study is based on individual interviews with each of the 18 young adults who

participated in this study. The research participants were enrolled in a university at the time

of this study. In the interviews, I explored the research participants' understanding of key

environmental issues, such as climate change and global warming, sustainable

development, the context of their learning and experiences in relation to environmental

issues and their view of the "trade offs" for the environment. However, the focus in this

86 study is not an examination of their level of awareness or behaviour. Its aim is to enhance the descriptive rather that evaluative elements of the learning. In the analysis of this research, the results of this study are presented in terms of a contextual model of learning

(Falk & Dierking, 2000) involving the overlap of the three contexts: personal, sociocultural

and physical. (Brody, Tomkiewicz, & Graves, 2002) Analysis of the data collected revealed key sites of the young adults' learning about environmental and sustainability issues.

4.4. Research Participants

This study included 18 young adults, both male and female, from universities in

South Eastern Ontario. As shown in Table 4.1. the study participants were mostly

undergraduate students (13 or 72.2%) taking courses in the natural sciences, the social

sciences and engineering and graduate students (5 or 27.8%). Twelve (66.7%) were

females, while the remaining (6 or 33.3%) were males.

Table 4.1: Frequency Distribution of Respondents

Categories Count Percent of Cases % Female 12 66.7 Male 6 33.3 Undergraduates 13 72.2 Graduates 5 27.8

87 Table 4.2: Frequency Distribution of Respondents by Discipline/Majors

Categories Count Percent of Cases % Natural Sciences 7 38.9 Social Sciences 7 38.9 Engineering 4 22.2

Table 4.2 above shows the study participants were mostly from natural and social sciences background. A total of seven (7 or 38.9%) participant were taking courses in the natural sciences, and the social sciences, while four (4 or 22.2%) are taking engineering course.

For the purposes of this study, young adults are understood to be between the ages of 18 and 38 years old. The participants include students who were registered in part time and full time studies and are from a variety of racial, ethnic or socio-economic backgrounds.

4.4.1. Participant Recruitment

The group of young adults in this study were identified through "snowball sampling" and "link-tracing" methods (Spreen, 1992), which take advantage of the social networks of identified respondents to provide the researcher with an ever-expanding set of potential contacts. (Atkinson & Flint, 2001) The first set of young adults interviewed for this study was recommended to me by friends and colleagues. At the outset of the data

collection stage of this study, I asked colleagues and friends to approach students in their

institutions, faculties or departments and ask them if they were willing to participate in a

88 research project. This approach did not work well and I managed to recruit only five research participants in this manner. I then sent e- mail announcements to various student and course listserves as well campus environmental associations and clubs, inviting participation in my study. Although snowballing can be a haphazard method of gathering a research sample (Clarke, 2002), it proved successful here.

Of the initial 13 young adults recommended to me, seven declined participation in the study for reasons, such as not having enough or lack of knowledge about environmental and sustainability issues or being too busy with school work; five of them agreed to participate in the study. My initial conversations with each of the five young adults revealed a high level of enthusiasm towards the focus of my research study. Seven more participants were recommended to me by the initial participants themselves after the first set of surveys and interviews. Through my fourth round of e-mail announcements to listserves, I recruited six additional research participants, reaching a total of 18 research participants.

4.4.2. Choice of Participants

I chose to study young adults because their interests are often overlooked since they are perceived as adults-in-waiting rather than adults in their own right and thus lack the

status of other stakeholders. (Osier & Starkey, 2003) In addition young adults are often very concerned about the future of the earth they will inherit.

At the outset of study, I had set out to interview young adult students in colleges

and universities. However, due to the lack of interest in the study's focus among the college

students I approached, I restricted my study to university students. The decision to research

89 young adults attending post secondary institutions was based on my assumption13 that most post secondary students belong to the middle-class and as such they constitute the majority of the population in Canada, its being an industrialized country.

This decision in no way suggests that stories and opinions of young adults from the upper and lower classes are unimportant. Since, young adults enrolled in post secondary institutions have access to information, instruction, the Internet and other forms of mass media, they have the power to shape ideas, trends, cultures, consumption patterns and

aspirations. (UNESCO/UNEP, 2001) At this level of education, they may have a sense of

familiarity and appreciation of larger ecosystems, landscapes and evolutionary processes as well as development of environmental stewardship. As potential "messengers" of change in the ways we care about and manage our environment, insight into their thoughts and actions

in the context of environmental sustainability issues could lead to an understanding of how to empower others to take an active role in attaining a sustainable future.

While race was not a factor in my investigation, the young adults in this research study

reflect the racial and cultural diversity of Canada and Canada's multicultural mosaic (see

Table 4.3 on p. 91)

The assumption is based on Gilbert (2002) index on income earning by class which described middle class household earning to be between $30, 000 and $65, 000.

90 Table 4.3: Frequency Distribution of Respondents by Race/Ethnicity

Categories Count Percent of Cases %

Middle Eastern 1 5.6

Asian Descent 4 22.2

Black/African 3 16.6

First Nation 1 5.6

Hispanic 1 5.6

White/Caucasian 8 44.6

Table 4.3 frequency distribution of participants by race/ethnicity, the table above show that the study participants 8 or (44.4%) were mostly White/Caucasian, while 4 or (22.2%) were

Asian descent; three or (16.6%) were Blacks/African, and each of the remaining race or

ethnic categories like Middle Eastern, First Nation and Hispanic is represented by 1 (5.6%)

respectively.

4.5. The Research Context

This research study investigates the thoughts and actions of young adults in post

secondary institutions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The GTA, the research

participants' site of learning for environmental and sustainability issues is the most

ethnically diverse city in Canada.

The research participants were registered university students in three large Canadian

universities namely, University of Toronto, York University and Ryerson University

91 located in the GTA. The three universities have a combined student population of approximately 184, 000. The universities are located in Southern Ontario, in a large urban area with a population of more than five million, representing 18% of Canada's population.

The three universities campuses are tightly integrated into the city's urban life and offer a rich cultural experience and racial diversity. The majority of the students in these universities are Canadians and immigrants from different racial and socio-economic backgrounds.

I chose to study young adults attending post secondary institutions in this large urban context, because it offers the opportunity to study a racially and culturally diverse

population. In addition, young adults in their late teens often migrate from rural Canada to

large urban areas to pursue their education, contributing to the vibrancy of the urban

campuses. This large urban context doubles as a site or location for youth action and

learning in relation to environmental sustainability. The large urban context offers

opportunities for diverse, creative, participatory, democratic and engaged learning

activities. (Clover, 2001)

4.6. Research Procedures

Individual interviews with the research participants took place between September

2006 and May of 2007 at the participants' university campuses, at locations of their choice.

I relied on survey and interview protocols as the main methods for data gathering in this

study. Before the start of each interview, participants were guaranteed confidentiality and

made aware of their right to withdraw their participation from the study at any time. The

92 purpose and the format of the interview were briefly explained. The interviews were semi- structured and open-ended. Each interview lasted between one and a half and two hours.

The interviews were audio-taped with the permission of the participants and later transcribed. The audio-tapes as well as the transcriptions of the interviews were kept securely by the researcher.

4.7. Pilot Interviews

The interview protocol was piloted prior to two pre-service teacher education and three graduate students at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of

Toronto. The aim of piloting was to test my questions were in order to fine tune for them.

The participants for the pilot interviews were known to me. Conducting pilot interview was

fruitful, I realise through these pilot interviews that while my original interview questions

dealt with issues of pertaining to environmental and sustainability learning, it did not

adequately the meaning of environmental issues and learning experiences.

Based on this, I realised that I need to construct additional questions that would

address the focus of the study and also reworded others to elicit meaning to the subsequent

participants. I also realise through the pilot interviews that I need to give an example of

topical global environmental problem. As Patton (2002, p. 361) explains, "the interviewer

bears the responsibility to pose questions that make it clear to the interviewee what is being

asked." This is because the participants understanding of topical environment problem was

not clear understood by the participants until I had to give an example to help them form

their responses. This perhaps explains why the interviews questions appear direct in

93 construction and leading. Through the pilot interviews, I realised that participant from their response linked consumerism to environmental degradation. As a result of this realization, I added several questions to the interview protocol.

Further, I realise through the pilot interviews that a conversational approach to interviewing would be better for a study of this nature in order to make the participants feel comfortable to talk to me regarding their experiences. Since according to Denzin and

Lincoln (2000, p. 633), the interview is a conversation and... neutral tool, for at least two people to create the reality of the interview situation. As such, it only through this way that interviews can produce situated understandings grounded in specific interactional episodes.

Finally, the pilot interviews showed me that I could expect to hear some interesting accounts based on the experiences of the subsequent participants.

4.8. Data Gathering

4.8.1. The Interviews

Interviews were the main method of data gathering employed in this study. I chose to conduct semi-structured, informal, in-depth and open-ended interviews to encourage participants to express themselves freely. This approach helped me in facilitating my conversations with the participants. The interviews were conducted between September

2006 and May 2007. The interview sessions took place at locations on the university campuses selected by the participants. The locations included, student lounges, common rooms, cafeterias, reading rooms and reception areas of students' residence.

94 As Denzin and Lincoln (2000) state, professional etiquette informing research with human subjects asserts that no one deserves to be harmed or embarrassed as a result of research practices. Hence the protection of participants' anonymity is viewed as a central and guiding principle in ethical research practice to safeguard against unwanted exposure and the disclosure of private knowledge. To protect the research participants' identities and ensure their anonymity, I deleted all names and assigned codes and pseudonyms known only to myself. I also excluded all recognizable information mentioned in the interviews.

During the interviews we spent time discussing not only the specific focus of the

study, but also the politics associated with climate change and why the G814 nations and many global protocols have failed in protecting the environment. These discussions helped me establish rapport with the participants and set them at ease for the remainder of the interview. I reassured the participants that the study was not a test of their knowledge of environmental issues. The interview questions were designed to elicit information based on

Patton's (2002) five primary question categories:

1. experience/behaviour (what a person does or has done);

2. opinion/value questions (aimed at understanding the subject's cognitive and

interpretive processes);

3. feelings (emotional responses to experiences and thoughts);

4. knowledge (factual information); and

5. sensory experience (what is seen, heard, touched, tasted and/or smelled).

The Group of Eight (G8) Industrialized Nations is an international forum for the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States of America.

95 The range of the questions covered sources of knowledge, learning influences, experiences, and activities related to environmental sustainability issues. I also asked participants to give their personal view on consumerism or consumer culture. The interview protocol was divided into three sections: the first section focused on participants' biographical information, such as age, year/level of study and gender. Section two focused

on general information regarding environmental and sustainability issues. In this section there were also questions related to learning experiences, the location of learning and

actions. Section three asked questions about participants' levels of awareness, sources or

location of knowledge, their emotional engagement and activities related to environmental

sustainability (see Appendix A).

During each of the interviews, I listened attentively without interruptions or

interjections to avoid influencing the participants' responses. Listening to the participants, I

was amazed by their level of commitment and concern both in terms of their knowledge

and their actions for the preservation of the environment. I followed Hollway and

Jefferson's (2000) principle of using respondents' ordering and phrasing to ask follow up

questions. I carefully listened and noted the words and phrases the interviewees used,

without interrupting them. In this manner I was able to gain insights into the participants

learning experiences.

Each of the 18 young adults participated in a semi-structured interviews (see

Appendix A), which lasted approximately one and half to two hours. I audio-recorded the

interviews after receiving interviewees' permission in order to increase the accuracy of the

data collection and ensure the completeness of the verbal interaction. The transcription of

the audio-recording was completed by a professional transcriber. After the transcribing was

96 complete, copies of the interview transcripts were sent to the participants for their feedback to ensure the accuracy of their accounts.

4.9. Data Analysis

Data analysis is the process of systematically searching and arranging the information that is accumulated in a study to increase researcher's understanding of the phenomena he or she is exploring and to enable the researcher to present his or her findings.

Analysis is the basis for developing credible findings. Therefore, the strength of any research depends on the quality of its analysis. Hitchcock and Hughes (1989) and Patton

(1990) refer to research analysis as the culminating activities of a research project.

4.9.1. Analysis of Qualitative Data

In this section I explain the process of analyzing the data gathered in this research

study. As Clarke (2002) observes, "one of the key problems with qualitative research is

organizing the data in such a way that they facilitate systemic analysis" (p. 178).

Recognizing this problem, I followed Glesne's (1999) analysis process, which involves

organizing what you have seen, heard and read so that you can make sense of what you have learned. Working with the data, you describe, create explanations, pose hypotheses,

develop theories and link your story to other stories. To do so, you must categorize,

synthesize, search for patterns and interpret the data you have collected.

Since I did not transcribe the interview audio-tapes myself, in order to prevent data

loss as well as to familiarize and immerse myself with the transcripts, I listened to the

interviews while reading the corresponding transcripts. Listening to the audio-tapes helped

97 me to establish a connection between my interview notes and the actual transcription. I was also able to correct minor typographical errors in the transcriptions.

I proceeded with the data analysis by carefully reading and re-reading the transcriptions, making analytical notes and generating a list of categories and sub- categories/themes with key words that emerged from the transcripts. According to Ely,

Anzul et al (1991) making categories means reading, thinking, trying out tentative categories, changing them when others do a better job, checking them until the very last piece of meaningful information is categorized and, even at the point, being open to revising the categories. (Tsouluhas, 2005)

I then grouped the categories and sub categories into higher and lower order themes, considering the relationship among them. With a similar method of separation, some nodes were then grouped into yet higher categories. I later categorized and organized these nodes into a hierarchical system and finally into a common structure, or an overarching

framework "by which to understand and later speak about the data as a whole." (Kahn,

1999, p.86)

Following the categorization and sub-categorization of the interview transcripts,

paragraphs of the text were selected and coded. I then grouped the coded segment

according to themes. It is important to stress that, in some cases; segments were coded in

multiple themes or nodes to reflect the reality that participants did not speak in neat

compartments about their experiences, but with fluidity. In the data analysis, I was

particularly interested in the participants' thoughts, specific actions and sites for learning

about environmental and sustainability issues. I examined their narratives for the physical,

social and personal aspects of their learning in order to explore how they can inform us

98 about learning and enhance the sustainability agenda in both formal and informal educational sectors. At the end of my coding, there were 11 higher-order nodes or categories, distinguished as primary categories or nodes, and various sub categories. These categories formed the basis for the research results and discussion in this thesis.

4.10. Summary

The personal, social and physical aspects of learning provide an excellent context for the investigation of young adults' perceptions and experiences in relation to environmental issues and sustainability. In this chapter, I presented the methods used for collecting data in this study. This research follows a qualitative research design to address the research questions. Through semi-structured interviews I engaged the participants in conversation to understand how their actions and thoughts have been shaped by the knowledge of environmental sustainability issues. In the following chapter, I discuss the

contexts of the environmental and sustainability issues the research participants raised

during the interviews.

99 CHAPTER FIVE CONTEXTUALIZING ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES

5.1. Introduction

This chapter provides insight into the knowledge of the young adults in this research regarding key environmental and sustainability issues. It is important to note that this is by no means an attempt to analyze the research participants' scientific understanding of environmental sustainability or its meanings. Rather, my goal is to provide an initial understanding of the young adults' environmental learning experiences and its role (if any) in environmental action. (Dussel, 2001; Hodgkinson & Innes, 2001; Inglehart, 1971;

Shetzeretal., 1991)

The importance of this initial insight is hinged on the argument that once early socialization has passed, the residuals of learning are fixed within individuals, forming core orientations that are unlikely to change. (Krosnick & Alwin, 1989) In this manner, according to Blewitt (2006b), the learner may activate both the capacity and capability to make connections intellectually, emotionally, imaginatively and ethically with other, perhaps unfamiliar, lifeworlds, experiences and values. In order to understand young adults' learning and actions in relation to environmental and sustainability issues, it is important to understand how their knowledge has shaped their actions as well as their understanding of the environmental issues. My guiding assumption is that the young adults' learning and actions are to some extent informed by their knowledge of environmental and sustainability

100 issues, since learning and actions are constitutive elements of any transformative process leading to a more sustainable future.

The following analysis and discussion are based on the research participants' responses to the following interview questions:

1. a.) What do you know about climate change?

b.) What are your views regarding the global warming phenomenon?

c.) Do you agree that humanity's actions are responsible for recent global warming?

2. a) What do you think can be done to educate people about the consequences of climate change?

b) Do you think that there are solutions capable of reversing climate change?

In the interviews I also explored the various meanings the young adults attach to climate change and global warming and the connections they make between the two. The research participants' responses during the interviews demonstrate that the young adults' in this study have an above average understanding of the nature and context of global warming and climate change, its causes and what can be done to reverse the trend. A

composite of the meanings that emerge from their responses constitutes their

understandings and educational backgrounds in relation to environmental and sustainability

issues.

5.2. Level of Information and Awareness of Environmental Sustainability Issues

The young adults in this research study were asked to rank their level of information

about environmental sustainability issues. They ranked their knowledge on a scale of one to

101 ten (1-10), with one being the lowest rank and 10 the highest. The median point was about five (5) or five and a half (5.5). Overall, the young adults were sharply divided in their responses: 65% believe that their level of information is either "too low" or "low"; 30% rank themselves at "about average" or "fairly average", while 5% described themselves as being "very informed."

In order to contextualize their responses, some of the young adults provided reasons for their low or high self- rankings. For instance, Kaelyn (a 21 year old female, fourth year university student) explains

I don't think I'm well informed; but I know a little bit, but not enough.... [I would rank myself] one and a half.... I'm not into environmental stuff. If I was forced to learn it in high school, I might actually want to help out and do stuff, but since.. .1 was never forced to there's nothing there With the environment I just put it at the back [File YA01: Text Units 77-82, 272 - 280]

Kaelyn addresses the issue of helplessness occasioned by the non-availability of

environmental studies or environmental education in the high school she attended. Her

helplessness is further compounded by the fact that she had no incentive to learn on her

own, either informally or as part of class work.

Despite the non-availability and the lack of attention environmental studies or

concepts formally receive within school programs, some of the young adults in this study

were exposed to learning about environmental issues informally within and outside of

school. For example, Mia (a female first year undergraduate university student) explains:

I'd probably give myself a 6. I'm not too sure of how much I know more than other people. I don't know a ton of stuff. I don't know the specific

102 details, but I am aware of different issues; so I wouldn't rank myself too high but not too low either.... Well maybe 5.5,1 guess. [File YA02: Text Units 126-137]

Although Mia claims she does not know very much, her average rank is a reflection of her involvement in ENGO activities, her activism and membership as well as her participation in other informal programs, such as symposiums, lectures and an outdoor school that focuses on environmental and sustainability issues. In another instance, Zoe (a female undergraduate university student) states:

I'd say I'm pretty well informed. Well my sisters...are always talking about that kind of stuff and [we] have a compost in the backyard, and I also took a grade 12 course in high school about the environment; and I've always been involved in that sort of thing, like planting trees in my community and taking part in those things. I would [rank myself] 7 or 8; I think I know enough coming from the family that I do; they are all very educated and they are always talking about that sort of thing at home. One sister in particular, she is an environmental teacher so she always has new things coming in and out of the house, and I feel that I'm pretty well informed on that. [File YA07: Text Units YA07: 82 - 88,217 - 225]

Zoe's high level of environmental knowledge is an example of how exposure to

environmental discussions and practices at home and within the school influences

knowledge of environmental issues.. In addition to the influence of her sisters, who are the

main sources of environmental information at home, Zoe's exposure to environmental

issues in her grade 12 class further explains her above average environmental knowledge

level. This example clearly demonstrates that a school that includes environmental subjects

103 can help students learn and improve their knowledge about environmental sustainability issues.

Some of the young adults who rank themselves "low" believe that they can work to improve their knowledge of environmental issues; these research participants argue that they can improve their environmental knowledge by engaging in reading and research.

Liam explains this attitude,

I would rank myself pretty low mostly because I haven't done primary research myself. Until I could actually do that...there's no way I could give myself a ten because most of the environmental [information or news in the] media is...tainted or has opinions in there already; it's hard to form your own opinion without taking sides with somebody [File YA17: Text Units 186-204]

In ranking himself low, Liam addresses the powerful effect of engaging in personal learning about environmental issues and sustainability. Despite his low self-ranking, it is very clear that Liam understands the centrality of knowledge and its importance in promoting environmental awareness and protection.

While knowledge of issues relating to the environment and sustainability is

important, the environmental information available to the public is based on diverse

viewpoints, from several opposing sides. For Liam, the inadequate environmental

information available in the public domain makes it difficult to form his own opinion on the

issues without taking sides. Liam's comment also demonstrates the significance of

educational level and attainment as a contributing factor in the young adults' learning and

thoughts in relation to environmental issues and sustainability.

104 5.3. Climate Change The young adults generally agreed that the term "climate change" refers to an increase in temperature, resulting from the trapping of carbon dioxide and atmospheric pollution that poses great danger to the continuation of life and the survival of planetary functions. Some of the young adults also referred to climate change as the consequence of humanity's care-free attitudes and life style since the industrial revolution. Other responses pointed to strong connections between climate change and the melting ice at the North Pole

and extreme weather scenarios, such as tsunamis, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones and tornados that have become regular and yearly occurrences.

For example, Ava15 (an 18 year old female, first year undergraduate university

student) spoke about the melting and thinning of ice covers and glaciers in the context of

climate change. "I read about the ice caps and the core samples.. .and how they have been

reducing over time [at the North Pole], especially.. .since the industrial revolution. I guess it

started to pick up over the past thirty years" [File YA03: Text Units: 11 - 65]. Taegan (an

18 year old male, first year undergraduate university student) also cited a connection

between climate change and human activities:

[Essentially the main reasons climate change is occurring is because we're putting so much artificial carbon dioxide C02 into the atmosphere right now through things such as the driving of cars, factories; deforestation, obviously, is a huge one and I think the most significant reason as to why there are increased volumes of C02. So as this is happening the temperatures are rising. On average I think it is supposed to rise by about 1.5 to 5.5 degrees, and I mean, obviously, that's an average,

15 Pseudonyms are used to depict the research participants throughout the dissertation in order to maintain their anonymity.

105 so in some places it will rise more significantly and in some less significantly; but as that's happening, it's creating, different environments throughout the world's ecosystems and things such as that. And a lot of plants and animals, especially in the oceans with seaweed and things like this, are very vulnerable to temperature changes. So it's going to have a huge impact on natural systems a well as urban systems.. ..You're getting an increase in heat and-things like that.... In my geography class we're learning about it.... There's going to be an increase in droughts in some regions and an increase in rain in some regions, so it's going to completely disrupt the entire farming system, so it's going to have a huge impact on agriculture as well.... Industrialization is continuing so, as you get less and less farmers and more and more disruption of the climate, it's going to have a bigger impact on food and things like that, which obviously affects everyone in the world. [File YA10: Text Units 9 - 55]

Ava and Taegan establish a link between climate change and global increases in temperature, which have been found to be responsible for the decreasing sizes of glaciers and ice caps at the North Pole. Although, they did not provide scientific explanations for the rise in global temperature, they were able to connect climate change to the industrial revolution, which introduced large-scale use of fossil fuels for industrial activities and caused atmospheric pollution.

Ava and Taegan's comments correspond with the 19l century scientist Svante

Arrhenius' postulations on climate change, the first to link temperature and human activity

(Economist, 2006), as well as the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change in early 2007 that the climatic changes seen around the world are very likely to be the result of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rather than natural

106 variations warming the planet's surface (IPCC, 2007). Increases in the emission of carbon dioxide are the result of changes in land use patterns, deforestation, land clearing, agriculture and other human activities, such the use of coal, oil and natural gas as fuel.

Other participants describe the phenomenon of climate change from a generational perspective, in terms of intergenerational challenges regarding global climatic changes and

sustainability. For instance, Brooklyn (a 22 year old female, fourth year undergraduate university student) provides an explanation of the greenhouse effect16, global warming and climate change as all part of the same phenomenon.

[T]he greenhouse effect...is one of the main causes of climate change; it is occurs where the sun's rays can't get through the blanket of pollutants, but when they bounce off the earth, they can't get back [into the atmosphere] thereby creating a really warm layer around the earth, which is causing ice caps to melt.... In Toronto, for example, on August 19th 2006, we had a rainstorm and there was a torrential downpour in one specific area of the city. If you looked at how much rain Toronto got that day it was normal, but because all the rain came down in one specific area, we had flooding and.. .people's basements were full of sewage, because we don't have the infrastructure to take care of it. So in terms of climate change, I know it's a reality and we've to do something about it. [File: YA05: Text Units 8 - 33]

Brooklyn's response demonstrates knowledge of the process of climate change,

which starts with human activities upsetting the natural balance, and producing the "natural

greenhouse effect." She understands that the consequence of the greenhouse effect is what

The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature that the Earth experiences because certain gases in the atmosphere (water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, for example) trap energy from the sun. Without these gases, heat would escape back into space and Earth's average temperature would be about 60°F colder. Because of how they warm our world, these gases are referred to as greenhouse gases.

107 is commonly referred to as global warming or climate change. Mia (an 18 year old female, first year undergraduate university student) also discusses the issue of climate change in relation to consequent extreme weather conditions being experienced globally:

[BJecause of that the earth is warming up and also we are getting more rain 'cause the water evaporates faster and it comes down as well. So it's not just the earth is getting warmer, climate change also means there is heavier rainfall. I don't know too much about the science.. .1 just know that there is carbon in the air, basically, and also I've heard that the [ice] layers around the earth are getting thinner; the holes in the ozone layer are allowing more sun to come in, which is dangerous as well. [File: YA02: Text Units 10 - 45]

Brooklyn and Mia's responses present a clear understanding of the meaning of climate change as well as its likely impacts on humankind. These young women not only identify the causes of climate change, they also present climate change as a threat to humankind by drawing on real life examples, such as the impact of climate change on weather patterns.

Their responses point to the fact that the increasing warming of the planet causes changes in rainfall and snowfall patterns, leads to increased droughts and floods, causes melting of glaciers and polar ice sheets, and results in accelerated sea- level rise.

Global warming will also lead to an increase in levels of evaporation of surface

water; the air will also expand and this will increase its capacity to hold moisture. Some of

the young adults spoke about the human attitudes and behaviours (i.e., the laissez faire

approach and our actions) that are responsible for climate change and global warming. For

example, Scarlet (a 23 year old female, fifth year undergraduate university student), and

108 Brooklyn, (a 22year old female, fourth year undergraduate university student) state as follows:

Scarlet: [L]ook how many cars people have nowadays? All the things that are happening.. .maybe it would have been inevitable anyway, but it wouldn't be as fast as it is happening right now; it wouldn't be as quick, from what I understand anyway, because of the developments that have been happening lately.

Interviewer: So do you think the scientists are right?

S: I do. Yes; that we are contributing greatly to it because of our development. [File YA04: Text Units 56 - 67]

Brooklyn: We live such a consumerist lifestyle. I think we're selfish. People choose to live in big houses.. .use air conditioning.. .drive SUV's. These are all conscious choices that we are making and.. .there is no doubt in my mind that we are destroying our environment [through our lifestyles]. [File YA05: Text Units 74 - 89]

Scarlet and Brooklyn demonstrate their understanding of the "manifold and

complex connections that characterize the modern world" (Renner, 2002, p. 16), as they

connect cars and drivers to climate change. It is not uncommon these days for an

individual to own at least two cars; an average family may own up to three or four cars,

without being aware that the simple act of driving is contributing to the unravelling of the

climate system (Renner, 2002). Scarlet and Brooklyn's responses also speak to "social

109 value", which is often measured in terms of affluence and social acceptance, which is often measured by the number or type of vehicles one owns and drives. Similarly, Chris

Winter, Executive Director of Conservation Council of Ontario, notes "look all around us, you see Hummers, SUVS and everybody with their lights on at all hours of the night."

(Toronto Star, March 22 2007) Furthermore a poll conducted by Angus Reid in 2007 suggests that while wealthier Canadians are worried about global warming, they are reluctant to change their lifestyles in order to fight it. Most were unwilling to give up their

SUVs or other gas guzzling vehicles, or lower the thermostats in their homes (Toronto

Star, 2007)

Some of the young adults focussed on the impacts of climate change on our health. For instance, Brooklyn and Chloe (an 18 year old female, first year undergraduate university student) state:

Brooklyn: Climate change has been responsible for a large loss of human life. ... A lot of human life has been devastated because of climate change that is in part our fault. Our emissions are being raised to the point where human health is being affected, our local environment is being affected, people are dying, we're losing species; we are losing our natural resources, things of that sort. So I definitely think it's something to be concerned about. [File YA08: Text Unitsl8 - 88]

Chloe: I think the hot summers.. .are a strong proof that global warming/climate change is a reality They are hotter than they have ever been; we've hit record highs.... We're facing smog days unlike we've ever had before, which is detrimental to the health of adults, the elderly and children, which is worrisome. [File YA05: Text Units 54 - 68]

110 These young adults address the powerful effect of the health consequences of climate change on humankind. Brooklyn and Chloe demonstrated a clear understanding of the complexities of the increasing changes in global climate patterns, in terms of how our actions cause diseases and death. Due to muggy weather, there has been an increase in the habitat areas of disease-spreading insects, thereby causing an increase in the transmission of infection. For example, hot summers, warm winters and especially dry springs make ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes (Porter, 2007) and other disease vectors.

Gord Miller, Ontario Environment Commissioner, in his report to the Minister of

Environment and the Minister of Natural Resources, states:

Our emergency wards are clogged with children having asthma attacks. But the solution is not just more emergency wards; it includes giving the resources to make the air cleaner. The same is true for cancer. With a significant portion of cancers being environmentally induced, why aren't we giving these ministries the resources to develop better standards and empower them to detect and reduce carcinogens in the environment? (Miller, 2005, n. p.)

Natural disasters resulting from climate change have taken many lives and destroyed properties worth billion of dollars. Stern (2007) predicts that climate change will cause the displacement of over 200 million people as their homes are hit by drought or floods from rising sea levels.

Dylan (a 30 year old, male, doctoral university student), agrees with Chloe and

Brooklyn in recognizing a link between climate change and the hazardous consequences of pollution.

Ill [0]n top of green house effects is the pollution that we create with all the energy that we are using to live in the Western world.... This pollution is actually creating a lot of particles that are very hazardous to human health, which end up polluting.. .the ecosystems... endanger biodiversity and humans in general. This pollution has an acute effect on human beings, animals and plants. [File YA18: Text Units 6 - 62]

Dylan demonstrates the overwhelming nature of global warming and climate change and their irreversibly disastrous consequences. His response also speaks to the predatory approach of humankind to the planet and its resources as well as the issue of pollution and the declining quality of the environment as an accumulation of the impact of human activity. According to the IPCC, as a result of global warming hundreds of people will be without water within a couple of decades, while tropical diseases like malaria will spread

(IPCC, 2007).

5.4. Connecting Global Warming to Climate Change

According to the IPCC all regions of the world will be affected by climate warming and a third of the earth's species will vanish if global temperatures continue to rise until they are 3.6 degrees above the average temperatures in the 1980s and '90s (cited in Alley et al., 2007). The young adults in this study consistently viewed global warming as directly associated with climate change. Cadence (a 24 year old female, doctoral university student) stated:

112 [Gjlobal warming.. .is, I believe, directly attributed to the human component of the planet, and it's this global warming that is causing a climate change that is not natural; it's not part of the natural way of the world. It's not just normal fluctuations that are happening.... It's global warming that is causing...climate change. [File YA12: Text Units 27 - 37]

Cadence's response affirms the scientific claims that the current warming of the planet is traceable to human activity, and that the above normal warming is responsible for climate change. Cadence's explanation also points to the fact that the planet naturally experiences some level of warming needed to maintain its thermal balance for life forms to sustain. Mia

(anl 8 year old female, undergraduate university student) shares Cadence's view but notes,

I know that there's a connection between those, but I don't know the scientific connection between them. [File YA02: Text Units 46 - 52]

Chloe also discusses the relationship between global warming and climate change, but names global warming as an offset of climate change:

[G]lobal warming from my knowledge is caused by the harmful UV rays getting trapped inside the earth.... So by trapping that heat, the earth is getting warmer, our ice caps are melting, there is drought because land is drying up, things of that sort. So climate change definitely has a direct connection with global warming. I think global warming is just an offset and just one of the effects of climate change. [File YA08: Text Units 89 - 103]

Dakota (a 23 year old female, graduate university student in a Master's degree program) disagrees with Chloe's explanation. Dakota described the connection between the two environmental problems by differentiating one from the other:

113 Global warming is an aspect of climate change, the way I see it. I wouldn't say one is the consequence. I would say one is an expression of the other. Like climate change could include more than just global warming.... Climate change is a particular manifestation of global warming. [File YA09: Text Units 41 - 50]

Dakota's understanding points to climate change as a consequence of climate warming that is exacerbated by the increase in carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gases in the atmosphere. Few of the young adults disagreed that global warming is directly related to climate change. Those with dissenting views argued that climate change and global warming are two different environmental phenomena. For example, Ava states,

There is distinction between the two. They are not the same thing.. .because climate change doesn't necessarily mean global, if you take the words global warming literally. I think what I researched was that most of the climate change that will be taking place will be a general warming. Some places will potentially get colder.. .and the weather is supposed to become more extreme, which could go either way; but global warming has to do with something else. [File YA03: Text Units 93 -106]

Comments such as Ava's are not new; they are in fact in keeping with the climate change and global warming debate. Her response amplifies the question among scientists, politicians, academics and activists regarding the warming of the planet. Ava's response implies an understanding of climate change as occurring naturally as a result of a change in the sun's energy or earth's orbital cycle (natural climate forcing), which contributes to the natural warming of the planet. Global warming, on the other hand, is the result of persistent anthropogenic forces, such as the addition of greenhouse gases, sulphate, aerosols or black

114 carbon to the atmosphere, or through land-use change. Making distinctions are not uncommon in environmental debates; however there is a scientific consensus that concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are increasing, and that this is causing global climate change. (Climate Change information Resources, 2004)

5.5. Education about the Consequence of Climate Change

UNESCO (2006) notes that education is the key instrument in bringing about changes in values and attitudes, behaviours and lifestyles, particularly in relation to environmental protection and consumption patterns as they intersect with sustainability. For the most part, the young adults recognized school as playing an important role in educating people about the consequences of climate / global warning. While school-based education was the response most frequently provided, the young adults also spoke about informal settings, such as mass media, the Internet, popular education, hype and non-governmental agencies. They also recommended that all forms of education be built around real life experiences so that people can connect with environmental problems.

According to Maddox (a 20 year old male, fourth year undergraduate university

student), school is the best medium for building awareness about climate change:

[E]ducation holds the power to knowledge and understanding, since being aware of the problem is the key before you can have a solution; education through schools is the best medium to make people aware. [File YA14: Text Units 52-61]

Layla, (a 22 year old female, fourth year undergraduate university student) agrees:

115 [T]he classroom is a good way; it is the best time to reach to a person and involve them in an interactive way, and just teach them from a young age ways to reduce their ecological impact on the earth.... So I think outreach with kids is the best.... They need a lot of evidence and explanations behind why they should change their ways, and both visual and.. .scientific backing would convince them. It is a part of science when you're in the first ten grades of school I think, at least it was in my experience and talking to other people. Science at school always involves a bit of environmental studies, but they should try and engage the student in more environmental issues.... I think learning environmental foundations will actually improve them as citizens. [File YA06: Text Units 62 - 118]

Taegan, Mia and Cadence explain how schools can play an important role in empowering young children with knowledge that promotes sustainable lifestyles:

Taegan: I guess you have to really start it at the younger level.... I think knowledge can be imparted more easily at a younger age.... If you had a program in elementary schools.. .to connect the kids with a lifestyle that's sustainable and promotes recycling when they are young, then they are more likely to carry it on. So I think it's a matter of giving kids knowledge when they are younger. [File YA10: Text Units 138-15]

Mia: [T]hey can teach it to children in school. It depends on the teachers if they want to incorporate it into their school lessons, and that doesn't always happen. So I think schools are a good way to get to children and teenagers. [File YA02: Text UnitslOO -125]

Cadence: It has to start at a young age. I think this need to be brought in at the actual education level, and it needs to be brought in at the elementary school level. Once a child has completed elementary school, they go into

116 high school. If there is no direct classroom component on what climate change is and how humans are affecting it, then by the time students or persons get to university they are unaware of any of the issues. So I think it needs to start in the primary school level.. .and I think if there is a conscious effort.. .on a global scale, not just in North America, then I think education and knowledge can lead to change. [File YA12: Text Units 38- 55]

Scholars who share these views, strongly emphasize school based instruction and learning about environmental patterns, processes and problems. (Fien, 1993) They argue that increasing environmental studies content (with real life examples) in the curriculum, rather than relying on the initiatives of individual teachers, may lead to an improved understanding of environmental problems. (Huckle, 1983) For instance, other participants, such as Liam (a 24 year old male graduate student in a doctoral program) viewed education/educational programs as the key to his developing interest in environmental sustainability issues.

More of the motivation has definitely come through education and also being open to hearing those things.... I think it's definitely learning these courses and also being open to it; and then through that I think you open yourself up, through daily experience, to start seeing those things and just being aware of the environment around you; and it sort of builds on itself. You learn more about it and then you are aware a bit more, and so on. [File YA17: Text Units 360 - 383]

Liam's interest in environmental learning was facilitated by his education; in particular, the courses he took were instrumental to his learning as well as developing an interest in environmental and sustainability issues. This underscores the importance of formal school

117 curricula and other educational resources in environmental and sustainability learning.

Liam's reference to education is not restricted to formal school alone, but also includes other non-formal learning that transcend the conventional boundaries of school-based education.

Some of the young adults expressed preference for other means of educating about the consequences of climate change. Ava, for instance, suggests introducing some level of sentimentalism/sensationalism (hype) into the delivery of environmental messages:

Ava: I think education is important, but I think hype is more important.. .if you really freak people out about it.... There are a lot of people who watch the news.... A lot people understand that all of these things are supposed to happen very soon, but it's not hyped up enough, so people actually do not care enough about changing it in the moment. I think that education is always important, but it doesn't necessarily provide any results.... There are lots of things people are educated about every day that everybody knows about but nobody cares about, because they don't feel it can impact them in any way. [File YA03: Text Units 136 -162]

Ava emphasizes the need to change the "soft approach" of merely educating people for change with hopes that such awareness will transform people's attitudes and behaviours.

The "hyping of environmental problems" that Ava promotes is not new to environmental education and awareness building; it has been used draw to attention to many environmental problems in the past. Jeffrey Masters, the Chief Meteorologist of The

Weather Underground, provides examples of the use hype by environmentalists. In 1992,

The New York Times reported ozone depletion over Southern Chile had caused an increase in "Twilight Zone" type reports of sheep and rabbits with cataracts. (Nash, 1992) The story

118 was repeated in many places, including the July 1,1993 showing of ABC's Prime Time

Live. Al Gore's book, Earth in the Balance, repeated the myth, stating: In Patagonia, hunters now report finding blind rabbits; fishermen catch blind salmon. (Gore, 1992)

Though it may have its positive sides, the hype approach may be counter-productive in some cases, since it could cause scepticism as Sephia (a 20 year old female, second year undergraduate university student) illustrates:

I have problems with that concept.. .because when you read about it in the newspapers it's always so sensationalized that it's hard to deal with on a general level. You can't tell people the world is going to disappear 'cause we've been told since we were two years old that "you're the ones that are going to have to deal with the ecological crisis" and now I'm 20.... So I think it's really challenging because.. .when you're told that message every day on CNN .. .and every week there are conflicting studies, and nobody has a solid answer. So until we really know what's happening, it's really hard to be convincing to the general public. [File YA13: Text Units 60 - 104] Other young adults, such as Dakota instead suggest the use of "real life" examples so people can experience a sense of connection to environmental problems:

[If for example] you're a farmer and you can tie climate change to your actual farming practices, you'd say climate change is happening so you're more likely to experience droughts, which means your crop production goes down. It's more real; it's not just abstract. If I was living in Pretoria, for example, I wouldn't really care if the ice is melting in the North Pole, cause I'm not in the North Pole; but if I know that it's going to have an effect on my daily life, and in ten years maybe the farm will cease to exist... [File YA09: Text Units 67 - 114]

119 The suggestion to use real life examples and experiences speaks to the abstract nature of information many sources of education provided by the schools. Dakota's response also illustrates the dynamic relationship between educating for change and how people connect to environmental problems.

Similarly, Dubos, an advisor to the United Nations Conference on the Human

Environment in 1972, coined the famous adage, Think globally; act locally. Dubos argues that issues involving the environment must be dealt within their "unique physical, climatic and cultural contexts" and "through a rich system of communications." (Eblen & Eblen,

1994, p. 702) Global environmental problems, according to this argument, can turn into action only by considering the ecological, economic and cultural differences of our local surroundings. (Grillon, 1994)

Some of the young adults were strongly in favour of using mass media sources, such as the Internet and television, as a means for educating about the consequences of climate change.

Brooklyn: Internet is a big source. You can always put up ads there; and television, because the majority of young people do watch television and use the Internet; try and put up many ads... [File YA07: Text Units 33-60]

The recommendation to place advertisements and stories about environmental problems in the mass media, particularly on the Internet, corresponds to the fact that many young adults these days often spend the bulk of their online time on social networking sites, such as Windows live spaces, Yahoo 360, Nexopia, hi5, Facebook and MySpace.

120 The preference for television and the Internet over newspapers and other print media could be linked to the "zero-waste" generation as well as the fact that television

and the Internet provide easy access to targeted audiences. According to Blewitt (2006a) these media sources certainly hold a great capacity to shape our actions and interactions,

because they have become major vehicles of our cultural participation. Reflecting on the

power, potential and possibilities of television and the Internet, Moores (2000) notes that

these media have rapidly integrated into the fabric of our daily lives, and our

understanding of our lives is becoming increasingly '"mediated" through them. (Blewitt,

2006b; de Zengotita, 2005; Thompson, 1996)

5.6. Summary

The young adults in this study, as this chapter illustrates, have an above average

understanding of climate change when compared with young adults in previous studies.

(Henry, 2000; Kempton, 1991a, 1991b) At times they provide compelling views that are

not much different from scientific positions. Contrary to the findings in Kempton's (1991a;

Kempton, 1991b) ethnographic study, the young adults in this research did not

conceptualize climate change as plant photosynthesis or troposphere pollution. They were

able to link global warming and their personal experiences of temperature variation with

climate change. Furthermore, climate change was recognized as the consequence of burning

fossil fuels and cars that require lot of gas. The participants in this study also recognize the

A policy by many corporate organizations to reduce their ecological footprints

121 connection between climate change and human health and the loss of species and natural resources.

Addressing the threats of climate and global warming, as well other environmental problems, requires the building of awareness through all forms of education, informal, non- formal and formal. As Moran (2006) states, "one characteristic of human agency seems to be that we need to have the accumulation of information over an extended time, gradually shaping into a picture of a process that result in concern.. .and in some individuals taking action." The young adults in this study recognize the importance of education in the development of a strong commitment and environmental conscience for effective action against climate change to take place and to ensure a sustainable future.

The following chapter delves into the centrality of their learning experiences regarding environmental and sustainability issues in their actions and thoughts, within the personal, the sociocultural and the physical contexts. The different contexts described as influencing the young adults' environmental and sustainability learning experiences further support this claim and various factors the young adults identified as contributing to their learning about environmental sustainability are discussed in the following chapter.

122 CHAPTER SIX

YOUNG ADULTS' ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES: LOCATIONS AND ACTIONS

While pure trial and error learning is demanding and rare, it has clearly been, and continues to be, pivotal in human development. When individuals engage in the process of learning, they more frequently employ observation, imitation, modeling, self instruction, conversation and mentoring, among other strategies. All of these strategies, however, rest on some interaction with living beings or, at least, employing the artefacts (e.g., language, tools, books, drawings, videos, music, recordings, software, etc.) of living or once living beings. (Glasser, 2007, p. 48)

6.1. Introduction

According to Proops and Wilkinson (2000), there is an emerging consensus that achieving sustainability requires substantial changes in human lifestyles and behaviours.

These changes can be accomplished through both conscious and unconscious learning efforts in relation to the sustainable and safe use of renewable resources. Hence, it is central to learning for a sustainable future that we recognize our experience of the environment as both a source of learning and as well as being crucial to motivating us to engage with the environment in a more sustainable fashion. (Measham & Baker, 2005) Learning for a sustainable future involves learning how to anticipate the consequences of our actions, envision a sustainable future, and create the steps needed to achieve our vision. This suggests that, in response to the escalating environmental crisis and the increasing need for

123 sustainability, the articulation of learning and experience must be done in a manner that enables young people to create meaning, identify alternative possibilities and make connections.(Blewitt, 2006b) As Glasser (2007), suggests learning and meaning-making does not occur in a vacuum; it is influenced by personal, physical and social settings, that is, the ambiance, feel and comfort of the place or situation as well as interactions with people.

This situatedness of learning, as discussed in Chapter 2, suggests that learning depends upon humankinds' ability to experience the world. Furthermore, the more appropriate the physical setting of learning, the more meaningful the learning is. (Falk & Dierking, 1992,

2000,2002a, 2002b; Lave, 1988; Vygotsky, 1962, 1978)

In this chapter, I explore various learning contexts the research participants identified as the domains or locations of their environmental learning experiences. I examined the "whys" and "how" of young adults' environmental and sustainability learning. I discussed the different reasons the young adults identified for learning about environmental and sustainability, the factors that facilitated their learning experiences and the most important influence on their learning experiences. With these insights, I now turn to examine the personal, socio-cultural, and physical settings and how they intersect with the young adults' learning in relation to the environment and sustainability. I further examine how the research participants connect with each of the contexts of their learning experiences, and how their interactions with the settings have influenced their learning processes and actions.

Learning contexts or settings are defined here as the locations and/or sources of learning and learning experiences. In response to the question regarding the sources or locations of their environmental and sustainability information and knowledge, the young

124 adults in this study identified home and family (siblings and parents), school, the media

(television, radio, newspapers and magazines) and the Internet as the key sources or locations of their knowledge and learning about the environment and sustainability. This study provided opportunity for the voices of the young adult participants and their perspectives to be heard. The narratives of the young adults illustrate the centrality of their learning experiences regarding environmental and sustainability issues in their actions and thoughts, within the personal, the sociocultural and the physical contexts. In the following sub-sections I discuss the research findings in relation to these three overlapping contexts.

6.2. Personal Learning Context

The personal context represents the sum total of personal and genetic history that an individual carries with him/her into a learning situation. In this study, I found evidence that the young adults' personal contexts influenced their responses. For instance, in Chapter

Four, I explored young adults' environmental know-how, as it is considered to be a precursor for responsible environmental action, (for example: Blewitt, 2006b; Krosnick &

Alwin, 1989) As previous studies documented young adults' capacity to make connections intellectually, imaginatively and ethically, with both familiar and unfamiliar experiences and values resonated in their narratives and stories. In providing responses to the interview questions, the young adults in this study demonstrated a clear understanding of the complexities of the issues and addressed the powerful consequences of increasing changes in global climate patterns. At the personal level, the construction and reconstruction of learning from prior experiences and their thought processes were evident in their narratives.

125 Signs of learning at the personal level are most evident in the research participants' narratives presented in this section. In providing responses to the question, "Why do you learn about environmental and sustainability issues? " the young adults pointed to personal and career interests, connections to nature, ethics/religion, and the need to make a difference as reasons for their learning about environmental sustainability issues. Others mentioned the extent of the environmental crises as instrumental to their interest in environmental issues, a thirst for knowing what is going on environmentally and a feeling of responsibility to future generations. In another instance, one young adult described personal concern for social justice issues as instrumental to learning about sustainability issues. Another pointed to the issue of spirituality and faith, which is characterised by a female interviewee as very personal as well as contributing to her learning and understanding of environmental and sustainability issues. As well, the young adults' personal context was influential on their learning about environmental and sustainability.

For example a few of the participants hinged their learning about environmental sustainability on two issues, the first is a thirst for knowledge as it relates to environmental issues, and the second is an "intergenerational responsibility" of sustaining the planet for future generations, that is, the environment is not ours; we borrow it from our children and their children's children. Scarlett demonstrates this view:

I'm interested in knowing what's going on in the world... particularly with the environment; if I'm not going to be here, my grandchildren, great grandchildren, they are going to suffer from what I did so I don't believe that we should just live for our lives alone. We should always try and make things good for the coming generations. [File YA04: Text Units 387 -422]

126 On the other hand, some of the young adults premised their reason for engaging in environmental sustainability learning on career options and goals as well as the need for environmental protection. Brooklyn (a 22 year old female, fourth year undergraduate university student) states,

I think I want to make a career of it because I feel that I love it [the environment] and I would like to see it preserved. But I think what I love more than the environment is other people. I want to have children and I want them to grow up in a healthy environment where they don't have to fear dying of cancer and they don't have to fear the illnesses that come with destroying habitats. I want my children to grow up comfortably and I want to see humanity survive. [File YA05: Text Units 224 - 249]

Brooklyn's career aspirations in the environmental field is one her reasons for learning about the environment. But her reason, she adds, is multidimensional and is based on her belief that she "can have her cake and eat it too."

Brooklyn also explained that her career goal is to be involved in "educating and teaching others" to develop ethics, sensibility, care, as well as interest and concern towards the protection of the environment. Understandingly, Brooklyn believes education may be crucial to creating and strengthening awareness, through integrated and creative teaching, that human beings are an integral part of the environment and that their actions could determine the permanence or the extinction of life on the planet. (IUCN, 1997; Mortensen,

2000) Her recognition that education about the environment is a social responsibility demonstrates her passion for the environment: "I feel this is something I care about, this is

127 something that I'm interested in and I think this is something I could be happy doing." [File

YA05: Text Units 276 - 293]

Chloe (an 18 year old female, first-year undergraduate university student) also cited building a career in the environment and sustainability field as her main reason for learning about environmental and sustainability issues. Chloe's interest in environmental issues began at a young age when she acquired an acute sensitivity to natural resources, such as wildlife in the environment. She explained that building a career in the environment flows from her ability to attune herself to various kinds of learning, making it easy for her to translate her empathy for wildlife into a concrete career decision:

I remember my dad used to go hunting and I used to, like, hide his guns

since I was little. I didn't particularly know why I was doing that,

but.. .I've always felt really concerned, and that's when I decided that I

want to do this for the rest of my life and really make a career out of it

[File YA08: Text Units 181 - 200]

Although Chloe's childhood actions could easily be viewed as "child play or childhood fantasies" given her age, they were strong enough a precursor for her to develop a holistic understanding of the world and the place of humans within it, and the ability to understand the effect of hunting on wildlife. Like Mia, Chloe's learning experience resulted from a "meaning perspective" (Blewitt, 2006b) or "meaning schema." (Mezirow, 1991)

These perspectives' offered her a powerful ethical purpose through which she could judge whether the hunting or killing of game and wildlife is good or bad, ethical or unethical, sustainable or unsustainable.

128 In another instance, one research participants identified the role of familiar sources such as friends or friendship in their learning experience. For example a young adult spoke about the role of friendship in the development of his interest and motivation to learn about environmental and sustainability issues. Friendship, as discussed in this context, includes shared ideological interests and other commonalities. Commonalities, as Hartrup (1991) notes, are reciprocity and commitment between individuals who perceive each other as more or less equal. For example, Dylan (a male doctoral candidate) explains,

it's because, as I said, it's a friend I trusted and we share common interests and ideology on this topic that is related to other issues. So this person sent me the link [to a website]. Otherwise at this time I wouldn't have started

1 O doing research on global dimming for instance. [File YA18: Text Units 450-461]

Friendship was a key factor in Dylan's learning about environmental issues.

According to Chatterjee (2005, p. 5) "friendship, like attachment, has a strong affective component and is a common form of human relationship". Dylan's response also speaks to the subtle, yet far reaching, implication friendship holds for enhancing and encouraging learning about environmental and sustainability issues. (Heyne, Schleien, & McAvoy,

1994) His response suggests that learning about environmental issues was possible for him because the information came from a "trusted source" based on the shared affiliation, common interests, proximity and attractiveness of the activity.

18 Global dimming is the gradual reduction of solar radiation or sunlight that reaches Earth. Researchers believe air pollution specifically, the increased presence of aerosols in the atmosphere is blocking sunlight by bouncing it back into space, instead of allowing it to reach Earth. Dimming appears to be caused by air pollution. Burning coal, oil and wood, whether in cars, power stations or cooking fires, produces not only invisible carbon dioxide (the principal greenhouse gas responsible for global warming) but also tiny airborne particles of soot, ash, sulphur compounds and other pollutants.Researchers believe global dimming plays a role in climate change by affecting global temperatures.

129 Another participant cited self interest and personal motivation as important to his learning experiences.

Liam: I like to think of myself as moral person, and once you realize what society is doing it becomes a moral thing, where you're obligated to be environmentally sustainable, you're obligated to be environmentally friendly so that you can pass it on to future generations.. .to have a safe world to live in. I think it becomes a moral thing, where once you look at all the evidence you really say you have no choice you really have to do something about it. I think that's where the motivation comes from, you say, well this is what I should be doing or what people say I should be doing; it is the thing to do.... We should be conserving; we should be recycling.... I think hopefully our generation can take that to heart and then it becomes part of their every day decisions [YA17: 744 - 765].

Liam summarizes the importance of general concern, interest and personal and

ethical (moral) affinity towards the environment in meaningful environmental sustainability

learning experiences. His comments point to the ethical view that humankind has a moral

responsibility towards other inhabitants of the planet and future generations to maintain and

leave behind a habitable and sustainable planet. This response directly addresses the

importance of the moral and ethical dimensions of the relationship of human beings with

the environment and its other inhabitants, as well as the value and moral status of this

relationship. Liam's ethical stance can be linked to an expectation that humankind will

exert "the moral and ethical disciplines of equity and fairness in resource allocation to live

sustainably for the good of all." (Cairns, 2004)

As noted by Lumsden (1994), the desire to participate in any learning process is

dependent on the reasons or goals that underlie involvement or non-involvement in

130 academic activities. This desire may be based on the level of motivation to engage in such learning activities. Motivation to learn is defined as the meaningfulness, value and benefits of academic tasks to the learner, regardless of whether or not the activities are intrinsically interesting. (Lumsden, 1994; Marshall, 1987)

When the young adults in this study were asked "whether their learning experiences motivated them to engage in further explorations and in depth learning about environmental issues, " most answered affirmatively that their learning did motivate them to dig deeper for meanings and understanding of these issues. Scarlet demonstrates this view.

I remember El Nino; I heard a lot about El Nino, and I didn't know what it was about; so I remember looking up what El Nino was at that time, and that time I think I was young. I think I was only thirteen. I went and actually researched what is El Nino and what is climate change.... I might not remember everything right now, but I remember at the time I was very interested, enough to actually go look up in the library, go for books and ask my parents. [File YA04: Text Units 395 - 422]

Scarlet acknowledges that even though she was just a teenager at that time, she was motivated to go to the library to research the climate change phenomenon and El Nino.

Propelled by curiosity, driven by an intense desire to explore, interact with and make sense

of her environment, Scarlet also gained further knowledge through her parents. Cadence

also discussed her response at a younger age:

Ever since I was a child I've just been building more and more of a knowledge base; and the more that I build knowledge and use all the resources, the more I want to continue learning and changing my lifestyle to better accommodate a better and cleaner planet. So it's a compounding effect. [File YA12: Text Units 434 - 441]

131 Similar to Scarlet, Cadence has built on previous knowledge on a daily basis, since she was young. In effort to expand her understanding of environmental issues, Scarlet relies on various sources for knowledge and strategies for making the planet environmentally safer and sustainable.

When I asked Scarlet if the catastrophic and long-lasting effects of hurricane

Katrina motivated her to engage in further research about hurricanes and its environmental consequences, she answered, "it did, but only a little bit more than it normally would on a daily basis, because I'm regularly very interested in it, so when such disasters happen I'm interested in finding out scientific details on that particular episode." [File YA12: Text

Units 442 - 457] Other young adults claimed they were not motivated by specific natural disasters to the extent of researching them further. Although they recognized the

seriousness of the events, these occurrences did not generate motivation beyond their normal interest. Maddox (a 20 year old male, undergraduate university student observes):

It's not really me being motivated to engage with it. I think it's all around us because it's such as hot topic. People are worried because it affects everybody; the whole world is talking about sustainable development and different alternative energies. All you've got to do is sort of be tuned in.... I don't think you have to do too much digging to find information. It's there. It's just a matter of do you listen to it? And I think that my course, especially, and my future aspirations allow me to tune in to the things that are around me.... I won't go out of my way and go to the library and check on a book and look on television for environmental programs. [File YAH: Text Units 374-399]

Maddox highlights the current attention environmental sustainability issues are

receiving and the daily bombardment of environmental information from different sources.

132 His response speaks to the reality of the extensive attention being given to environmental

sustainability issues these days as well as the availability and accessibility of environmental information to the general public.

Similarly, Ava states that she was never motivated to "dig deep" or research about an environmental phenomenon. She said that news regarding environmental issues only

serve as a reminder for her that the problems persist. However, Ava points out that "what tends to motivate me to take more action is .. .if I hear about some campaigns or ... a

legislation that is being passed." [File YA03: Text Units 513-520] Motivation for Ava is

about taking action and reaching out to her community:

I generally talk to people first.... I've lived in pretty liberal areas and I've always known a fair amount of people who have been interested in these things; besides it's something that comes up just generally.... If you mention whatever you've heard of recently.. .it's not a direct jump for me to the library. [File YA03: Text Units 530-538]

Ava's message is clear: "the environment is not just about ozone layers and rain forest. It is

about the quality of life of all of us, inside our homes and outside our front door." (Prescott,

1997, p. 1) Her belief in consulting with people in her community to learn from them

demonstrates the high value she places on information from these sources. Furthermore,

Ava's preference for "real life" consultations with people rather than reading scientific

books, which may not be easy to understand, is based on her trust of sources other than the

library. This preference does not mean that she is explicitly apathetic to using the library for

additional learning however.

133 The term "religion" or spirituality also used as a reason for engaging in learning about environmental and sustainability issues. Sabrina (a nineteen year old, female first year undergraduate university student) explains that her interest in learning about the environment is partially because of her religious beliefs.

I'm from a pagan religion where I was raised in the belief that the earth provides for us so we should provide for the earth and we help each other out; so we have to protect the earth.... As a child I would read books on animals and the like and always found it very fascinating, and when I found out that humans could lead an animal to extinction or we could destroy an entire forest, it became an issue for me, because I want to see these things stay around for ever. I don't want to see them reach extinction. [File YA11: Text Units 20-219]

Sabrina perceives her pagan religion as contributing to her understanding of the spiritual significance of the human relationship to animals; she considered this as the basis for her environmental concern and learning. Sabrina reflected that religion helped her to develop a strong ethical perspective regarding the environment and its abundant natural resources.

As Cajete (2000), notes it is important to develop a harmonious relationship with nature, to understand it, to see it as source of one's life and livelihood, and the source of one's essential spiritual being. Sabrina's response demonstrates the importance of respect for nature (earth) and its resources the first nation. This concept of respect is "inclined to honour, respect, and acknowledge the elements of our universe (both physical and non physical) that sustain and nourish our lives," (Sanchez, 1993, p. 222) as opposed to the

Western approach of "human super-separation and 'out of nature' status." (Plumwood,

2002, p. 224)

134 For Sabrina, her spirituality and religion are the precursors for her learning about environmental issues and developing environmental concern. Her religious learning has helped her to understand that humanity's activities could lead to the extinction of animals and the destruction of forest.

6.3. Sociocultural Context

Humans are extremely social creatures and since we are all products of our culture and social relationships, one can expect that environmental and sustainability learning, like any other forms of learning are socioculturally situated. (Falk & Storksdieck, 2005; Ogbu,

1995; Wertsch, 1985) As Falk and Dierking (2000) note, knowledge is socially constructed between individuals in the same place and through mediums constructed by others. As

Ogbu (1995) states, factors affecting learning have been hypothesized to include such large- scale influences as the cultural value placed on learning about natural places.

In this section, the young adults named family (siblings and parents), the media (television, radio, news papers and magazines), the Internet, and clubs or organizations, like environmental non-governmental organizations as their key sources for environmental information or places where they learn about the environment and sustainability, as well as having the most influence on their learning about environmental sustainability issues. The young adults' responses to the question regarding the sources or locations of their environmental and sustainability information and knowledge provided insight into the sociocultural influences on learning. The young adults understood the importance of the home and family as a sociocultural context where, with their parents' guidance and their siblings at home, the sociocultural relationships enabled them to be involved in

135 environmental/sustainability practices as well to be immersed in an environmental or sustainability culture.

While the discussion regarding the personal context tended to be more specific and relate to the young adults as individuals, the sociocultural context is socially complex and culturally interrelated. In this study, environmental and sustainability learning is shown to be greatly influenced by the interactions and collaborations the young adults have with individuals within their own social group.

(Borun, Chambers, Dristas, & Johnson, 1997; Crowley & Callanan, 1998;

Ellenbogen, 2002; Falk & Storksdieck, 2005; Schauble et al., 1996) Other individuals could be the parents and /or siblings, friends or others within the community, with the social processes and institutions structured to permit learning experiences through observation. As Ogbu (1995) explains, this type of environmental learning is particularistic, that is, it occurs within the family, it fosters traditionalism and fuses emotional and intellectual domains, so that it is effectively highly charged. Hence it is no surprise that young adults named their parents and other family members as the sociocultural influences of their learning and practices towards promoting a sustainable and healthy environment.

6.3.1. Family as Learning Contexts

The young adults in this study described the various ways in which their home and family provide opportunities for learning. Regarding the family as socio-cultural contexts points to the salient role of the context in young adults' environmental/sustainability learning and practice. The research participants demonstrated an understanding of the

136 importance of the family, particularly their parents' guidance, in their ability to imbibe an

environmental or sustainability culture. In discussing the family as their sources of

environmental information, the important contribution of siblings was also acknowledged.

In this instance, some of the young adults noted the importance of familial influences and the family's role in shaping their learning about environmental sustainability issues.

For example, Zoe and Adrian's responses illustrate the important influence of

family on their knowledge and learning about environmental or sustainable development

issues. Zoe (a 19 year old female, undergraduate student university) and Adrian (a 30 years

old male, doctoral student) note:

Zoe: My family, I guess because they are always on about it.. .and concerned about it, so it's always been ingrained in me to do the same thing, just because I'm the youngest and so I always looked up to my sisters and did whatever they did; so it's always been something that I did. [File YA07: Text Units 488 - 507]

Adrian: I'm sure it's my parents; that's how I have been educated on that from very young age.... My family are environment freaks. [File YA16: Text Units 349 - 359]

Zoe and Adrian's positive acknowledgement of their families' role was contingent

upon instruction and engagement in environmental practices in the home. Parents

(mentors) and siblings (role models) as constituents of a family were identified as playing

an important role in instilling environmental practices. In these cases, the decision of the

family to teach these young adults the importance of caring for the environment as well as

137 their involvement in environmental practices, such as recycling and reuse, garbage disposal, energy conservation and so on, were regarded positively by the young adults.

Zoe and Adrian's comments demonstrate that environmentally conscious families can serve as role models and mentors and provide supportive and enriched environments that foster interest in environmental issues and encourage positive environmental practices. As previously mentioned in Chapter 3, the familiarity of learners with the

learning context is an important factor in choosing to learn, as well as instrumental in young adults' development of concern for the environment. Moreover, there is sufficient

research evidence that supports the important role of friends, parents, families and other

adults in environmental education, (see for instance Chawla, 1999; Horwitz, 1996; Kidd

& Kidd, 1997; Palmer, 1993,1999)

The young adults also discussed how socio-cultural relationships (with their parents

and siblings) have enabled them to be involved in environmental/sustainability practices.

They reported that their involvement in pro-environmental activities at home and with the

family greatly supports their learning experiences. While some of the young adults

understand their family's actions as being pro-environment, others do not; they felt that

their parents are more concerned with maintaining cleanliness in the home than with the

environment. For these participants, keeping the home clean is not considered

environmental sanitation but just another civic responsibility. For example; Kaelyn (an

undergraduate university student) explained "Well yeah, we do recycle and the stuff. .... I

guess ... we don't see it as environmental protection. We do it... because we're expected to

do it according to the bylaws " [File YA01: Text Units 281-294] As Kaelyn explained

138 here, not everybody or household consider environmental practices such as recycling, cleaning the house among others as environmental practices. It also a pointer that engaging in some everyday practices and behaviours should be not concluded to mean concern for the environment.

Overall, most of the young adults noted the home and family as good places for their environmental learning and practice, since the foundation for most of what they know about environmental and/or sustainability issues is rooted in the opportunities they have had to get involved in this context. For instance, Ava (an undergraduate university student) credits her parents and home as being the chief source of her environmental information.

Ava describes her parents as environmentally conscious and they employ sustainable practices. Ava acquired knowledge of many types of environmental and sustainability practices at home "like recycling or.. .separating paper from trash.. .use of less water or turning the light off.. .has all been from my parents." [File YA03: Text Units 367 - 380]

She adds that the "home is the best place to be conditioned to do certain things" [File

YA03: Text Units 460 - 480] Through the environmental information she acquired at home and in the family Ava understands the value of recycling.

Describing her parents and home as a learning context, Ava states:

My family predisposed me I'd say towards this, and I think that's really important because without that I probably wouldn't be affected by the school and the learning. I think it's only because I had the predisposition towards environmental.. .issues and now that I do know.. .1 have a slightly higher knowledge of environmental issues and sustainability ... I like having that knowledge and I think it helps direct me, and I appreciate it

139 probably more because I appreciate my parents. [File YA03: Text Units 612 - 628]

Ava values her family for laying the foundation for her environmental knowledge and consciousness. She feels strongly that her exposure to environmental information at home helped to increase her knowledge. Her response suggests that although she considers the school as a place to foster learning about environmental issues, she recognizes the invaluable importance of the family as her chief source of environmental information and in preparation for school.

Other young adults also spoke about the important role of their families as the chief source of their environmental information:

Adrian: I grew up with parents that were sensitive to the environment.. .so that's why I always have been a bit interested and it [environmental issues] is always...discussed at home, during dinner and family get-togethers.... it's more for the environment. [File YA16: Text Units 106-143]

Kaelyn: Yes, my dad might come and tell me from today on they've enforced this new law where you have to put it in this garbage and this and this, and so that's something we would do. [File YA01: Text Units 49-61]

As Adrian and Kaelyn note, the opportunity to share environmental information with family members also plays an important role in their knowledge of environmental issues and sustainability. Furthermore, Kaelyn also links her knowledge of environmental issues to her environmental practices at home:

I mean at home.. .because we're so used to doing it at home. It's because I became used to practice ... I just don't like littering so when I go to put it in the garbage can it's easier; it makes more sense to put it in the recycling

140 bin. I just don't like seeing garbage around, so I like to clean; but because I'm forced to recycle it's not so much that I'm thinking about the environment. [File YA01: Text Units 281-294]

Kaelyn points to her parents' active household practice and her participation in recycling as responsible for shaping her recycling knowledge. However, while some of the participants' comments acknowledge the role of the family as a source for their environmental information, this knowledge is not necessarily only the result of information passed on to them by their parents and other household members; involvement in various environmental practices as well as questioning the rationale for those household practices could be sources as well.

In this study, environmental and sustainability learning is shown to be greatly influenced by the interactions and collaborations the young adults have with individuals within their own social group. (Borun et al, 1997; Crowley & Callanan, 1998; Ellenbogen,

2002; Falk & Storksdieck, 2005; Schauble et al., 1996) Other individuals could be the parents and /or siblings, friends or others within the community, with the social processes and institutions structured to permit learning experiences through observation. As Ogbu

(1995) explains, this type of environmental learning is particularistic, that is, it occurs within the family, it fosters traditionalism and fuses emotional and intellectual domains, so that it is effectively highly charged. Hence it is no surprise that young adults named their parents and other family members as the sociocultural influences of their learning and practices towards promoting a sustainable and healthy environment.

141 6.3.2. The Mass Media

Mass media is defined here as any form of media that has the ability to deliver its messages to millions of people worldwide, that is, any medium used to transmit mass communication. Mass media includes the television, video, radio, newspapers and public magazines, billboards, movies and films, the Internet and other electronic media sources, such as e-mail. Mass media is an important public arena where "rationality" arises socially; it is in and through the media that information about environmental issues and sustainability are elaborated and sustained. (Beck, 1992) Thompson (1995) explains that

the development of the media has transformed in a profound and irreversible way the nature of what time of the day it is. A vast number of media, from newspapers to television.. .allows individuals to experience events outside their immediate social surroundings, (p. 10)

In a similar fashion, Nitz (2000) adds that the power of the mass media lies in its ability to be reached by large numbers of people seeking relevant information and entertainment.

Given its presence everywhere, it could be generally assumed that most peoples' knowledge about the environment comes through the mass media. (Burgess, 1990; Davies,

1999,2001)

The mass media is considered by many young people a very important tool for the dissemination of information about environmental issues, because they are greatly influenced by what they see, hear and read through various media. In discussing the influence of mass media on learning about environmental and sustainability issues, a few of the young adults interviewed reported mass media, especially television, as their major

142 sources of information about environmental and sustainability issues. Maddox, (an undergraduate university student), summarizes the widespread influence of the mass media on her:

the media has been the most important influence; I get engage through something like a documentary on the Discovery Channel.... I feel that the media is definitely a good influence, when you hear the research that scientists say, in 2020 the world is going to heal itself or it's not going to be sustainable.... You don't know what it means to you individually, but it strikes your attention; so I think that has a bigger influence on being aware. [File YA14: Text Units 457 - 471]

Maddox highlights the role of mass media, especially television "edutainment" programs, in shaping young adults' perceptions and awareness of environmental issues. In agreement with Maddox, Chloe (an undergraduate university student) spoke of the mass media

(television) in terms of the enormous influence it exerts over young peoples' ideas, values and behaviour:

I would say just media in general.. .1 think mass media is the most important, because we all watch television, we listen to music.... I think it's the media that affects us directly and different types of it. They are the most major, because I don't think friends or family or your home and school have nearly as much an effect as the media does. [File YA08: Text Units 709 - 756]

As Maddox and Chloe demonstrate, the young adults value mass media because they are

"very much influenced by their perceptions of what others are doing; and very tuned into what is going on in the outside world" (Family Health International [FIH], 2006).

143 In response to the question, "What are the other sources of your knowledge about environmental issues and problems'?" the young adults in this research study recognized the key role of the media in creating awareness of environmental issues. While some participants claimed that they rely on a particular type of media for their environmental information, others rely on multiple media sources. For instance, young adults, such as

Dakota, Taegan and Dylan explained their reliance on multiple media choices, including books, the Internet, radio and newspapers as the sources for their environmental information. As Dakota notes, "I read books on environmental issues. I listen to the radio... and [browse] websites of organizations that work in the area.... I read newspapers too, I find them informative, [and] I also watch the news on TV." [File YA09: Text Units

144-166]

Taegan and Dylan, respectively, explain:

It was just basically books and things like that; some internet; I guess a lot of internet because of research...on certain issues [like] deep sea trawling.... I read the newspaper, usually The Star.. .we get the scientific and climate change section, and so I usually focus on that quite a bit... I read articles and things on that topic. [File YA10: Text Units 209 - 247]

I would say.. .different media like books, magazines, even reports from the TV and things like that, but I have to admit that most of them are not mainstream ones; most of the magazines, books and articles I read were from alternative points of views that have environment and sustainable environment as a major theme in the type of subjects that they talk about; and.. .books, magazines, all the different media and the Internet have been very useful.... this helped my education on those issues. [File YA18: Text Units 204 - 240]

144 The young adults' reliance on these multiple mass media modes speaks to the potency and importance, as well as the ubiquity of these different sources for accessing environmental

information.

On the other hand, other young adults state that they rely on one chief medium as the source for their environmental and sustainability information. Maddox (a male undergraduate university student) states:

I'd read the business articles cause they directly relate to me, and by the way there's something on environment, but it's pretty interesting because it affects everybody in some way; but not as a direct incentive to go in the newspaper and look for environmental articles [File YA14: Text Units 141-178].

Maddox alludes to the importance of the newspaper as the chief source of his

environmental information. He explains that the reason for relying on the newspaper is that

he "intends to engage in sustainable business" and he is interested in environment-related

business articles.

Liam and Ava explain that they rely on the television as the chief source of their

environmental and sustainability information:

Liam: Well it's pretty prevalent so I'll pick it up here and there from various things like there's a documentary on TV. [File YA03: Text Units 214-221]

Ava: You know certain things you see them on the Discovery Channel. They try to be more objective about things and maybe they achieve that a little bit; so I think TV plays an important role. [YA17: 207 - 242]

145 Liam and Ava highlight the importance of television as a media source for transmitting environmental information. Their comments suggest that they have a selective ability, that is, they limit the programs they watch to those that enhance their knowledge and inform them about environmental issues and sustainability. It also suggest that they are sophisticated viewers who "use television more than television uses them." (Blewitt, 2006b, p. 164)

Being selective viewers also creates opportunities to engage in meaning construction, as they learn and benefit from specific environmental and sustainability programming on specialty channels. Conversely, Sabrina (a female undergraduate university student) expressed a lack of interest in television. "I don't watch the news and I turn on the TV once a month or so... I don't have time to watch TV and I don't use that as a source.... The television always seems to blow things out of proportion on the news and it never interested me." [File YA11: Text Units 154 -175] According to Sabrina, her distrust of the television stems from its being, in her view, essentially a mode of social control, with mass audiences associated with "an agenda", a set values and meanings, which she considers are not necessarily life-enhancing. Such an agenda is associated with the traditional approach to news which militates against running long-running stories that have no clear resolution or capacity to maintain audience attention. (Smith, 2000) An approach that characterised by transmitting only materials consider by the media and entertainment organizations as saleable and capable of attracting advertisement. Critiquing the approach

Cottle (2004) argues that such "chronic lack of engagement with and representation of the rise of ecological politics can only be seen as politically inexcusable." (p.97)

146 Layla (a 22 years old female undergraduate university student) reports that she relies on magazines and newspapers as the sources of her environmental information.

According to her ' I read ... Adbusters, the Globe and Mail or the Toronto Star; they often focus on certain issues in the environment.. .and there's a lot on different issues that are coming up that are big in the media at the time." [File YA06: Text Units 138 -149] Layla's comment points to the large media attention and high levels of content coverage given to environmental issues and sustainability in the newspapers and magazines and other printed journals, as well as in the mass media modes the young adults mentioned.

Aside from the media coverage by most mass media sources, the Toronto Star, both in daily and weekend editions, dedicates sections to reporting and covering issues related to the environment, energy efficiency, climate change, green living and sustainability. The

Toronto Star also gives coverage to environmental issues and sustainability through news reporting, feature write-ups on topical issues, including climate change, energy conservation, waste management, the Canadian Polar North and its threatened environment, air pollution and smog problems as well as issues related to environmental health.

On television, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has several programs on the environment, notably, "The Ultimate Bear," "The Nature of Things with David

Suzuki" and several environmentally related documentaries appear on the weekly National

Geographic programming. The Cable News Network (CNN) and other specialty channels such as the Discovery Channel have in the recent times aired special documentaries on science and the environment, including "Planet in Peril" and "Fearless Planet", among others. It is important to note that such programmes because of its unassailability may be acceptable for one-off documentaries and the occasional independent production, but not

147 for mainstream commercial programming. (Blewitt, 2006a) Also, when aired, such on -off

documentaries are mostly often presented in such a manner that only encourage audiences to love and marvel rather than engage with the concepts and politics of environment and

sustainable development. (Lutz & Collins, 1993)

Increasingly, the Internet has assumed a vital position in the world of information

sharing and education. As Adams (1996) points out,

the Internet is currently being heralded as a hotbed of creativity, new technologies, radical thinking and social empowerment. The empowering nature of the Internet lies in its ability to transcend borders, ignore censoring authorities and enhance individual tastes and interests (n.p.)

Internet use covers a wide variety of purposes: communicating with friends and

family, meeting new people, acquiring information about news, health, and other

topics, entertainment, and commerce.

Young people's continued dependency on the Internet for information and

socializing, through blogging, email or web browsing demonstrates its undeniable influence

as a learning resource for both formal and informal contexts. As a learning and social

context, the Internet has become an integral part of our everyday lives, through which the

values informing sustainable development may flow. (Blewitt, 2006b) The two-way

information flow of the Internet blurs the conventional transmitter/receiver dichotomy,

making it a very important medium for accessing information by young adults. The young

adults in this study believe that the Internet is a necessary infrastructure, which offers them

necessary opportunities for learning about environmental issues and sustainability:

148 Mia: I see the Internet as a place that really helps, because when I was younger I found a lot of information about politics and other stuff through the Internet.. .because it's easily accessible and you can find whatever you need to know very easily; and there's a lot of information, so there's a lot of different sources you can go to, and you can choose which one you want to read, and you can get alternate vehicles. I see that as the best source of information. [File YA02: Text Units 294-307]

Brooklyn: I am constantly on the Internet browsing websites. The internet is such an awesome resource, because you can tap into journals and things that scientists are putting out, but also what other students are putting out; and so I think a lot of my knowledge comes from the Internet. [File YA05: Text Units 197-212]

Mia and Brooklyn speak to the ubiquitous nature of the Internet as a source of information for young adults. Mia explains her preference for the Internet over other mass media modes: "I didn't spend too much time on the television or newspapers, trying to find out about it [environmental sustainability issues]. I just turned to the Internet." This may be a result of the non-interactive nature of TV media, or its lack of transformative power when compared with the Internet. Mia's preference can also be the result of the power and the control the Internet offers her as its user when she navigates (surfs or browses) different internet pages.

According to other young adults the preference for the Internet does not in any way amount to an outright rejection of other media types such as television, radio and newspapers, but rather a shift in focus towards the Internet. This shift is due to the fact that all the other media types now exist on the Internet as well. For example, according to Ava

149 "most of what I get is from the Internet. I read the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and CBC websites a lot, and I don't watch very much TV, and we don't listen to any radio,

and I don't read the newspapers. I just read the BBC website." [File YA03: Text Units 235-

244]

Although some of the young adults claim that they do not watch television or read newspapers, comments like Ava's point to possible use of the Internet as news sources, replacing television viewing or listening to the radio. Most television, radio and other media

outfits offer direct downloads or streaming of their program or broadcast contents on their

web-pages. In this context, the young adults confirmed their use of the Internet to reflect on

our complex and fragile environment and gain better understanding of nature and the

planet. Jared notes:

As part of my evening at home.. .and for recreation of my mind, I need go to the Internet for news.... For example last week I saw an interesting news item about polar bear extinction on one of the islands.. .close to Greenland. I viewed the movie clips and it was very interesting to me. I was very sad [because] the whole island in the past had so much snow and ice, but in that movie the ice was melting and.. .the bears didn't know which way to go.. .to find food.... I was really impressed about this news and I thought about how.. .activity like heating the house impacts the environment. [File YA15: File 163-189]

Jared demonstrates the extent in which young adults make use of direct downloads

or streaming of videos on the Internet. His response also explains the importance of the

Internet as a modern media tool for motivating learning about environmental sustainability

among young adults. The Internet's importance is grounded in its use as a means of

150 creating new forms of action and interaction peculiar to conditions of virtual acquaintances that prevail online.

For the most part, the young adults recognized the issue of access to information through the different mass media modes as important in environmental sustainability learning. This is perhaps due to the recent upsurge in media focus and attention on issues

such as climate change, the Kyoto agreement controversy and energy efficiency. The

amount, depth and richness of coverage given to environmental and sustainability issues, mentioned earlier, explains why young adults rely on these media as sources of

environmental and other information.

It is only through the accessibility of environmental information that young adults

can learn and gain knowledge capable of motivating change in behaviour and attitude towards environmental sustainability. After all, as Pease, Brannon and Pilling (2006, p.

235) recently stated, "arguably, message exposure is the most important issue in persuasion because the person must first be exposed to a message before he or she can be influenced

by it."

On the other hand, Cadence revealed her preference for the old way: reading books.

She notes:

Books, definitely I would say books. I love reading.. .and as a younger child, I loved going to the library and picking up different books on pollution and global warming, and so I would say.. .it would be books; the public library system. [File YA12: Text Units 75-92]

Cadence brings a different perspective to the discussion on sources for learning about

environmental issues and sustainability. While other young adults rely on different forms of

151 mass media, she notes that although "people would argue differently, but for me reading was a big thing and.. .so books was definitely the number one way to get informed."

Cadence response also points to the continued relevance of books and the culture of reading, even though most youth today are less known for engaging in book reading for pleasure beyond the formal class or school work, given the amount of time spent online and in chat rooms. This shift in reading culture, from traditional book reading to reading online is perhaps behind the recent move to make different kinds of books available online free of charge, for easy access to users and to encourage the return to book reading.

6.3.3. NGOs as Channels for Learning

A few of the young adults in this study spoke about non-governmental organizations (NGOs), particularly environmental NGOs (ENGOs), as another influence on their learning about environmental and sustainability issues. ENGO's provide opportunities for participation in public environmental education and beyond-school environmental education. They offer a platform for young adults to have first-hand experiences with regards to the appreciation of the intricate nature of the environment and to develop their own relationship with the environment. The ENGOs offer young adults opportunities to be involved and actively participate in environmental initiatives, underscoring the importance of this medium in learning and education for, about and in the environment.

Sabrina (a female undergraduate university student) articulates her learning experiences in one of these organizations:

I assume my Green Peace volunteering, because it allows me to not only learn but also go out and participate. [File YA11: Text Units 491 - 500]

152 Dylan also considered his involvement in environmentally related social justice activities as an important influence on his learning about environmental and sustainability issues:

Collectively, I would say most of the activists' activity that I take part in solidarity with against social injustices; this is strongly related to environment. [File YA18: Text Units 911-930]

The important role of non-governmental organizations is revealed in these young adults' comments about the influence of ENGO's advocacy programs in their learning for a sustainably managed environment. Specifically, Sabrina and Dylan's responses suggest that involvement with advocacy programs and campaigns can offer young adults greater flexibility and innovative opportunities for understanding the intricacies of the human- environment relationship. As noted by Minarik (2003) such opportunities help to open their minds to become familiar with issues regarding environmental protection, human and minority rights and social affairs.

Discussing the role of the NGOs as a source or channel for learning, the young adults in this research study mentioned environmental NGOs and the many opportunities for learning they offer through their various educational and training programs about environmental issues and sustainability. In addition to the education and training programs, the participants spoke of many environmental events that take place, including environmental action and protests; opportunities to join different types of environmental clubs; and environmental camps that have helped improve their knowledge about environmental issues and sustainability. As Mia explains,

153 They taught us about environmental issues and consumption and capitalism, and then after that I became interested. I ended up going to a lot of events having to do with the environment and taking up opportunities to join different types of clubs that relate to the environment.... I worked on a project with the District Municipality to start a program to take invasive species out and plant native species...and I got involved with this group that was trying to save a part of the forest that the provincial government wanted to put a highway through.... I got involved with a group called the Labour Environmental Lions Society who are trying to get toxins out of schools... and... I have gotten involved...in a project to reduce energy usage on campus, and that helped my knowledge a lot. [File YA02: Text Units 138-165]

Mia suggests that her involvement in various environmental activities has contributed to the improvement of her knowledge of environmental issues. Sabrina also stressed that her membership in an environmental non-governmental organization (ENGO) as well as her participation in their information and education sessions helped to improve her knowledge of the issues pertaining to the environment and sustainability. Sabrina describes the ENGO information and education sessions,

Once a month or so we have an educational session and also reading magazines like National Geographic. They read articles about climate change and about global warming.... So for instance, when you first join.. .Greenpeace you have an information session for about a few hours, where they sit down, and...when you choose a campaign...for example, the forestry campaign, you'll sit down and they'll have an information session and they'll give you pamphlets and resources and Internet sites about forestry and about the Boreal forest and everything in detail. So when I joined the fisheries and the deep sea fishing campaign we had an

154 information session in one of the cafe where they had a representative come up and explain everything that she knew about fisheries and how the fishing industry works; so it's a few hours a month, or so. [File YA11: Text Units 102-151]

As Mia and Sabrina demonstrate, environmental organizations offer young adults opportunities to become aware of several environmental problems and issues through their educational and information orientation processes. While emphasizing learning by doing, environmental NGOs also provide a learning platform where young adults can learn through several of its in-house knowledge building programs. Furthermore, the comments above demonstrate a balanced mix of knowledge and action that is "capable of leading to change or potential change for young adults." (Bjorkelo, 2003) The young adults appear to value this type of learning, because it offers them hands-on experience:

Mia: I personally see it as the best way to learn about these issues, because in school when I learn about them, I tend to forget about them quite easily; but when you are actually practicing it and being part of it, it tends to stick in your mind more and you also learn ways to help further these issues, rather than just learning about the statistics in class or something. This way the knowledge gets repeated to you often and you have to learn it if you're going to be part of it. [File YA02: Text Units 166-181]

Although, environmental NGOs' training and educational sessions are particularly aimed at educating new members about the environment and politics, they serve a positive role in encouraging young adults to learn about the environment and sustainability. The young adult participants also mentioned that learning was fun in this context, because there is no pressure on them to learn and they are not graded on it.

155 6.3.4. Accounting for Environmental Sustainability Learning within Sociocultural

Context

The young adults were unanimous in their responses. The reasons they provided for their learning are to protect the natural environment and contribute to attaining a sustainable future and a liveable world. These reasons involve personal and career interests, connections to nature, ethics and religion, and the need to make difference in this world.

Mia (an 18 year old female, undergraduate university student) explains her perspective,

I've always been interested in issues that deal with injustices, like sweat shops and all that, and when I learned about the environmental issues, I didn't realize the state that the earth was in now. I sort of knew, but it just kind of impacted me so much; and I think it was that camp [an outdoor environmental education camp] that I went to, because they did a lot of things with us that I didn't realize about environmental issues and consumption and stuff; and also it must have been the atmosphere, because it was my first time really kayaking and hiking all day, so I probably connected those issues to what I was doing and I saw it as something that I needed to make people more aware about, because I wasn't aware before I went there. [File YA02: Text Units 234-248]

It is evident that Mia experienced a default type of learning. Even though she had

prior knowledge of social issues through her involvement in social movements, her learning

about the environment was triggered by becoming aware of the extent of the environmental

crisis and feelings of connection from her exposure to nature at an environmental education

outdoor camp. Despite her involvement in social justice, she hadn't viewed environmental

and sustainability learning as a social justice issues beforehand. Mia was able to realize the

156 importance of becoming involved in environmental protection as well as the importance of bringing awareness to more young adults. As Mezirow (1991) contends,

Social movements can significantly facilitate critical self-reflection. They can precipitate or reinforce dilemmas and legitimate alternate meaning perspectives. Identifying with a cause larger than oneself is perhaps the most powerful motivator to learn, (p. 193)

Mia's learning is based on "meaning perspective," a phrase derived from Mezirow's

(1991) discourse on transformative aspects of learning. According to Blewitt (2006b), the

"meaning perspective" is a broader structure of assumptions derived from previous experiences, which can change as a result of experience and self-reflection, enabling an individual to make a sense of and transform new experiences. Mia's previous experiences

in social movements served as precursors for her learning about, and understanding the

importance of nature and the need to protect it, and her subsequent interest in becoming

actively involved in environmental sustainability.

In contrast, Dylan (a 29 year old male, doctoral candidate) engaged in learning

about environmental and sustainability issues because, in his view, environmental issues

are social justice issues and vice versa:

[Environmental injustice] is related to all the other injustices that exist on our planet.. .hence for me environmental issues are not only one issue. They are related to a major scheme of injustices and issues in general [File YA18: Text Units 381-420]

Dylan stressed that "the relationship between social justice and the environment are

"very clear" in that it is the "oppressed" that always have to bear the burden of

157 environmental catastrophes. For instance, "the poor and oppressed are the first ones who

suffer from the consequences of global warming or climate." Dylan attends different kinds

of social justice meetings and believes that by learning about environmental sustainability,

he will have adequate knowledge of the crisis to share with other people. Dylan argues that

"related catastrophes can be averted based on peoples'" awareness of the consequences of

humankind's actions on the environment.

When I asked the research participants to explain what facilitated their learning

about environmental and sustainability issues, they were unanimous in their responses.

Access to information on environmental and sustainability issues was frequently mentioned

as a factor. Accessibility was recognized as the most important factor, given that learning

requires a medium for transmission to the general public. Accessibility, as the young adults

note, is a feature of the information age; various kinds of information are easily accessible

through different media, such as the Internet and other media, especially television.

Accessible information provides a better chance that people will understand

environmental sustainability issues and problems. According to the young adults

interviewed, being able to browse the Internet and download information is important for

their learning, because of its capability to provide every person with an opportunity to

acquire knowledge and develop values, attitudes, commitments and skills needed to

manage the environment. (Kenya Government, 1994)

Dakota (a female graduate student in a Master's degree program) states:

I think the information is easily accessible, so if I wanted to find out about global warming.. .all I need to do is go home, get on the computer, open up

158 Google and type "global warming" and a whole bunch of information will come up, so that is definitely a factor. [File YA09: Text Units 233 - 264]

Dakota demonstrates the dependence on the Internet as a source of information for postmodern young adults who surf the Internet for environmental information daily. Dakota

also stresses that the availability and accessibility of environmental information are a key

factor in her environmental and sustainability learning efforts. The importance of "a range

of information products in the form of statistics, issue-based, sectoral and State-of-the

Environment reports and public information products, available electronically through the

Internet" (UNEP, 1999) cannot be underestimated in terms of their impact on young adults'

environmental learning and awareness.

6.4. Physical Context

According to Evans (1995), the physical characteristics of settings can directly affect

learning. As noted by Graetz (2006), all learning takes place in a physical environment with

quantifiable and perceptible physical characteristics, whether sitting in a large lecture hall,

underneath a tree, or in front of a computer screen, students are engulfed by environmental

information. He adds further that specific targets within the environment draw the students'

attention, such as armchairs, scarves, and teacups, and they continuously monitor the

ambient properties such as the light of the lamps, the smell of the kettle, and the warmth of

the fire. (Graetz, 2006) Conversely, environments that elicit positive emotional responses

may lead not only to enhanced learning but also to a powerful, emotional attachment to that

space and it may become a place where students love to learn, a place they seek out when

159 they wish to learn, and a place they remember fondly when they reflect on their learning experiences. (Graetz, 2006)

Falk and Storksdieck (2005) mention that learning always occurs within the physical environment; in fact learning occurs as a dialogue with the physical environment.

This suggests that learning is influenced by the totality of the physical environment, which includes both the interior and exterior settings of a space, that is, large scale properties of space and conflicting perpetual cues among others. For some people, such settings or contexts may be a visit to the wilderness, a visit to place of living history, a novel, a play or a film. (Evans, 1995)

In this study, physical settings or contexts such as media, school, clubs, environmental non governmental organizations, and the home were referenced by the young adults in this research study as influential to their learning and actions in relation to environmental sustainability. For instance, one of the young adult participants in her discussion about the role of the home as a physical context in her learning about environmental issues and sustainability said,

6.4.1. Schools as Sources of Learning Experiences

The young adults in this study spoke about the fact that school learning experiences are vital for their generation, particularly in terms of learning for sustainable development; this is compounded with the fact that these young adults are living in a time where environmental protection is linked to the future of the planet. The young adults in this study are worried about their future and that of coming generations due to the lack of serious

160 attention to the study of environmental issues and sustainability in schools, and the little or no mention of issues pertaining to the environment in classrooms or the curriculum.

The young adults want to be taught about important environmental and sustainability issues, such as climate change and global warming, current erratic weather patterns, consumption and how it affects their lives. They also want schools to reflect the global sustainability agenda and discuss environmental issues more so more young people will have the opportunity to hear about them, As Kaelyn notes;

I think the best would be in school to talk about it more. I don't really get exposed to environmental things outside.... But in school if they taught it, definitely all of us who go to school are going to learn most of the stuff. Whatever I do know is from school; and it's because school hasn't taught us as much as they should about environmental issues, that's probably why I don't know as much. [File YA01: Text Units 49-76]

Kaelyn's comment suggests that environmental issues are not being taught in the

same manner as other subjects in school. Kaelyn adds that her limited knowledge of

environmental issues originates in middle school, where one of her teachers was interested in environmental issues and infused them into her classes. In a similar vein, Mia expresses a

certain level of frustration in this regard;

In school there are no specific courses or programs about the environment...but some teachers would incorporate environmental stuff into what we learned in class; my chemistry teacher did that a lot because he was into environmental issues, but you don't really get that type of learning unless the teacher herself or himself is interested in those issues; so she or he would talk about global warming a bit and toxins and how they relate to chemistry and fish farming.... It depends on the teachers a lot

161 and their individual interest rather than the school's lesson plans. [File YA02: Text Units 249-267]

It's hard to get teachers talking about environmental issues because they say that they have to cover all lessons.... so when teachers do incorporate it, it's only for a short time and they'll never spend a whole class talking about it [File YA02: Text Units 268-293].

Mia's comments demonstrate the reality in Ontario schools today in relation to the

inclusion of environmental or sustainability issues as part of other subjects. The teachers are unwilling to integrate these issues into their teaching plans. (Russell et al., 2000)

Despite the frustrations some of the young adults revealed regarding the expected role of the school as a source for environmental and sustainability knowledge, a few of them had different experiences. For instance, Ava notes that environmental or sustainability

information was not entirely lacking in her elementary and high school studies. She states that everything she knows about environmental issues and sustainable development is what

she learned during elementary and high school.

In elementary [school] we made the posters that said "please recycle" and things like that. It wasn't so much learning as it was conditioning. In middle and high school I had earth sciences class and things like that...but these are usually pretty general, and I didn't really learn; I learned a little bit more in geography.. .class last year. [File YA03: Text Units 201-213]

Although Ava's response demonstrates a scant treatment of the environment

throughout elementary and high school, her comments point to a certain level of attention

or attempts at integrating environmental and sustainable development issues into core

162 subjects, such as sciences and geography in the school. Sharing Ava's view, Liam recalls,

"I think the only environmental stuff we had in public school was reduce, reuse and recycle, which was the big thing in the '90's. At least that was the only environmental thing I saw;

and in terms of high school, nothing, nothing." [File YA17: Text Units 327-359]

Liam's response in this regard is not strange, rather it points to the reductive

approach of some school administrators and teachers towards the inclusion of

environmental and sustainability issues in the school. (Puk & Behm, 2003) There are those

who felt that once the school observes the principle of three Rs (Reduce, Reuse and

Recycle), the children are being exposed to environmental sustainability. This type of

misconception can be linked to the near-absence or non-inclusion of environmental and

sustainable development issues within the school. (Puk & Behm, 2003)

The near-absence or non-inclusion of environmental concepts in schools is partly a

failure of the school as an institution to follow the government-mandated curriculum, which

recommends the integration of environmental and sustainability concepts across all

subjects. (Puk & Behm, 2003) On the other hand, this absence also brings to the fore

problems associated with the integration or infusion of environmental sustainability

concepts into classrooms as well the inability of teachers to cope with curriculum

expectations regarding core subjects.

6.4.2. Formal Education (School)

In many ways, education appears to influence environmental concerns in leading to

development that is sustainable and environmentally just. Its influence is underscored by its

critical role in "improving the capacity of the people to address environment and

163 development issues.. .for achieving environmental and ethical awareness, values and attitudes, skills and behaviour consistent with sustainable development and for effective public participation in decision making." (Fien, 1996, p. 2.27-2.28)

As Mappin and Johnson (2005) state, education is the development of the mind's

capabilities and character through the acquisition of knowledge and abilities to assess and

evaluate this knowledge. Young adult, such as Cadence (a doctoral student), believe that

education played a vital role in her understanding of environmental issues and the

development of critical skills to explore a variety of environmental problems:

Going to university has been the most influential. My feeling towards the environment changed a lot between high school and university, because I looked at things from a more educated standpoint than what I was doing.... So I think it's important to be aware and educated and to speak out when there's problems; but the university has taught me a lot, check your facts first... they have helped me use critical thinking to deal with environmental problems and debates a little bit more. [File YA12: Text Units 488 - 494]

Cadence's response speaks to the notion that through questioning and reflecting on

environmental action, humankind can develop the skills needed for change in their

everyday lives as well as the tools required for the attainment of sustainability. Sephia (a 20

year old female university undergraduate student) describes learning experiences within

formal school contexts as an influence as well.

Well, the teacher who was the supervisor was also my science teacher... .Every month we had to bring in a scientific article on an environmental topic and we had to read it and write up a one page report beforehand on our understanding and what we thought about it; and so the

164 environmental change and things like that was really a focus in his class. [File YA13: Text Units 154 -167]

Sephia refers to the important role of her teacher as the locus of influence on her sustainability learning experience. Sephia's experience corresponds to the assumption that there is a connection between formal education and the transmission of environmental knowledge and teachers viewed as the distributors of knowledge. (Palmer & Birch, 2005)

Furthermore, Sephia and Cadence's responses point to the important role of the school as a primary agency for empowering individuals with the necessary knowledge, skills, values

and commitment needed to achieve environmental protection and sustainability; as well as the vital role of the educational experience in the exploration and analysis of the human- environment relationship. (Martin, 1996)

6.5. The Most Appropriate Source for Learning about Environmental Sustainability

Following the young adults' analysis in the previous section, I inquired about what they perceived to be the most appropriate source for learning about the environment and

sustainability. Despite the inherent gaps in school learning towards a sustainable future,

most of the young adults in this research study identified the school as the most appropriate

place for the learning about the environment and sustainability. The appropriateness of the

school is based on the fact learning activities are more easily coordinated and

conceptualized within the school than in other learning contexts.

According to the young adults, the school learning context is the most functional

domain for the development of prior learning or knowledge from other learning contexts.

165 Stressing the need for an across-the-board integration of environmental and sustainability learning from elementary school through to university, the research participants suggest its incorporation into the early-school curriculum. This way every children and young adult will have exposure to the issues relating to the environment and sustainability as part of their educational experience. In this manner, they opined, children and young adults will be able to develop the necessary skills to investigate and solve issues in the environment as well as understand the principles of sustainable development:

Brooklyn: I think children and young adults have to be taught from a young age in school. They have to be brought up in a culture of conservation where they are not using a lot.... Right now we live in a society in which we produce immense amounts of garbage. [File YA05: Text Units 122-137]

Brooklyn: I think there should be mandatory classes on the environment. I wish everybody had at least one class at university or at least one class throughout high school. At least they should have a curriculum in elementary school that dealt with this, so that everybody would be exposed to it, so that it doesn't come as a surprise to everyone. [File YA05: Text Units 90-106]

Zoe: I should think that they should put into their curriculum courses ranging from grade one to grade twelve that deal primarily with the environment, because I never took any environmental courses up until grade 12 and I found out the best experience that I had was in high school. [File YA07: Text Units 351-371]

Implicit in these comments is an understanding that the environment or sustainability issues are currently not taught in schools. Its integration into both the

166 elementary and high school curriculum may help students develop attitudes of care and concern for the environment; and adopt behaviours and practices that protect the environment. Taegan agrees that including "a program in the elementary school to run through the high school will impact a huge number of kids [since] not many people would go to university" [File YA10: Text Units 158-196]. Taegan's comment can be linked to the notion that schools play an important role in the formation of young children's pro- environmental behaviour, and attitudes are formed during the childhood to adolescent stages of life. (Barraza, 2001; Bronfenbrenner, 1986) This view is also shared Ontario's

Working Group on Environmental Education, (see for instance, Bondar et al., 2007)

Like Taegan, Cadence spoke explicitly about the implications of non-integration of environmental and sustainability concepts across the board from elementary to high school:

If it's not entrenched in the fundamental teachings at the school, it's just an elective or it's just something that maybe we'll do if we have time, then that is the priority the children will grow up with. They will grow up thinking that number one, you need to know math and number two, you need to know how to write a sentence; and then maybe fifty or sixty, if you have time, then the environment. But if at the school level you introduce algebra and chemistry and the environment as one, then in life those will be the priorities they will grow up with.... So again I think it's at a young age, and I think it's at the primary school level. [File YA12: Text Units 362-381]

Consistent with the Cadence's comments, Chloe suggests giving students a choice by incorporating environmental awareness activities and experiences into the curriculum:

I just think in general, at least, even having that option like my... high school only had the environmental study options in grades 1, 2 and most schools don't even have that option. I think even if kids were just provided

167 with the option to do it, they would do it. I know that when I was in... elementary school it was compulsory.. .to plant a tree. I went to a huge all- female school, and every student had to plant a tree. It was for marks. I think it was five percent of our marks counted on going out, no matter what was wrong with you, you had to go plant a tree.... Like in Japan, in elementary schools you have to clean up the mess in your class at the end of the day; no-one can leave until you've cleaned up your mess and that means their schools are clean and kids don't make such a big mess and they don't throw their wrappers all over the ground. [File YA08: Text Units 606-647]

Chloe alludes to the idea that such activities should be graded as part of school work to help model appropriate behaviour and knowledge regarding the environment and sustainability among young children in elementary school. As Barraza (2001), and Greg, Pike, and Selby

(1989) note, environmental values can be modelled at school, but schools must change their policies, organization and structure in order to promote active global citizenship and environmental responsibility. The school must present the children and young adults with a good balance of environmental information. Since the majority of the time students spend outside of their homes is at school, school is an important context for environmental and sustainability learning.

6.6. Summary

"Learning is a process that influences the way people think, feel and act. We learn through experiences throughout our lives and this happens consciously and subconsciously.

We often learn by interacting with people and the environment." (Parliamentary

Commissioner for the Environment-New Zealand, 2004, p. 1) The inevitability of learning

168 in all spheres of our lives suggests that no person can survive without some learning or the ability to learn. In this Decade of Learning for Sustainable Development, learning is presented as the key to the management of the increasing risks and complexities associated with our environment, particularly for young adults.

In this chapter, I explored the various reasons why young adults engage in learning about environmental sustainability. Most of the participants' learning, to varying degrees, can be described as both conscious and unconscious and as well as individual and collective occurrences. This explains why learning in the context of environmental sustainability is often promoted as a self-evident good. I also explored the various factors the young adults identified as contributing to their learning about environmental sustainability. The evidence gathered in this research suggests that the young adults are learning about environmental and sustainability issues for various reasons and from different perspectives.

As Blewitt (2006b) indicates, sustainability learning takes place in different settings and contexts, for example, at home and among family, community and friends, during interaction with mass media, surfing the Internet as well as in schools, colleges and universities. In this chapter, I explored the different contexts in which the young adults in this study learn about the environment. The interview responses pointed to the contextual nature of learning and suggest that learning rarely occurs in a vacuum. The data also indicate that often learning is distributed across and over different settings or contexts. The young adults' narratives showed that they access a number of resources both within the formal and informal learning settings.

In keeping with the literature on sources for learning about environment (Brice-

Heath & Smyth, 1999; Caillot & Nguyen-Xuan, 1995; Crane, Nicholson, Chen, & Bitgood,

169 1994; Grifin, 1989; Hacker & Harris, 1992; Rogoff & Lave, 1984), the young adults emphasized that they rely on different sources for learning about the environment, including the formal school, mass media (magazines and newspapers, television, the

Internet, books), clubs and NGOs, the family and home and through conversations with friends. Their narratives also demonstrate the importance of different learning sources and how these have helped their learning about environmental and sustainability issues. More importantly, while they obtain information from other sources as well, the data indicates that at this point the most important source of the young adults' environmental information is the Internet. This finding is contrary to previous studies (see for instance, Bonnett &

William, 1998; Chan, 1996,1998; Filho, 1996; Palmer, 1995), which report that the television or visual media are the most important sources of environmental information for young people.

In addition, the narratives showed a preferential shift towards the use of the Internet over other mass media modes, such as television. This lateral shift speaks to the power of the Internet in captivating young adults' attention as they spend more time on the Internet web surfing (Schwarz, 2000) than watching television. The power of the Internet is in its diverse usage, from sending e-mails, watching movies, talking in online chat rooms to accessing both electronic educational and non-educational materials.

While it is clear that Internet is regarded as the most important source of environmental and sustainability information, the young adult participants in this study did not view the Internet as the most appropriate source for learning about environmental

sustainability. Despite the inherent gaps in the role of the school as a source for environmental and sustainability learning, the young adults recognized its value as an

170 important source for environmental and sustainability learning. This evidence corresponds with the studies of Connell, Fien, Sykes, and Yencken (1998) and Morris and Schagen

(1996) that found the school to be the preferred context for environmental learning as well as a place where young adults can develop learning from other contexts.

Within the context of the Contextual Model of Learning framework, and given the nature of this study, it is difficult to claim the young adults in this research study had transformative experiences resulting in meaningful learning (Novak, 1977), through their various lifelong interactions with learning sources and resources. Furthermore, within the

context of the three overlapping settings, Chapter Seven relates the importance of the values

and behaviours of the research participants in their everyday lives as they try to find a balance between present and future needs. These values and behaviours center on the young

adults' expressed willingness to taking actions toward environmental sustainability and/or

the promotion of environmental quality. It is important to note that the participants' pro-

environmental values and actions are the result of the overlap among the three contexts of

learning: the personal, social and physical.

Unequivocally, the research participants in this study expressed a sense of

inspiration from multiple media sources as contexts where they gain new understanding and

a deeper appreciation of the complex nature of the environment. Applying the contextual

model of learning framework to the discussion of the contexts/settings through which

learning takes place, in this study learning was viewed as involving three overlapping

contexts: the personal, the sociocultural and the physical. In the use of the Contextual

Model of Learning, the findings in this study are consistent with other studies that have

171 examined the overlapping contexts of learning, (cf. Ballantyne & Packer, 2005; Brody,

2005; Brody et al, 2002; Falk & Dierking, 2000,2002a) CHAPTER SEVEN

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: EXPLORING THE INTERSECTIONS OF LEARNING AND ACTION

7.1. Introduction

To this point, much attention has been paid to exploring the nature, process and sources of young adults' environmental sustainability knowledge and information.

Awareness of their surroundings, needs, values and visions of their future lives directly affect the young adults' ability to locate and assess solutions to current environmental problems. Learning and knowing about current environmental problems, their causes and the barriers to their resolution will, I argue, motivate young adults to consciously look for and choose suitable actions and behaviours in their everyday life, actions and behaviours that will lead to a balance between development and the environment and between their current needs and those of future generations. (Dolores, Otero, & Mira, 2003)

As Trisler (1993) notes, "When studying about global issues, the goal needs to be more than merely acquiring scientific knowledge. A relationship must be made between the

individual action and responsibility to the global issue." Trisler adds that "young adults

must be knowledgeable about problem identification, interrelationships and alternatives

before they can address global environmental issues." (Trisler, 1993, n. p.) Monroe and

Kaplan (1988) identify the important elements required for transforming learning and

knowledge into action. Among them are: knowledge of environmental and sustainability

173 issues, a sense of responsibility and commitment, knowledge of action strategies that help resolve issues, locus of control and empowerment.

Emmons (1997, p. 35) defines environmental action as "a deliberate strategy that involves decisions, planning, implementation and reflection by an individual or a group.

The action is also intended to achieve a specific positive environmental outcome, either small or large." (Schusler & Krasny, undated) Through environmental learning young people are able to develop an understanding of environmental concepts and develop the abilities, skill and attitudes that are critical to their participation in environmental action— environmental action which occurs at the intersection of ecological, economic, social and political systems. (Battistoni, 2002; Dryzek, 1997) This learning also increases young adults' ability to make choices rather than accept the prescriptions of others, and to exert influence in public issues (see for example, Fien, 1993; Fischer, 2000; Freire, 1973;

Newmann, 1975) particularly those relating to environmental problems. In this chapter, I explore how young adults' environmental knowledge intersects with their pro- environmental actions. As other researchers have noted knowledge is an important precursor to one's willingness to take action, (cf: Jasanoff, 2002; Kaplan & Peterson, 1993)

The underlying assumption is that if people are aware of the need for and the ways of protecting the environment they will act to preserve it. (Tikka, Kuitunen, & Tynys, 2000)

Studies linking knowledge with willingness to take environmental action, show that the level of information young people have corresponds to the environmental actions they take,

(see Gigliotti, 1994). The importance of knowledge and the impact of lack of knowledge in the decision-making process have been demonstrated in numerous studies, (see, for instance, Sharifah, Paim, & Yahaya, 2005) Similarly, several studies have concluded that

174 information and knowledge about recycling are both significant predictors of recycling behaviour. (Corral-Verdugo, 1996)

I begin with a discussion on how young adults' environmental learning experiences have contributed to the development of empathy and sensitivity for the environment. I then explore the links between the young adults learning and environmental actions, as well as the locations and processes of their actions.

7.2. Working Towards Environmental Protection and Quality

In the previous section, I discussed how young adults rank their knowledge of environmental issues and sustainability. In this section, I discuss what the young adults understand as action towards environmental quality, and how they describe and define environmental protection. However, before going further, it necessary to explain the meaning of the term 'environmental quality.'

Environmental quality can be defined as the balance of nature and human-made objects that are created for the benefit of the sustenance of human-beings and nature.

(Richert, 2001) In simpler terms, environmental quality is aimed at protecting public health and the environment by controlling present and future sources of air, water and land pollution. Environmental quality has both direct and indirect consequences for human health and quality of life. It is also used as a measure of the absence of pollution. (Maradan,

2005) In general, environmental quality is a narrow term for environmental protection in its broadest sense.

When asked to explain what environmental protection means to them, the young adults in this research study provided a variety of responses. The range of definitions they

175 presented reflects the multiple, varied and differential understandings that shape definitions of environmental protection and its meanings. Regardless of the varied nature of their definitions, the use of constructs, such as sustainable, conserving, ecological footprints, regeneration and preserving resources during the course of the interviews shows that the participants were clear in their understanding of environmental protection.

The young adults spoke with passion about what environmental protection is and why it matters. The use of common environmental terms helped them to articulate their

definitions. For example Mia (an eighteen year old female, undergraduate university

student) defined environmental protection as follows:

I'd say that environmental protection means trying to save the resources that we have now so we can live more sustainably, and also trying to lessen the impact that humans have on the earth. [File YA02: text Units 212-221]

Brooklyn (a 22year old female, 4th year undergraduate university student) responded as

follows:

I think environmental protection to me means conserving trees and wildlife and animals, but also conserving what we use. I think we need to reduce the effect we have on the environment, so I guess, our ecological footprint; conserving energy, turning off the lights, living our lives in such a way that we're not having a huge impact on this earth. We only have one planet that we can live on; that we know of right now. [File YA05: Text Units 250 - 262]

176 Mia and Brooklyn view environmental protection as the preservation and conservation of the natural resources that sustains humans continued existence on earth.

Both young women believe that humanity should control the activities that degrade, or are capable of degrading, the natural environment. On other hand, Maddox (a 20 year old male, fourth year undergraduate university student) states that environmental protection

equals sustainability, because the environment to me regenerates itself; so being able to sustain the environment is what environmental protection is... it will allow the environment to sort of do its own thing naturally. [File YAM: Text Units 179 - 188]

Maddox's comment that the environment regenerates itself indicates his belief that the natural environment is "self-perpetuating." According to Maddox humans should take a step back to allow the natural environment to evolve naturally. For Jared, environmental protection means

providing balanced and continuous outcomes for humanity and for the environment....while we can meet our needs. It means preserving your resources for a very long time; so if I don't protect my resources I will lose all my fun or my life very soon. I will die soon. [File YA15: Text Units 227 - 238]

Jared contends that it is essential to preserve the natural resources and stop humanity's un- abating intervention in the natural environment, because the consequences of its depletion are dangerous. Both Maddox and Jared use the term "sustainability" or its synonyms (for example: preserving, sustain, naturally, continuous outcome) to describe their understandings and the importance of the protection of natural resources and natural resource management to humanity's existence on earth.

177 Chloe (an 18 year old female, undergraduate university student) describes environmental protection as

just something that everybody needs to be involved with, and it's primarily the only thing that we have. A lot of people say that you can't really control nature, but it's the one aspect of nature that we can control and that's our individual ability to do what we can to protect the state of the environment and keep it at it's healthiest, and be able to say "Well while I lived on this planet I did make a difference" or I did do something, and it's a way to enhance moral values through actual initiatives that you personally take; but it's a feeling that you have the control to change your own actions and your own habits, to do something positive and it affects every single one of us. I think that's how I would explain it... [File YA08: Text Units 216-238]

Chloe's definition points to the importance of working with nature so individuals can claim to have played a part in protecting the environment. She suggests the need for a change in human's anthropocentric tendencies that view the environment and nature as something to be plundered or pillaged. Chloe's definition also addresses the ethical question of the human relationship with nature and environment.

Chloe's comments can be interpreted as embracing the principles of sustainable development or environmental sustainability in her call for an intergenerational commitment to the management of earth's natural resources. A related justification for environmental protection in her definition reveals the need to keep the environment

"healthy," because our own health and well-being are dependent on the healthy state of the environment and its resources.

178 Following the research participants' definitions and descriptions of environmental protection, I asked them about their recent action(s) to improve environmental quality.

Scarlet (a 23year old, female, 5th year undergraduate university student), for example, illustrates her effort at attaining environmental quality from her home.

I recycle at home and I sort my waste always, the bottles and the cans into the same box...we tie up the newspapers and...put the leaves into a separate bag [because] it is organic; the other waste goes into a separate bag too. I recently got a minivan, but I don't drive it to school...because I know [the impact of vehicle emissions on the] environment. [File YA04: Text Units 473 - 500]

Instead of driving to school Scarlet prefers "to use the mass transit, because it is cheaper

and safer for the environment." By using public transit, Scarlet believes she has less impact

on the environment. Scarlet's comments imply an understanding of environmental quality

as synonymous with attaining a sound level of environmental health, by removing waste

from the environment in an environment-friendly manner or reducing pollution.

Other young adults, such as Chloe explain that doing something that promotes

environmental quality brings good feelings and satisfaction, the result of being involved in

pro-environmental activities that "pay off." Commenting on a recent action she took to

promote environmental quality Chloe states,

I work at an art store and I recently got my art store to push a rule that we would recycle all our paper waste and everything, and that was like a month ago; and I went tree planting as part of my university outreach program in the past month or so.... Seeing the tree that you've planted is such a good feeling; so a lot of it has to do with just feeling good about the

179 actions you're taking and knowing that there is something you can do; it's not hopeless. You can do something. [File YA08: Text Units 757 - 779]

Having a sense of connection with the environment is clearly the motivation for engaging in activities that directly support or improve the quality of the environment. Pushing for the recycling of paper waste and engaging in tree planting suggest that Chloe attributes great value to environmental systems. Being able to attach such value to environmental systems underscores her commitment and the time she puts into engaging pro-environmental activities.

Other young adults though conscious of the benefits of promoting environmental quality, relate experiences of feeling powerless and not being able to do enough. Liam is one example:

I think again as a poor student who can't actually afford to buy a vehicle or a house.... I'm just renting so I don't have control over my building, because there's a huge energy loss through the buildings windows; so I have very little control over my environmental impact. At the same time.. .1 recycle and I compost and do all the small things within my power.... as a consumer I look forward to the period when I can make an environmental choice.... when I can afford it I definitely would take that route and the same thing for energy efficient housing. You look at our building code in Ontario and Canada and it's pathetic. And I think as a purchaser of a new home, I know that buying an energy efficient home is not that more expensive if you do it up front So it's about when you can make the decisions and when you're empowered; and as our generation becomes empowered with the financial ability to make those decision then we will be saying "No I don't want the building code home,

180 I want to own a zero emission home" ... I'm going to be reducing my [ecological] footprint. [File YA17: Text Units 766 - 800]

Liam illustrates the limits of what an average young adult can achieve in promoting environmental quality. Although young adults may be very conscious of the goodness linked to quality environment, being a "poor student and a renter," has large implications for what they can achieve in it broadest sense of environmental quality.

Although Liam engages in the most basic activities, including recycling, composting and other basic waste management efforts within his power, he has a feeling that he is not doing enough towards promoting and attaining environmental quality because, according to him, "I have very little control over my environmental impact." Liam's comments also point to the very strong link between income per-capita and environmental quality. Supporting evidence can be found in Bruneau and Echevarria's (2003) study that environmental quality deteriorates with income at low to middle levels and improves with income at middle to high levels.

7.3. Locating Action in Environmental Protection and Quality: Where and How?

Environmental action competence, according to Jensen (1993), includes skills at a general level, knowledge of and insight into environmental problems and possibilities of solving them, environmental commitment, vision about the future, and environmental action experiences. To understand how young adults in this research study approach environmental sustainability, I sought their views regarding what they considered as essential action to environmental sustainability, the location of such an action and what it is about.

181 The environmental practices discussed in this section include purchasing environmental-friendly goods, household practices like shorter showers, turning off the tap when you're brushing your teeth, biking to school and walking. In response to the question whether these practices are essential to sustainability, some of the participants argued that while they may be important they are not entirely essential. They contend that to attain environmental sustainability, essential environmental practices should include dealing with the sources of pollution and reducing their impact on the environment. Layla (a fourth year female undergraduate university student) responds:

Essential? I don't think so; well it is important of everybody, for each individual to try to do those things to reduce their environmental impact in small ways; however, the biggest causes of environmental damage are bigger than that, and I think they are influenced by a lot of things that are bigger than us, such as the government and/or industrial practices; and even though making people feel that they can reduce their impact on the environment in small ways, their most important role is to influence those industries and governments that are damaging the environment in much greater ways than leaving the tap water running for two minutes more than they should have. [File YA06: Text Units 521-551]

In agreement with Layla, Brooklyn (a fourth year female undergraduate university

student) notes that such practices are just small steps, and humans must do more towards

addressing the problems of environmental sustainability.

They're baby steps to obtaining sustainability and to living in a sustainable manner, and they are such a small things to ask for. How can someone say, "No I'm not going to turn off the tap when I brush my teeth" if they are educated...? I think the mentality that most people currently have... is "Why should I?" It's inconvenient and what am I, little old me, going to do

182 if I don't turn off the tap. I'm not changing the world in any way. But the fact is that if everyone did it we would conserve a lot of water. I think they're baby steps but I think that they are just the tip of an iceberg. They is so much more that we need to be doing before we reverse the effects of environmental degradation, climate change, global warming. [File YA05: Text Units 578 - 599]

Other young adults believe that taking part in such environmental practices that are considered inconsequential by many is one of the many ways to galvanize human beings into action towards attaining environmental sustainability. This group of young adults believe that if the whole world engages in one small pro-environmental practice or activity,

it will engender a feeling of responsibility and concern in everyone's minds; and this type

of feeling will impact other areas of humanity's relationship with the environment as well.

Scarlett mentioned that such little steps will ultimately lead to change that could go a long

way in positively impacting the environment.

I believe every little step counts so whether that means you take a short shower...or ride a bicycle to school, [it ] definitely contributes to [environmental protection]; because if everybody has that same mentality then it will result in change. It will have an effect on the environment; so yes I think it's important. Yeah, every little thing counts, right? [File YA04: Text Units 421-443] Dakota contends that millions of peoples must adopt such practices before they

can lead to significant change; efforts on an individual basis would be meaningless.

I think it would be essential if more people would take them on, which I think is part of the problem, cause you're thinking what if I turn off the tap in the two minutes that I'm brushing my teeth that's not going to make a difference; but if it's something that happens, a concerted effort is made

183 amongst millions and millions and millions of people, then obviously you will see a significant change; but if it's happening on an individual basis as opposed to a collective one, then the differences are not very significant, but again that's like with any other practice. You have to have enough people doing it for it to be worthwhile. [File YA09: Text Units 466 - 479] Taegan and Zoe note that beyond awareness, such practices can contribute to environmental sustainability. They personally engage in such practices, because they believe it is better for the environment in the long term:

Taegan: I do all of the things actually. I started taking three minute showers, I ride my bike everywhere... turn the tap off in between brushing teeth, etc. I think that it's is important. If you're looking at it from an incredibly environmental aspect, then you know people might scoff at it and say, "Oh, you're only turning off the tap" and people might look down upon it. I've had people that are very environmentally conscious, you tell them about a little thing and they'll say, "Oh that's nothing." But... you have to look at it in the grand scheme of things. If everyone takes two minute showers that's a lot of water conserved, and... if a larger majority of people ride bikes, then that's less carbon dioxide, less C02. So I think it's really important, not so much individually, but collectively. [File YA10: Text Units 630 - 648]

Zoe: I don't let the water run when I brush my teeth. I do take shorter showers. My sister picked up one of those reusable grocery bags, so we use that when ever we go out; and my dad asked us not to use the car unless we can't get there by bus, and he's pretty strict about that kind of stuff... and if I don't compost, he'll get on me to take the compost out.... I know for a fact that it's so much better for the environment. [File YA07: Text Units 475 - 487]

184 Scott contends that people should be interested in engaging in pro-environmental practices because of the associated financial benefit of doing so. He suggests that pro- environmental practices will ultimately add up to savings on hydro and gas bills. In the long run, saving the environment also means saving funds.

By saving water and by turning off all the lights when you leave the room, you're saving electricity; by turning your computer off at night, you're saving electricity, you're saving money on all your bills; by turning down the heat in the winter time, you're saving on your heating bill; by turning down your air-conditioner in the summer, you're saving on your electricity bill again. So in some ways the environment and economics are in the same direction. You want to save money, but at the same time you're saving the environment, [be]cause we're reducing our energy levels. So I definitely think those small changes over the entire globe add up. So I do my part. I do all those things you mentioned [File YA17: Text Units 681 - 743]

Scott's views point to the need to move away from the unsustainable and needless waste associated with things many humans take for granted. In a similar manner, Mia notes the relationship between these practices and environmental protection and sustainable development.

I think they are essential towards sustainable development, because a lot of them are related to environmental issues, and if everyone did these things it would all add up and it would have a greater impact than if just one person did it. So I think they are, because if you use less water there's more fresh water to use for drinking water, and other things. [File YA02: Text Units 655 - 684]

185 Mia relates these practices to water conservation. According to her, efficient water use can go a long way to protect freshwater sources from depletion, as well as, save many freshwater species from extinction and thus preserve the valuable ecological services they provide. These ecological services include filtering and cleansing water supplies, mitigating floods and droughts and delivering nutrients to the sea. (Postel, 2002)

Overall, the young adults' responses highlight the need to encourage pro- environmental practices that can make a positive difference to the environment. They also point to the connection among positive environmental attitudes and behaviours and attaining global environmental sustainability. Without a positive change in attitude and behaviour on the part of individuals and society, it will be difficult to attain environmental sustainability. (Bazerman, Wade-Benzoni, & Benzoni, 1996) General awareness of the long term benefits of sustainable practices are required for people (particularly young adults), either at the individual or societal level, to change their attitudes and behaviours in relation to the environment. (Bazerman et al., 1996; Tenbrunsel et al., 1997)

The young adults in this research study identified the following as some of the most important environmental/sustainable practices: The use of public transit for transportation, building energy efficient homes, composting organic waste, integrated waste management

(reduction of waste, reuse and recycling), and selective cutting and organic farming.

Integrated waste management, that is, reduction of waste, reuse and recycling and renewable energy were considered the most important among these practices. The young adult participants recognized the core principles of solid waste management, the three Rs, that is, Reuse, Reduce and Recycle, as having the greatest impact on waste reduction

Cadence explains,

186 Number one is reduction of waste, reduction of use, bringing your own water-bottles, packing your own lunch, reusing the plastic wrap that you wrap your sandwich in one day and using that same plastic wrap the next day. So recycling is great and wonderful...and... effective ... Recycling practices are good, but if you decrease your waste, you are directly contributing to.. .making the earth a fairly cleaner place. So I think it's a reduction of waste period that needs to be adopted. [File YA12: Text Units 382 - 392]

Zoe adds, Composting is good, because then you don't waste, and you don't create more garbage, while the fertilizer may be used for planting a garden in the backyard. [File YA07: Text Units 375 - 385]

Cadence and Zoe suggest the ways in which proper management and disposal of waste at home can help the environment. Recycling solid waste materials and composting organic and food waste help to reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills. When less waste is generated, the environment benefits, and the fertilizer from compositing can be used for planting gardens or lawn re-grassing, among other uses.

In contrast, although Maddox agrees that recycling can be a productive exercise if followed through, he argues that many people, particularly young adults, are helpless when it comes to recycling.

In my household...garbage is garbage. We don't do it [recycle] religiously...because we don't understand what is recyclable and what's not. Right, you look for the little triangle, and people don't have time to look for that little triangle; so it's like who cares, that's the attitude; and at the end of the day, youth in general don't really care.... So I recycle if it doesn't take up too much of my time, and I think that's the kind of mentality that youth

187 have, because you don't really see the impact.... All you do is hear about it, and you don't see how it impacts you individually, right? You feel it's everybody's problem, so you don't do anything about it. [File YA14: Text Units 318-339]

Maddox's views illustrate the generally held notion that environmental problems

cannot be solved by individuals and committing to practices, such as recycling is a waste of time. Maddox also suggests, albeit indirectly that youth are not likely to participate in recycling, because it is time consuming. While this type of argument is plausible, it does not seem to represent the views of today's young adults (including those outside this study),

who have taken leadership roles in addressing several environmental issues (Brusdal &

Langeby, 2001; Maggi, Beato, Fasanella, & Lombardo, 2001 see for instance; Nyberg &

Sto, 2001).

In a world obsessed with the consumption of products and lacking the capacity to

dispose them, reuse and recycling help prevent these objects from reaching landfills,

thereby creating less waste, providing usable items to people and organizations that need

them, and recapturing valuable resources. Brooklyn regards using renewable and

environmental-friendly materials in building construction as an important sustainable

practice:

a sustainable or environmental-friendly building involves using materials that are renewable...when constructing buildings...and renewable materials don't have much of an effect on the environment. [File YA05: Text Units 469 - 489]

188 The implication of living in environment-friendly houses is that less waste is generated in its construction and ultimate use. Layla argues that renewable sources of energy are the most important practices.

For smaller communities, in rural areas...they have developed a lot of practices that are very sustainable, such as agro-forestry or previously in the mangrove forest they would fish shrimps and grow things on their trees, and that was an excellent use of their environment... and since they were a small community they wouldn't over-fish or over-harvest or things like that. But in a bigger environment...like in a city where there are more people, it's more densely populated and the most important sustainable practices would be [the use of] renewable sources of energy...wind energy or things like that. [File YA06: Text Units 417 - 435]

Layla argues that rural areas, in the development and application of environmental practices, are more sustainable communities than cities. She suggests that there is a need for the use of alternative energy sources in big cities and towns.

7.4. Translating Learning Experiences into Action

According to Bazerman et al (1996, p. 3), "environmental issues are affected by the actions of individuals, yet we know fairly little about., .individual actions in environmental domains." There are a number of studies that report an individual or a society's willingness to take action (WTA) in relation to environmental issues is predetermined by their learning experiences and understanding of environmental issues, (cf: Filho, 1999; Gigliotti, 1994)

According to Filho (1999), there are many elements that may influence an individual's decision to take a particular action in relation to the environment, including the

189 choice of products to buy, the type of transport to use or even in deciding which type of electric bulb to buy for use at home.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the young adults' environmental actions

I asked them to elaborate on additional environmentally relevant action(s) they undertake.

Taegan, for instance, appreciates the importance of "living environmentally" and regards bicycles as the most energy-efficient form of travel. He always relies on his bicycle for

transportation and rarely uses other means of transportation except when travelling long

distances. He explains,

I ride my bike everywhere. I'm not very dependent on fossil fuels or anything such as that. I take public transit if I have to travel somewhere. I think that the amount of times I've taken public transit this year is probably two to three. So I try and ride my bike almost everywhere.... I buy my clothes second hand, so., .in terms of living environmentally, I'm concerned about sweatshop labour and stuff like that; so I choose not to buy my clothes first hand from places such as the Gap [clothing].... I also petitioned to save an environment, one environment. [The petition] was for deep sea trawling. The United Nations was I believe having a vote in November of 2002 as to whether to put a moratorium on it...but it's incredibly destructive. Basically it destroys the entire ecosystem, the coral reefs and thing such as that. So I went to see David Suzuki speak on it.... "Fish for the Future" was the title of the presentation, and he talked about sustainable fishing and the depleted stocks and things such as that, and it also touched on trawling. So my friends and I organized a petition and collected about 150 people, before sending it to the Minister of the Environment.... I think it was successful... because I got a couple of people to go and look on the internet [for information] about deep sea trawling. [File YA10: Text Units 324 - 438]

190 Taegan's actions clearly demonstrate an understanding of certain pro-environmental

actions as necessary for the attainment of environmental sustainability. His comments also point to the correlation among consumption, labour exploitation and sustainability.

Taegan's decision to buy and use second-hand clothing is partly based on his understanding

that consumerism is an environmental problem and that the production of goods is also

linked to labour exploitation. Furthermore, Taegan demonstrates an understanding of the

complex relationship between human consumption and the unsustainable harvesting of

natural resources through his involvement in a petition to ban deep sea trawling.

The need for sustainable use of water and conservation, as well as the need to

reduce pollution of water sources is demonstrated in Cadence's environmentally-related

action.

For example [when I stay at a hotel] I ask if there is an option that I don't get my sheets washed every night. That way we can save or conserve water and they don't use as many detergents that will go into the lake; cause if I'm staying one or two nights I'm not that dirty, so I don't necessarily need the sheets washed.... And sometimes there's a note that you can leave, or sometimes there's a little something that you can put on the door-handle, or sometimes you can just call and request that I don't need my sheets changed, so it depends on the hotel. [File YA12: Text Units 192-204]

Protecting the environment and not wanting to leave a large ecological footprint is

extremely important to Cadence and this is demonstrated in her action. Ecological Footprint

is a resource management tool that measures how much land and water area a human

population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its wastes under

191 prevailing technology. It compares human consumption of natural resources with planet

Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate them. It is an estimate of the amount of biologically productive land and sea area needed to regenerate (if possible) the resources a

human population consumes and to absorb and render harmless the corresponding waste,

given prevailing technology and current understanding. Ecological Footprints enable people

to take personal and collective actions in support of a world where humanity lives within the means of one planet. Opting to participate in a hotel's eco-friendly practices speaks to

her commitment to environmental sustainability. Most hotels have pledged to use non-toxic

cleaners and meet measurable goals for conserving water and energy, however, the choice

to participate in the hotel's eco-friendly practices is the guest's.

Maddox, on his part, uses public transportation and promotes car-pooling among his

friends.

A good example is that when we go out our friends, four of us or five of us, and three of us have cars, and sometimes they want to take all three cars or two cars, and I'm saying "No, let's just take one car, because it's just cheaper for us gas-wise and it's better for the environment" .. .so those are the kinds of influences I have on my friends to be more efficient, and I think efficiency leads to better sustainability and for the environment; so doing things with less resources than otherwise required. So public transportation and basically car-pooling is something that I do a lot, and I just walk to the grocery store instead of taking the car most of the time. [File YAH: Text Units 472 - 493]

Maddox illustrates how peer influence can be useful in promoting sustainable

practices among young people. The fact that he convinces his friends to practice car-

pooling points to his commitment to environmentally sustainable action. Even though his

192 friends' decision was partly for economic considerations, this action is strongly related to protecting the environment. Maddox's environmental action also corresponds to the environmentally friendly practices of the Province of Ontario. The Province is currently contributing billions of dollars to improving its cities' public transit systems, and has also

created car-pool lanes on a number of highways. Such efforts, beyond reducing traffic

congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, could encourage interest in alternative cost-

effective transportation and facilitate sustainable and environmentally-friendly urban

growth.

Mia exudes confidence regarding the success of the environmental initiative she

was involved in.

I was involved with a huge campaign to get rid of cleaners that had toxic products and chemicals in it.... And we were trying to gather support to go * to the government and ask that legislation be passed to get rid of those types of cleaners.... So I did a lot of work with them and I think that was pretty big, because it was well taken there, so I'm sure it's going to happen within a few years. [File YA02: Text Units 746-778]

The campaign Mia was involved in is reminiscent of the petition Taegan worked

on (discussed earlier). Mia's knowledge of the impact of toxic substances on the

environment correlates with her desire to protect the environment and led her to become

involved in an environmentally-related activity, which may not be realized in the short-

term. The environmentally related actions that the young adults in this study perform

demonstrate the meaningful nature of learning, especially as it resonates with the everyday

life-world of the learner. According to Blewitt's (2006b), resonance is essential for learning

193 to become a constitutive element of a transformative process that leads to an environmentally sustainable future. (Blewitt, 2006b) In this context, the young adults'

ability to transform their environmental learning/knowledge into action underscores their

capacity to "make connections in values and conduct that are real, genuine and desired even

if not immediate or direct." (Blewitt, 2006b, p. 10) According to the young adults in this

study, the underlying factor in their actions is their commitment to environment

sustainability.

7.5. Conclusion

The research participants' narratives demonstrate that learning experiences plays a

significant role in the young adults' environmental actions. Furthermore, such experiences

to create a more meaningful life depends on readiness to work with nature, to reverse, if not

completely stop, the various environmental problems currently threatening our existence on

earth.

From the young adults' narratives it is evident that they understand what it means to

live sustainably. Beyond overt political campaigns, the young adults understand that unless

our everyday practices are changed, it will be difficult to transform the dominant

unsustainable ways of life. It is interesting to note that despite the low'levels of

environmental knowledge that the participants reported having, they demonstrated a

commitment towards environmental protection and sustainability. Engagement in

environmental activities at home, such as waste disposal, recycling and water and energy

conservation often regarded as inconsequential or outrightly taken for granted are important

actions that can be linked to environmental knowledge.

194 The research participants' narratives presented in this chapter suggest that individual actions can bring about change in human behaviour towards achieving environmental sustainability.

In the following chapter, I explore potential unsustainable practices and concerns in relation to environmental sustainability and the future of the planet.

195 CHAPTER EIGHT

YOUNG ADULTS, THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY: CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE

If the civilization is to survive, the next century will have to be a time of transformation — not just in technological capacity but also in our approach to the natural world, and to each other.... A sustainable society would not be eroding its resource base, causing serious environmental damage or producing unacceptable social problems. (Lowe, 2004, p. 165)

8.1. Introduction

Moody (2000) suggests that young people have a role to play in addressing environmental and sustainability issues; with their knowledge of these issues and their passion, enthusiasm and "constructive naivety," young adults can offer a fresh perspective on the implementation of sustainable change.. This perception is based on the capacity of young people to herald change, given that many of them have a vision for a sustainable world and a consciousness that they will inherit this planet.

This chapter explores young adults' knowledge and opinions regarding a range of potential unsustainable practices and concerns relating to environmental sustainability and the future of the planet.

8.2. Environmental Protection

As the human population reaches six and a half (6.5) billion, environmental

degradation and the depletion of natural resources underscore the need for sustainable

196 management and the protection of the planet. As Freis-Tordini (2003,2005) explains, stress to the environment includes such things as the decrease in varieties of animal and plant species, increase in floods and fires and increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere effecting climates and the ozone layer. According to Freis-Tordini, (2003,2005) care and protection of the environment is necessary. Without such care and protection it will be difficult to abate the continued depletion of world's lands and waterways, as well as the reduction of global carbon dioxide pollution.

In this section, I explore the young adults' responses to the question of whether or not enough is currently being done to protect the environment. In simple terms, environmental protection is the aggregate of measures for the conservation of the environment and ensuring the sustainable utilization of natural resources.

The young adults in this study were united in their responses and answered this question with a resounding "No.". A few of the research participants contextualized their responses within current environmental discourse. Ava, Scarlet, Layla and Sabrina's comments below capture the sentiments of all of the young adults in this research study well.

Ava: I don't think that enough is being done. I think it is probably a little [too late]; well there's a lot of emphasis on a lot of things that I feel aren't as necessary or as important. There are important things out there, but there are definitely wastes that could go in terms of money or in terms of effort and time or concentration and the way people work; they are attracted to things that directly concern them, and the environment does but since it's everywhere people don't feel it directly at certain times in their life....So I think it's harder to hype up enough interest, especially

197 politically and things like that to effect change. [File YA03: Text Units 724 - 874]

Scarlet: From the time I was 18 till now I haven't seen much difference; I don't know if there's been, but I don't think there's been a great many changes. If anything, it's probably gotten worse to some extent. [File YA04: Text Units 604 - 622]

Layla: No, because what is being done is too little and cannot match the level of environmental destruction.... The pace of environmental degradation is speeding up; and it's still happening at a very unprecedented pace. [File YA06: Text Units 626 - 647]

Sabrina: No. For instance we haven't even come up with our Kyoto Protocols still and.. .the Ministry of Energy is trying to push off our switch from coal in Canada for another seven years, until 2014. So we're still not really progressing, we're just procrastinating. [File YAH: Text Units 591 - 596]

The young adults point to the general public's lack of concern and interest in environmental protection as well as the prevalence of a laissez faire approach towards the environment.

Layla, Scarlet and Ava refer to the fact that the environment has continued to deteriorate

and the future of the planet continues to be in doubt. Sabrina on her part wonders why

nothing concrete is being done and government initiatives are being delayed.

Following these comments, I asked the young adults to suggest ways of involving

youth in environmental protection. I wondered whether the young adults, as the future

custodians of the planet, were ready to take responsibility by suggesting approaches,

methods or strategies that are capable of leading to a sustainable future.

198 Mia and Maddox, among others, provided meaningful suggestions for involving youth in environmental and sustainability issues.

Mia: I think influencing them from a young age perhaps from education in schools. But other than that there's of lot of factors being barriers to that... Environmentalism is just another thing and there are so many other things that they're doing and are influencing them, like television and ads and shopping and culture; and environmentalism is just something that they can sort of just stick on the shelf. It's not going to take over their life and impact the way that they live; I don't know how that would happen. I think from school, but not everyone will take everything in school seriously. Sending them off to camps, I suppose and education programs within the schools, more opportunities for them to learn. A lot of kids might go to these camps that I went to if they're missing school; they might see it as a chance to leave school for a week, but then when they get there they learn about these issues and they become more motivated about them. [YA02: 864-907]

Maddox: These problems that are not being tackled now are going to have to be tackled by the young generation coming up, because everyone is passing it on and it's either our generation that is to step up and do something about it or pass it on to the next generation or until it's too late. I think that we are directly affected by what decisions are being made now, because we are going to be around when the consequences are going to be faced.... If we understand that, then I think we would be doing something about it.... We have to educate ourselves as young adults or just hope that someone else will educate us. [File YA03: Text Units 653-672].

Mia and Maddox highlight the importance of education in motivating and involving young

adults in environmental sustainability. While Mia would like to see more opportunities

199 created through the development of educational programs within and outside school,

Maddox wants young adults to take a stand by engaging in self-directed education.

These narratives can be linked to the notion of education as indispensable in

changing people's attitudes towards environmental sustainability. This notion is articulated

in the UNCED' Agenda 21:

Education is critical for promoting sustainable development and improving the capacity of the people to address environment and development issues. While basic education provides the underpinning for any environmental and development education, the latter needs to be incorporated as an essential part of learning. Both formal and non-formal education are indispensable to changing people's attitudes so that they have the capacity to assess and address their sustainable development concerns. It is also critical for achieving environmental and ethical awareness, values and attitudes, skills and behaviour consistent with sustainable development and for effective public participation in decision-making (UNCED, 1992).

The young adults in this study recognize that education enhances environmental protection

and also motivates peoples to lead an environmentally sustainable life, as previous studies

testify, (see for example, Hopkins, Damlamian, & Lopez-Ospina, 1996) Most importantly,

these young adults understand that in order to achieve sustainable development,

environmental protection must constitute an integral part of the development process and

cannot be considered in isolation from it.

The young adults attribute the continued degradation of the environment to a

generational failure on the part of older people who are presently the decision makers. The

200 young adults regard the responsibility for healing the environment as their own and how they fare will depend on the amount of education they can obtain.

According to Taegan young people are a challenge when it comes to teaching them

about environmental protection.,

Some will obviously hear what you have to say, and a lot of youths care about it; but if you're looking at most people.. .adolescence is a time of self discovery and things such as that, and you're very self consumed, so it's a tough question As I said before, helping them to realize that their choices do have a difference in global things. [File YA10: Text Units 892 - 906]

Taegan believes that young adults require help in discovering themselves.

According to Taegan such discovery would allow them to understand their place and role

in the global campaign against environmental degradation. In addition, other young adults

such as Scarlet and Brooklyn point to media advertisements as a means of motivating

young adults to become involved in environmental sustainability.

Scarlet: It would be like I said, the usual going to the campuses, going to the schools, advertising directly, maybe put some interesting ads on TV like how they do for the beer ads; something that would catch young people's attention. Not the boring plain talk but something engaging; something that will get them interested. [File YA04: Text Units 604 - 622]

Brooklyn: Like I said, in an earlier answer that advertising, make it cool, and make this our concern through the means in which we are educated. The youths today are educated by much music; youth today are educated by whatever the hippest television show is; incorporate environmental issues into those television shows, radio shows and music; touch them in

201 any way you can think of and that will at least stir the interest and that's actually happening. It's cool to be an environmentalist in Toronto. [File YA05: Text Units 728 - 758]

According to Scarlet and Brooklyn, incorporating environmental messages in media advertisements and in programming will have a positive impact on young adults, "because adverts appeal to our emotion more than rational minds their messages communicate to us at the level of individual psychologies" (Corbett, 2006, p. 163). Brooklyn further adds that projecting environmental messages through the combination of diverse media, such as music, radio shows and television will help in reinforcing the interest of young people in

environmental issues and sustainability.

Similar to the young people in Hart's (1997) and Moore's (1990) studies, the young

adults in this research study recognize that involvement in community environmental action

can lead to the development of self-concept, autonomy, social competence, social responsibility and political self determination.

Sephia discusses involving young adults in environmental sustainability through political action, thus developing their interest in environmental and sustainability issues.

Sephia states,

I think [there are a] lot of the things that we need to do for environmental protection on a very large scale, so maybe get them [the young adults] introduced into being involved with the civil processes, by writing to the MPs [Members of Parliament] and things like that; because the more letters and things, it really does help.... So the more [young] people that are doing that the more awareness there is of the problem in the government and larger organizations. And I think they [young adults] are more

202 [equipped] to actually be able to institute solutions, but it has start from being heard first. [File YA13: Text Units 557 - 573]

Sephia indicates that being involved in political environmental action is itself a form education. She acknowledges that involvement in environmental activities offers young adults experience and opportunities to participate in finding solutions to environmental and

sustainability crises. UNESCO (2002b) similarly notes that education is vital for helping young people to appreciate first hand experiences and develop possible solutions so that they can take action and help achieve a sustainable future. In addition to building knowledge about the environmental issues through experience, this form of education also

encourages reflection about humanity's responsibilities as residents of the planet.

(Szerszynski, 2006)

8.3. Consumerism and a Sustainable Future

In the following discussion, I explore the views the young adults espouse regarding the consequences of consumerism and its impact on achieving an environmentally and

sustainable future. The young adults in this research study appear to be acutely aware of the

environmental impact of consumerism and consumption. When considering the

environmental impacts of consumption, the research participants tend to focus on the

disposal and recycling of waste and the insatiable consumption of today's young people.

The young adults in this study have strong feelings regarding consumerist culture,

which views everything as disposable in its attempt to create space for new acquisitions

irrespective of their utility value. The young adults view continuous exposure to

advertisements targeting their generation through televisions, radio and even the Internet, as

203 well as in educational settings, such as schools, as responsible for the present expansion and seemingly uncontrollable culture of consumerism among young people. Despite their exposure to advertising, the young adults in this study exhibit a deep understanding of the implications of consumption and consumerism. They also agree that it has not been easy for them growing up in a world where their generation has been branded and measured by their consumption of goods and services.

When asked, "Do you see this culture of consumerism as a barrier towards taking action to sustainability? " The young adults in this research study were unanimous in their response. Mia, for example, makes the following connection between the culture of buying and the choices available to young adults:

I see it as a barrier, because when youth get used to shopping a lot when they're younger, and there's all these different things that they can buy and choices, they'll find it harder later on in life to move away from that; and even if they realize [that it is an] environmental issue and want to change, it's [going to be] quite hard to make that move from buying a lot to buying less, and I consider it a barrier, because if they were influenced in that way they'll just continue to be. [File YA02: Text Units 843 - 863]

Ava refers to the culture of desire and consumption among young adults as a large problem, particularly as it continues to put pressure on natural resources.

Well it's just the sheer amount of resources that you have to use; especially what people want... around this age...in general ...want things, and things are made up of other things, and other things you have to extract from wherever; and a lot of those things aren't made in such a way that they can be reused once they are finished. So you have all this left over stuff that isn't useful for anything, and isn't recyclable or reusable in

204 any way and that's a problem; it is definitely...a troubling situation, since I'm still definitely a part of consumerism; so it's difficult to attack that because I think [young people]...especially myself, ...I know I want [to have] everything. [File YA03: Text Units 694 - 874]

Ava points out that consumption must be viewed as closely related to resource extraction

and waste. According to Ava, lack of control over consumerism is exacerbated by the blurring of differences between necessities and luxury goods. However, while she is

conscious of the relationship between consumption and the environment, Ava admittedly has a "taste for everything," making undertaking active efforts aimed at improving the state

of the environment a difficult task for her.

To a large degree, "having everything" is one of the chief ways through which young adults today establish their personal identities and present themselves to others, thereby making it difficult for them to change the habits that are essential in defining who they are. (Fien & Skoien, 2001; Nyberg & Sto, 2001) Cadence and Maddox point out that

consumption promotes self-identity and that social and peer pressure tends to be the

strongest driving forces among young adults' consumption habits.

Cadence : Yes the consumeristic culture that is being ingrained into the younger generation [is a barrier] because it's based on an assumption that you are successful [in] life if you have Mercedes, if you have a walk-in closet filled with Gucci...that they will only be successful based on how many thing they have and how much perfume they have. [This] will probably directly lead to the demise of the planet. [File YA12: Text Units 533 - 564]

205 Maddox: Definitely.... for instance young adults, especially from my background and culture, they want materialistic things and they want the big cars and the big SUV's. It might not be sustainable for the environment but it has some status behind it, and that was status versus environment and...They're getting more pressure from the status on the consuming side than the environmental side; so I think that the status will win and I think that's a big a challenge that a lot of youth will face, because there's so much things that make you consume and grab your attention and.... overpower the sustainability of the environment side of things. [File YA14: Text Units 516 -555]

Cadence and Maddox point out that because society is materialistically oriented; today's young adults have bought into the idea that to be successful in life, you need to have more. This materialism promotes the perception that self-identity is anchored in consumerism; "I am what I have" is the operative definition of self, or to paraphrase

Descartes, "I shop, therefore I am." (Dittmar, 1992, p. 3) In this sense, self-identity is tied strongly with possessions; consumer goods are symbols of status, political or religious views, social group and sexuality. (Kaza, 2000)

Other young adult participants point to young adults' vulnerability to advertising and the false consciousness of consumer culture that owning products will make them happier. Brooklyn explains,

I think it is a barrier because people lose sight of what's important; and if you are targeted as a youth by a campaign that says that best thing you can do for yourself, the thing that will make you happy, is to drive an Equinox, a big SUV, a Hummer you're going to think so, and your goal will be to attain that Hummer; whereas when you get that Hummer it's not going to make you happy; you're not going to get a girlfriend. I think the

206 advertising that we're bombarded with is extremely false and it gives a false sense of happiness or what will make us happy; but the thing is we're so susceptible to it; we fall for it; I fall for it all the time. I work out every day because I think it will make me slimmer. It has, it's made me healthy, but it's because the media. I'm bombarded with an image of what women should look like. [File YA05: Text Units 683 - 727]

Although Brooklyn agrees that everyone is susceptible to the false advertisements, she links the high level of consumerism among young adults to the daily bombardment of "false" advertisement messages, targeting young people and suggesting that happiness will be attained through owning the advertised product. Zoe similarly criticizes the materialistic orientation, in the sense that having more brings happiness:

I think it's a big problem because, especially conspicuous consumerism where we're just buying things because our neighbour has it.... We should really look at the practicality of the things we buy. If you need running shoes, you need running shoes so you can walk comfortably, but you don't need $850 Nike's.... If you [feel that] having an Xbox that makes you better.... we know for a fact there's not that much practicality to it. So I think consumerism is a huge problem. That's why we're like, "Oh, it's okay" that some little kid in Indonesia has to work for twelve hours to make my shoes or we're destroying the rainforest to plant certain things just so I can have what I want [File YA07: Text Units 615 - 671].

Dakota discusses social pressure as the drive to maintaining high consumption standards and considers this as a serious environmental challenge, stemming not only from affluence and the conspicuous display of wealth, but also from the increasing absence of other alternatives:

207 We are in the Western world, and a lot of the way you live is tied to consumerism...but people do it all the same.... For example, you have three cars or you need to have the latest iPod or the latest Mac [computer]...these are what contribute to those high levels of consumption, and ultimately social pressure.... I think cost and culture, because people do things which are not sustainable, which are not cheap either, they're really expensive but you do it all the same cause it's part of this image, it's part of the culture, it's what you know, it's what you do. Environmentally friendly consumption is ridiculously expensive, because it's almost like you have this weird class... [only rich] people can afford the cost of organic foods or shop in eco-friendly stores, because...it's way more expensive... to shop at all these places than at Wal-Mart, which by the way is not as sustainable. [File YA09: Text Units 516 - 549]

Dakota speaks to the quandary people find themselves in, especially when it comes to buying "green." She views the lack of affordable environmentally friendly consumption options and costly organic products as responsible for unsustainable buying and consumption. Other young adults, such as Taegan, Maddox and Cadence discussed the environmental threat associated with global consumerist culture. These young adults feel that if nothing is done, the current consumption trend will continue to undermine the planet's resources' base. They believe that this trend is unfair to future generations as well

as present ones. Taegan explains,

In terms of consumerism, it doesn't really serve any real purpose other than to feed multinational corporations and businesses. It's all about selling things.... I think consumerism is a big problem, but I think it's all so tied with our identity that we don't even sometimes realizes we're being.... So it's a big problem, because you can't sustain it; you can't keep everyone buying all the time.... We did a thing in my geography class and

208 they said you need two or three other planets if everyone was to consume at a North American level, which if you think about it, it's ridiculous, because we don't have two or three other planets. So consumerism at the levels that it is now is ridiculous [and] it doesn't work with sustainable development at all. I think it's completely driving us away from it. [File YA10:TextUnits856-891]

Taegan describes consumerism as a complex issue that has wide-reaching social and environmental implications. He argues that consumerism not only benefits the interests of the corporations, it is also drives environmental destruction at a rate that is as fast, if not faster than population growth. Taegan's analysis of the impact of consumerism on sustainability speaks to Kortens' (1995) view of corporations as for-profit superstructures, whose interests are all about encouraging consumerism with least concern for the resultant environmental degradation and global unsustainability.

Demonstrating the unsustainability of current levels of consumption the young adults in this study addressed the issue of over-consumption, which has gone far beyond basic needs to a level of consumption that embraces superficial material comforts instead of real human relationships. (Martin, Hanson, Ayotte, & Neary, 2005) The young adults in this study agree that consumerism runs counter to environmental sustainability, and warn that uncontrolled and obsessive consumerism among young adults could lead to a global environmental catastrophe. However, while there is a general agreement that the current level of consumption among young adults is unsustainable and consumerism could constitute a barrier to attaining environmental sustainability, a few of the research participants feel that this situation can be reversed.

209 The young adults suggest that the promotion of unsustainable consumption should be replaced with the promotion of a more conscious ethical approach towards sustainable consumption in order to curb consumerism among young adults. This approach involves education about the consequences of unsustainable and unnecessary consumption and is considered by Berry and McEachern (2005) to be a vital approach that could stimulate young adults to change their patterns of consumption behaviour positively.

Describing how to curb consumerism among young adults, Brooklyn suggests using advertisements and campaigns to alter young adults' product awareness: "We all fall for it

[the ads] and I think we can trick people into caring about the environment too. We can make it cool." "Making it cool" suggests packaging environmental advertisements and messages in such way that they will communicate and speak to young adults in the same way that regular advertisement do. The expectation here is that such advertisements will not only educate young people to resist the temptation of unnecessary consumption, they will also expose them to the negative sides of consumerism from the economical and environmental perspectives.

The young adults in this study recognize that consumerism or consumption cannot be outrightly cancelled and that the pillars of the Western and North American economy because consumerism has become the "means by which the new capitalism maintains control of its buying public." (Cronk, 1996, n. p.)

The young adults suggest that a change towards marketing ethical products can help us move towards sustainability,

Brooklyn: We need to change what we're marketing. The culture of consumerism you can't; I think it will always be there just because that's

210 how this Western world works, but instead of promoting SUV's, [we should] promote the hybrid vehicle... [by] making it look cool to live sustainably. [YA05: 683 - 727]

This example of adjusting to the reality of consumerism follows the current trend, whereby more and more product advertisements that appear in the various media are touting the

environmentally-friendly nature of the products as one of the reasons the product should be purchased. But not necessarily because such products may promote or contribute to an

environmentally sound society or lead to some sort of transformation that will lead the

people away from unsustainable ways of life. The danger inherent in Brooklyn's suggestion

above is that it encourages business as usual which fit with sustainable development

discourse. Further, accepting the way things are by leading a pseudo-sustainable life also

can situated within the powerlessness of the consuming public and hegemonic idea which

suggest that this is only way people can organize themselves socially.

Thus, for young adults who are strongly in favour of sustainability and green, that is,

environmentally friendly consumption, this pattern of advertising green or environmental

friendly products is viewed as supportive of efforts towards attaining sustainability. In

addition to encouraging green shopping such advertisements hold the power to help

consumers become aware as well as develop a green consumer culture that recognizes the

finitude of earth's natural resources. (Martin et al., 2005) Since as Berry and McEachern

(2005) claim, becoming aware of product information does affect how a potential consumer

responds to the products. However, while not discounting the views of Berry and

McEachern (2005) and Martin et al. (2005) regarding advantages of eco-labelling, making

such marketing adjustments to promote environmental friendly consumption has tended to

211 only to promote "greenwashing" (a term suggesting merging the concepts of "green "

(environmentally sound) and "whitewashing" - to conceal or gloss over wrongdoing) and not sustainability. (Case, 2007)

As noted by Terrachoice (2007) greenwashing is been made possible due to the growing demand for more environmentally preferable goods and services has led many manufacturers to find cost effective ways of improving their environmental performance and the environmental performance of their offerings. According to Terrachoice (2007) and

Case (2007) such act will not only mislead consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service, it perpetuates business as usual type of sustainability. As Fleming (1992) points out, the Ecolabel scheme focuses on a minor problem as a relief from having to tackle major ones. Hale (1996) on the other hand argued that tackling the real environmental issues associated with product manufacture, use and disposal requires radical steps, beyond ecolabelling, but as Flemming

(1992) concludes only transformative learning/ education and training is therefore essential to this process and the promotion of eco-consumption.

8.4. Economic Growth, Environment and Sustainability

Realization of the dangers associated with increases in human population, worsening environmental degradation and resource shortages have served as a wake-up call that there is need for change in our approach to development. (Bartlett, 2006) A greater awareness of the problem ensued from the World Conference on Environment and

Development (WCED) report, Our Common Future. This report called for economic development that allows present generations to meet their needs without compromising the

212 ability of future generations to cater to theirs. (WCED, 1987) The report also raised awareness to the substantial nature of the problems the global environment faces, as well as the untold hardships people have experienced with growing intensity throughout the world, especially in the global South.

Despite significant progress towards sustainable development, increased extraction of natural resources, accumulation of waste and concentration of carbon dioxide emissions have continued to place considerable stress on the global environment. (Panayotou, 1995)

Research evidence in the field of environmental economics and development point to the growth in global economic activities as being responsible for current levels of environmental degradation and a decline in human welfare. (See for instance, Beckerman,

1992; Panayotou, 1995) Mclnnes (2002) and Panayotou (1995) caution that if economic growth continues to be based on traditional, environmentally damaging activities, the world will not be able to sustain economic growth indefinitely, without running into resource constraints or despoiling the environment beyond repair.

Inspired by Mclnnes (2002) and Panayotou's (1995) warning, I asked the young adults in this research whether they think maintaining economic growth is more important than protecting the natural environment. In response to this question, all of the young adults

stated that it is unfair to continue to degrade and destroy environmental quality in the manner we are currently. The young adults criticized present economic growth and

development, which they described as anthropocentric19 and detrimental to the survival of

19 A term from environmental political philosophy denoting a human-centred ethical system

213 the planet, and made a strong argument for balance between economic growth, development and environmental protection, i.e., sustainable development.

As I probed further into their perspectives on this topic, the young adults provided different responses, for example Taegan refers to the unsustainable economic activity on the Canadian Newfoundland Coast, where overexploitation and over-fishing have been identified as responsible for causing a drastic reduction in the local cod fish population.

I've read books on this and the only reason you have economic growth is because of environmental systems, so to completely disengage the two and disconnect them is completely wrong.... Look at fishing, its importance to Newfoundland's economy, and yet it collapsed...All they were focused on was growth, growth, growth; catch more cod, catch more cod, increase the quotas. They had "scientists" collecting data and stuff like that but [all the warnings were disregarded]. The economy is a natural offshoot of the environment, because all of the goods that we sell come from the environment, whether it be an oil field and things like that. So to say that the economy is more important than the environment is completely wrong. [File YA10: Text units 783 - 832]

Taegan cites the example of how Canada's abundant cod stocks off the coasts of

Newfoundland and Labrador were fished to the brink of extinction in what is considered to be one of the biggest ecological disasters of the century. The cod fishery collapse resulted in the area's economic collapse and what is referred to as the greatest job layoff in

Canadian history. (Greenpeace, n. d.) The codfish example vividly illustrates how unsustainable economic and technological practices that view natural resources as infinite could systematically lead to the total destruction and devastation of the environment and

214 annihilation of its natural resources. This kind of destruction and devastation could be linked to the 'crisis of modernity.' (Boggs, 1993; Rogers, 1994)

The Canadian calamity also demonstrates that we now have the technological capability to find and annihilate every commercial fish stock, in any ocean and sea, and do irreparable damage to entire ecosystems in the process. (Greenpeace, n. d.) While the long term effect of unsustainable economic activities and irresponsible business practices may be easily quantified in terms of their economic impact (that is, job loss and economic stagnation, among others), the same cannot be said of the long-term environmental impact and marine devastation or the social cost (that is, their effect on fishing communities and families). This perspective was shared by some of the young adults.

Maddox refers to the corporate business perception of the environment. Maddox argues that the drive and concern for profit are the chief reason why the environment is considered less important than economic growth and that economic activity has continued with little or no consideration for the state of the environment.

[When] it comes to the day-to-day operations in life...economy comes first. For example, companies and shareholders will not take a loss of their profit to help the environment, because economics come first; and I think it should be the other way around theoretically... because they can't quantify the impact to the environment; and business comes down to quantifying things and they can quantify the profit or loss in dollars and pounds.... [So] until the government puts the regulation to say that it's going to cost you X dollars for damages to the environment and if they do not follow the guidelines, they will be penalized.. .it's just something that's unreachable, unattainable. [File YAM: Text Units 494 - 515]

215 Maddox captures the anthropocentric economic policy of Western capitalist countries and its preference for economic and development considerations that commodifies everything, including the environment and its resources. Ironically, regardless of its impact on the environment, the "success" of the Western model of unsustainable economic development has made these countries models for the new emerging economies, such as China, India and other developing countries. (Barbosa, 2005) It is tragic that the same unsustainable economic model that has devastated the environment is being equated with modernization, development and progress. (Barbosa, 2005)

In addition, the inability to quantify environmental resources that Maddox refers to is rooted in the principals of capitalism. According to Marx (1906) in the capitalist model nature or natural resources do not have value on their own; they acquire value when they become a commodity. For example, as a natural resource, fossil fuel has no value of its own, but becomes valued in the market where it is sold as a precious commodity (Fox,

2005). This is an age-old excuse employed by governments, economists, corporations, businesses and industries to defend the continued pollution and devastation of the environment, even as growing concerns point toward a steady decline of environmental quality.

The young adults in this study are of the opinion that governments have a major role to play in enforcing regulations and / or international conventions; however many of the G8 nations have not implemented promised support for and enforcement of tougher environmental regulations and protocols that could possibly ensure sustainable economic development. For instance the governments of Canada and the US have refused to put a price on carbon emissions, either through a carbon tax or a meaningful cap and trade

216 system, thereby providing polluting industries with a wide field in which they continue to emit carbon constituents into the atmosphere.

In a similar vein, Scarlet underscores the disproportionate economic power that

Western countries exercise in external ownership, and the accelerated exploitation of natural resources. Scarlet speaks to the need for developed countries to control economic growth for the sake of the environment.

I think the countries that are developed shouldn't think about economic growth. They only need to sustain and consolidate their growth without compromising the environment; they are already developed and the reason they got there probably was because.. .they did a whole lot of things that have contributed negatively to the environment.... They should halt or slow down economic growth and development. [File YA04: Text Units 501 - 532]

Scarlet echoes the stance of developing countries at the 1992 United Nation Earth

Conference, where based on past lessons of unsustainable development, they rejected advice from developed countries to embrace the Western economic development model.

Scarlet regards the past economic activities of developed countries as responsible for the present-day global degradation of the environment. This is especially noteworthy, considering that the global ecosystem has reached a point where regenerative and assimilative capacity is dangerously strained. Therefore, asking developed countries to "halt or slow down" for the sake of environmental sustainability, in Scarlet's view, will bode well for the environment as well as promote intergenerational equity.

Recent recognition of the dangers associated with any growth beyond the carrying capacity of the supporting ecosystems suggests that humans must seek to sustain global life

217 support systems indefinitely (Goodland, 1997) for the needs of the future generation to be met. As Goodland (1994), explains "embracing environmental sustainability consciousness among nations will not only protect against the liquidation of natural capital, it will also help in the preservation of the totality of the environment from the vagaries of unsustainable economic growth and development." (p. 78) Without this realization, preserving natural capital, supporting ecosystems and the environment for future generations might just be impossible.

8.5. Environmental Sustainability: Sustainable Practices and Decision Making

The human race currently faces grave environmental problems and challenges.

Therefore approaching sustainability is urgent, not only for future generations, but because the present generations' existence depend on it. (Goodland, 1994, p. 78) If we fail in our efforts to become sustainable, future generations are less likely to be able to achieve sustainability. It is imperative that the current ways of addressing environmental issues be changed; otherwise it will take the world longer, to become sustainable. Therefore, it is only rational that we control our unsustainable actions by making sound decisions in the interest of sustainability.

The ideas that we can make sound environmental decisions are based on a readiness to "trade off' certain activities and needs that are considered unsustainable. In this section, I discuss the responses of the young adults in this research study to two hypothetical scenarios, involving decision making towards environmental sustainability.

In presenting the first scenario, I asked the young adults to assume the hypothetical role of a farmer.

218 I want you to see yourself as a farmer and you would agree that presently in the

world there is a huge problem around feeding the world. Everyday half of the

world's population goes to sleep hungry, wakes up hungry while the other half

wakes up in the midst of plenty and waste.

Based on the first hypothetical scenario, I asked the research participants whether as farmers they would apply inorganic fertilizer to the soil to increase agricultural yield and whether they think adding fertilizer to soil to increase output is a sustainable process. The young adults, for the most part, responded negatively to the idea of using inorganic fertilizer. In response to this question Mia states:

I would not use chemical fertilizers.... I don't think it's sustainable. [Although] you get more food, but it's also less nutritious and it also wears out the soil; so in the long run you're not really helping the world.... The chemical effects are bad for our health and cause a lot of problems; and I don't think it's worth it to feed people and then have them develop cancer from the food that they eat.... Fertilizers also pollute the ground water, so there's less fresh water for the world because all the fertilizer seeps down.. .they end up in the environment... polluting the waters and the soil; and we should learn how to work with the soil without fertilizers. I see that as more sustainable, because even in the long run I'm sure there will be a time, or there's a time in the past we didn't have fertilizers for such a long time and we were able to grow food. So I don't see why we have to use fertilizers now. [File YA02: Text Units 431-481]

Mia in her comments points to the negative impacts for humans, the soil, rivers and streams that are associated with the use of chemical fertilizers to increase or boost

219 agricultural yield or to simplify the production process. Mia speaks to the disastrous consequences that may occur from the widespread use of chemical fertilizers. While moderate use of chemical fertilizers is purported not to be dangerous, there is ample evidence suggesting that repeated application over a longer time frame has resulted in environmental degradation. (Greenpeace, 2008)

Other young adults agree with Mia that chemical fertilizer use contributes to the loss of the soil's natural nutrients and in the process destroys the capability of the soil to function. They also point to the impact of increasing the chemical run-off from fertilizer use on farmlands and how it is polluting waterways and killing beneficial aquatic life; these consequences end up negatively affecting the food supply. Cadence believes that a return to farming as it was done in the past is the best approach to sustainable food yield, without degrading the environment. She refers to the use of chemical fertilizer to increase agricultural yield as a band-aid solution that would only contribute to food waste.

It's a band-aid solution.... It's just going to exacerbate the waste that we see in North America. So the problem isn't quantity. I believe the quantity is there; it's already there; it's already in excess. What we need globally is an improvement in [the food] distribution system. [File YA12: Text Units 287 - 340]

Within the North American context, as Cadence argues, the amount of food available can adequately feed the rest of the world, if the total food waste is taken in account. Cadence implicates the food distribution system as being responsible for the food shortage situation and not the lack of food.

220 Food waste is common to North America and other Western (developed) countries.

Food waste starts from the farm and continues through the chains of distribution points, through to the consumption points, such as individual school cafeterias, grocery stores, homes and restaurants. Official surveys indicate that every year more than 350 billion pounds (160 billion kg) of edible food is available for human consumption in the US.

(Rizvi, (2004) Of that total, Rizvi (2004) claims, nearly 100 billion pounds (45 billion kg), including fresh vegetables, fruit, milk and grain products are lost to waste by retailers, restaurants and consumers. Rizvi further adds that by contrast, the amount of food required to meet the needs of the hungry world-wide is only four billion pounds; yet more than 30 million people in the United States go hungry on regular basis.

A few of the young adults in this study responded indifferently to the farmer's scenario. They argue that there is little or no option to boost food yield to cater to the needs of half of the world's population that lack food. Liam contends that,

Whether or not it's sustainable, it's not really [the problem] at this point. There are not really many more options, because if they don't use pesticides, their yield won't be as large and they won't be able to sustain their farms over time, so there has to be some sort of...government...tax breaks or incentives for becoming an organic farmer or, if organic farming is not the answer, to do some other type of farming where you can be sustainable; and I guess the hardest thing is in developing countries where the governments don't necessarily have the money to offer those incentives.... It's really hard to change the status quo; they are used to using pesticides. [File YA17: Text Units 451-510]

Liam raises the dilemma that farmers around the world face with respect to the use of chemical fertilizers on their farms and concerns revolving around meeting their annual

221 yield target. Considerations for the environment or sustainable agricultural practices appear secondary, because the driving force is often an individual farmer's survival and sustenance. Without the government's intervention, as Liam contends, in the form of subvention and grants, many farmers might find it very hard to change the status quo. This situation places a question mark on the global quest for sustainable agricultural practice.

In presenting the second scenario, I asked the young adults in this study to assume

the hypothetical role of a politician. Imagine your self as a politician from a

city/province or state with urban smog and an air pollution problem. You 're told to

support a bill that will give income tax rebates to people who purchase

environmentally friendly automobiles, like the hybrid vehicles, even though your

constituency prefers the cheaper gas guzzling vehicles, like the SUV, which is

cheaper than the hybrid. What would you do and why?

Maddox responded that he would go with the wishes of his constituency rather than support the bill because "from a politician's perspective my objective is to do what the majority of my constituency want.... If the people prefer SUVs and have little interest in economic incentives, I will vote against the bill that supports hybrid cars." Maddox explains his approach,

I think that the government should be putting incentives to make sure that the hybrid cars become cheaper instead of making people buy the more expensive option. So I think it comes down to the design phase of things to solve that. [File YA14: Text Units 604 - 645]

222 Maddox's views are reminiscent of the trademark safe-politicking tactics that politicians today employ in order to stay in office. Maddox suggests that the government is not doing, or has not done, enough to encourage people to embrace environmentally friendly automobiles. Without doubt, Maddox's response points to a gap in some young adults' ability to make informed decisions for the good of the environment and humanity.

On the other hand, the responses of some of the young adults, such as Brooklyn and

Mia portray them as bound by a sense of duty and responsibility to the people. For example, Brooklyn states,

I would support a bill promoting the use of environmentally friendly vehicles. I would do everything in my power to ensure that bill went through.... I think it's very important to use my position to educate my constituency; so I'd hold meetings; I'd send out e-mails; I'd try to inform people about what I'm voting on...when I make decisions with the long term in mind; and I will continue to work towards what is good in the long run for the public, like protecting the environment, for example. [File YA05: Text Units 772 - 789]

Similarly, Mia explains,

I would vote for the bill because I see it as more sustainable and I would have a lot of fights with my constituency, probably, but I would try and get hard facts and data about environmental sustainability and try and remind them of the Kyoto Protocol and those type of things, like commitments that Canada and the world are trying to make and trying to get some change; and I would definitely vote for the bill, the hybrid and tax credits. [File YA02: Text Units 912 - 935]

223 Both Brooklyn and Mia demonstrate awareness that it wouldn't be an easy task to convince their constituency to follow their decision. Yet, both would go ahead to vote in support of the bill, because they believe in the importance of their decision and its impact on the environment and future generations. To obtain the support of their constituency for their vote, they would provide them (the constituency) with information to educate them on the benefits of the bill.

While one cannot conclusively determine whether these young adults will stand by their convictions in a few years time, the question of their judgement in decision making to guide their communities towards making informed environmental decision, speaks to their sense commitment to a sustainable world and future which may not easily dismissed. These responses rekindled my hope that a sustainable future is after all attainable, given the genuine concern and the ability of many of today's young adults to rise to the challenges of global warming and climate change, disease, biodiversity loss, pollution, deforestation and ozone layer depletion, to name a few.

8.6. Conclusion

In this chapter I explored potential unsustainable practices and concerns relating to environmental sustainability and the future of the planet. As the above discussions suggest, the young adults are generally well informed about issues that are considered important and related to a sustainable future. As such it can be assumed that when they are confronted with different scenarios and asked questions, such as these, the young adults will be able to apply good judgment in their daily dealings, while ultimately working towards environmental just and sustainable future.

224 By demonstrating a good grasp of the issues pertinent to a sustainable future, the young adults were able to show that in addition to being knowledgeable about the problems, they are also capable of addressing what are considered to be the environmental sustainability challenges of the future. This suggests that an environmentally sustainable future may afterall be attainable. Environmental and sustainability issues, such as global climate change, increasing demands on the world's natural resources, social instability and increasing poverty mean that it is absolutely vital for our young people to fully understand and feel empowered to live more contentedly and harmoniously within the earth's capacity.

Informed choices and decision-making are at the heart of learning for sustainability. If young people can understand how their individual choices have both local and global consequences, then they will be better equipped to make environmentally balanced decisions

225 CHAPTER NINE

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE OF A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY

9.1. Introduction

This chapter summarizes the major research findings as well as the implications of this study for theory and practice. I conclude with directions for further research.

9.2. Summary of Findings

This study investigates the role of learning in young adults' thoughts and actions in relation to environmental and sustainability issues. Rather than explicate learning outcomes that is, a focus that has dominated research about learners and learning in environmental and sustainability education to date — this study focuses on the settings through which learning takes place, of which very little is known. (Rickinson, 2001, 2006) As such, this study transcends and supplements previous studies on young peoples' environmental learning experiences and actions.

As chapter two explains, learning is an inevitable aspect of or lives; it is also a key to individuals manage the consequences of the increasingly evident of economic and ecological uncertainties currently facing our planet. While the definitions provided are neither exhaustive nor conclusive, they do provide a starting for the discussing the focus of this study. A very important feature of chapter two is the notion that learning is not a solitary activity, it is contextually and inherently situated within the social and physical

226 milieu as well as with our whole being (personal), that is to say, we learn with bodies, minds, and emotions rolled into one. (Blewitt, 2006a) Chapter two also explores the question of environmental sustainability in relation to young adult development to establish a linkage between their actions and thoughts.

As reported in chapter three, the discussion of environmental education mirror the current debate within the field and as well as the challenges associated within environmental education within the school curriculum. While, environmental education has remained constrained by inadequate recognition within the school curriculum, a consistent feature of its success is a commitment to environmentalism on the part of teachers; teachers still manage to create space to engage in environmental education against all odds.

(Beckford, 2008; Lin, 2002; Robottom, 1998; Russell et al, 2000) Notwithstanding the current situation, there is a renewed government commitment towards re-introduction of environmental education in Ontario school curriculum, and teacher education programs across the province. In this dissertation, I present the learning experiences, and actions of young adult university students in relation to environmental and sustainability issues.

The sample for this study consists of only eighteen (18) young adults, making it difficult to arrive at generalizations based on the research findings. (Clover, 2001; Nyberg

& Sto, 2001) At the same time, it is possible to infer from this study that the processes and settings/contexts for environmental and sustainability learning are as important as learning outcomes for gaining insight into young adults' thoughts and actions in relation to environmental and sustainability issues. Furthermore, the findings in this research study are

227 supported by the fact that young adults often share similar characteristics and views worldwide.

In this study, learning was understood to include all forms of learning experiences a young adult engages in various contexts/settings, that is to say, the concept of learning in this study transcends the structured learning that occurs within the school or formal settings and encompasses unstructured learning experiences that occur outside of school. Since much more is known about structured learning that occurs within formal schools, careful attention was given to learning settings outside of schools.

Approaching learning in this manner provides an platform for the exploration of the location and process of young adults' learning experiences about environmental issues and sustainability and its convergence with action in a given context. To contextualize the manifold and complex connections between the environment, development and sustainability issues. Chapter five discusses the significance of initial insight in environmental learning and this is hinged on the argument that 'once early socialization has passed - the residuals of learning are fixed within individuals, forming core orientations that are unlikely to change.' (Krosnick & Alwin, 1989)

This importance of learning in achieving a sustainable future underscores its recognition as the vehicle for bringing about environmentally just and a sustainable future.

Chapter six showed the different factors contributing to the young adults' environmental sustainability learning and actions. As reflected in their narratives, home and family, teachers and school, self interest and personal motivation played a huge role in shaping their actions and thinking regarding environmental issues. Contextually speaking, it has

228 been suggested by many researchers that the process of learning and meaning-making is influenced by the physical and social settings in which the learning is taking place.

Contextually speaking, it has been suggested by many researchers that the process of learning and meaning-making is influenced by the physical and social settings in which the learning is taking place. In keeping with this observation, the results of this study affirm the prior findings in literature discussed in Chapter Two.

Even though, the participants in the study cannot be said to represent the typical young adults in that they are attending university and are interested in environmental issues.

The narratives of their learning experiences and environmental action, showed the importance knowledge of environmental issues and sustainability plays a central role in their willingness to take action towards environmental protection and a sustainable future.

In order to illustrate the interconnectedness and interaction of personal, social and physical learning in terms of environmental and sustainability issues, Chapter Eight described the integral role of prior learning in bringing about educational events (Brody et al., 2002).

These prior conceptions formed the basis of knowledge and value construction within the physical and social-cultural settings. In educative terms, the contexts discussed in this dissertation could help support effective learning about environmental and sustainability issues through the inclusion of social and cultural contexts.

Below, I further discuss the implication of this work. I end with possible directions for further study.

229 9.3. Implications for Theory and Practice

The personal, social and physical contexts of learning (Falk and Dierking, (2000) provide an excellent framework for the study of the learning settings of young adults' thoughts and actions regarding environmental sustainability. The results of this study emphasize the place of prior knowledge that learners bring to learning, within each of the three overlapping contexts. This framework allows for the unravelling of the complex interactions and relationships likely to be missed had the focus been on one or the other of these contexts.

This study makes an important contribution to the field of environmental and sustainability education by demonstrating the critical places of learning in the knowledge society and the implications of these learning contexts for a sustainable future and global environment. This study also contributes to the field by examining the views of young adults regarding the future of the global environment and sustainability initiatives — in a world faced with ever greater challenges.

Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the three learning contexts, the personal, sociocultural and physical can play an important role in shaping how and where young people learn about environmental sustainability issues. The findings showed that despite the unavailability or near-absence of environmental studies and education within the school curriculum (particularly at the elementary and high school levels), young people were able to rely on other locations for environmental and sustainability learning. Hence, it is no surprise that the research participants call for the re-introduction of environmental programs and subjects into the school curriculum. Thus, this study suggests that the creation of more opportunities within the curriculum at the elementary and high school for learning about

230 environmental issues. This study also affirms the current spirit and direction of the provincial government in this direction.

Further, considering the shortage of qualified and experienced environmental education teachers, as evidenced in the narratives of the participants, this study suggest the development of teacher education program across faculties of education to facilitate training of the much needed environmental education teachers. In addition, this study also suggests the development of in-service programs for teachers to understand how to integrate environmental education into their subjects. This when done would go along way in reorienting the teachers on how to effectively teach environmental education as well as help remove the confusion linking or reducing environmental education to outdoor education.

In addition, based on the opinions of the research participants this study shows that we can learn to create a sustainable world if people choose to live more meaningful lives, by unlearning our unsustainable everyday lifestyles. In this regard, a well planned and sound approach must be taken in designing environmental education programmes. This will have implications for environmental education as a form of education that derives its content from environmental and sustainability issues. Previous research studies have found that environmental sustainability learning is a lifelong process; as such the findings of this research are significant in that they illustrate the need for the development of additional learning locations outside schools.

Based on what I have learned in this study, I agree with Beckford (2008), Russell and

Burton (2000); and Robottom (1998) that the prospect of education will in part depend on

231 these implications are worked out in theory and practice of curriculum, and professional development.

9.4. Directions for Future Study

Within the paradigm developed in this thesis, further research could include:

1. Expanding the present study throughout the whole spectrum of

educational levels, that is, from elementary through high school to the

university level.

2. Exploring young adults outside of school who are in the working sector

(both in blue, green and white collar jobs)

3. Expanding the present study to young adults on a national scale

4. An intergenerational lifelong study involving children, young people,

adults and seniors

5. An examination of the various learning contexts and their applicability to

education for sustainable development

In the larger scheme of things, research is most urgently needed in the area of teacher education in relation to pre-service and in-service educators' readiness to facilitate knowledge of environmental and sustainability issues within the school.

9.5. Conclusions

Heimlich (2004) notes that changing into a sustainable society implies changing the focus towards sustainability; both social structures and educational systems must work

232 towards the same end, which is at the heart of the challenges we face. This research study

shows that young people are an important segment of society and a generation who hold the

key to the future of a sustainable planet, environmentally and socially. In this sense, this

research implies that the young adults' educational and social needs must be addressed and

the ways in which we help them to become socially responsible citizens of the earth must

be further developed. With the understanding that learning is not limited to the formal

school sector but is also inclusive of other settings outside of school, it is imperative that we

consult with young adults not as consumers of educational programs but as stakeholders in

the educational and non-educational sectors.

In conclusion, the discourse on learning for sustainability in this thesis suggests that

education for sustainable development is an on-going lived experience that engages all possible learning spheres, approaches and arenas, stressing a holistic learning of knowledge

and skills for change in the global environment as well as the ecological dynamics of the

world around us.

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271 APPENDICES

Appendix A

INTERVIEW PROTOCOL

Section 1: Background Information

Please give your age, year of study and social status

Section 2: General information regarding some topical environmental and sustainability issues.

2. Switch on the TV or radio these days, and you'll learn about icebergs melting and be bombarded with ads for movies depicting catastrophic weather disasters.

A hundred years ago, the phrase "climate change" would not likely have set anyone's spine tingling, but today it has become fodder for the latest thrillers and disaster scenarios. The reality is likely to be less sudden, but possibly no less dramatic.

a) Can you tell me what you know about climate change?

b) What are your views regarding the global warming phenomenon?

c) Do you share the idea that humanity's actions are responsible for the recent warming? Explain

2. Climate change is considered by many scientists to be the most serious threat facing the world today. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Solutions include phasing out coal plants, expanding renewable energy sources and public transit, and creating new efficiency standards for vehicles and buildings.

a) What do think could be done to educate people about the consequences of climate change?

b) Do you think the solutions are capable of reversing climate change? Explain

272 Section 3:

1. Could you please explain how well informed are you about environmental sustainability issues?

2. Beside the school, what are the other sources of your knowledge about environmental issues and problems?

3. Which of the sources do you find appropriate for learning about environment and sustainable development?

4. How much attention do you pay to environmental sustainability issues as reported by the news media, including TV, newspapers and magazines and reason(s) for your interest or lack of interest??

5. What does environmental protection mean to you?

6. What do you understand by sustainable development/sustainability?

7. What are your reasons for learning about environmental sustainability issues?

8. Identify those factors that facilitate your new knowledge and perhaps those that support your adoption of environmentally sustainable practices.

9. How well are you informed on environmental and sustainable development issues?

10. What experiences have you had that contributed to your feeling of concern or sensitivity/empathy toward the environment?

11. Would you add fertilizer soil to increase agricultural output? Give reasons for answer.

12. Do you think that adding fertilizer to soil to increase agricultural output is a sustainable process? Explain.

13. What are the educational, social, or political actions that you think might possibly make a difference towards achieving sustainability?

14. What do you feel are some of the important environmentally sustainable practices?

273 • How and where might they best be developed? • What might their effects be?

15. Do you think your emotional engagement plays a role in your overall understanding, attitudinal development and subsequent action over time?

16. To what extent has your learning experiences motivated you to engage in further explorations and in depth learning regarding environmental issues?

17. Do you think such household practices like walking, or riding bike to school, taking shorter showers, turning-off taps, and purchasing environmentally friendly products as being essential for the attainment of environmental sustainability? Explain

18. All things considered, what do you think has been most important influence in your learning about environmental sustainability issues?

19. Please state an action(s) you've recently taken to improve environmental quality.

20. How active and concerned are you about environmental sustainability issues?

21. Do you think maintaining economic growth is more important than protecting the natural environment? Explain

22. Do you feel that the culture of consumerism might be a barrier to taking action towards sustainability? Explain

23. As a young adult, do you think enough is being done to protect the global environment or not? In what ways might you suggest to get the youths motivated to learn about environmental protection and sustainability?

Trade offs: 24. Imagine that you are politician who is having problem with urban smog and air pollution. Your choice is to support a bill that would give income rebates to people who purchases environmentally safe vehicles like the hybrid, even though your constituency prefer the cheaper gas guzzling vehicles like SUVs which are by far cheaper than the hybrid. What would you do and why?

274 Appendix B

Sample Information Letter for Primary Participants (who are 18 years of age, or older)

Dear Prospective Participant,

I am currently working on my doctoral research at the Ontario Institute for Studies in education of the University of Toronto. As part of my degree requirements, I will be exploring the ways young adults learn about the environment and sustainable development, how they see such experiences affecting their lives, and subsequently their decision to live sustainably.

You have been invited to participate in this study because of your sense of familiarity and awareness of environmental and sustainability issues. Your participation will include one audio-recorded interview, lasting approximately forty-five minutes to one- hour in length, and conducted between July and November 2006.1 am willing to work a schedule of times and dates convenient to you. In the interview you will give background information, discuss what you understand about sustainable development, what related activities you undertake, how you see the experiences affecting your lives, and how this might impact your decision to live sustainably.

I want to assure you that all information that you share with me will be kept strictly confidential and your identity will remain anonymous. I will delete all names and assign codes known only to myself. Anonymity is also extended to any recognizable persons or situations you mention in the interviews. I will minimize identifiable description and you will share control over the extent and nature of anonymity by, for instance, choosing pseudonyms and participating in the revisions of descriptions of persons and situations you mention. During the writing process, you will receive a copy of my transcriptions of your interviews so as to ensure accuracy of your account. You will also be provided with a summary of the study results, if you wish.

All the raw data gathered for this study will be transcribed and transcriptions will accessible to only me and my supervisor at the University of Toronto. Data will be kept in locked files and will be securely retained for five year after the thesis is accepted. At that time, all such data, including field notes, transcripts and audiotapes will be destroyed.

While you will not be compensated monetarily for your participation, perhaps your involvement in this project will, in itself, be rewarding for you. I believe your experiences will contribute to a greater understanding of the field of environmental sustainability

275 education, specifically the experiences of young adults who are seen as an important target in the global drive towards the attainment of sustainable development. Your participation is entirely voluntary and you can withdraw from the study at any time. I have taken care to develop interview questions that are open-ended enough to allow various levels of engagement, depending on the willingness and comfort level of individual participants.

I will bring a consent form to our first meeting, but you are not obliged to consent until we have discussed any questions or concerns you might have. I can be reached at 416- 388-6676 or by electronic mail at akola-olusanva(a),oise.utoronto.ca. My supervisor at OISE/UT is Dr. Linda Cameron. She can be reached at 416-923-6641 extension 2600.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. I look forward to the possibility working with you.

Yours sincerely,

Anthony Kola-Olusanya

276 Appendix C

Consent Form

I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE CONTENT AND CONDITIONS OF

Anthony Kola-Olusanya's study "Towards an Understanding of Learning in Young

Adults' Thinking and Action Related to Environmental and Sustainability Issues" and I agree to participate in this study as your project is outlined in the information letter.

Name:

Address:

Email:

Signature:

Date:

277 Appendix D

Characteristics of Participant's

S/N Pseudonyms Race/Ethnicity Age Level of Study 1 Kaelyn Asian 21 Undergraduate 2 Mia a 18 u 3 Ava a 18 u 4 Scarlett Black/African 23 u 5 Brooklyn Hispanic 22 a 6 Layla White/Caucasian 22 u 7 Zoe u 19 ct 8 Chloe Asian 18 u 9 Dakota Black/African 23 Graduate 10 Taegan White/Caucasian 18 u 11 Sabrina First Nation 19 ii 12 Cadence White/Caucasian 24 Graduate 13 Sephia White/Caucasian 20 u 14 Maddox Black/African 20 u 15 Jared White/Caucasian 24 u 16 Adrian Middle Eastern 38 Graduate 17 Liam White/Caucasian 29 Graduate 18 Dylan White/Caucasian 30 Graduate

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