Lived experiences and emergent practices : eight conversations with Metro Vancouver urban environmental educators

Abstract

Urban environmental education (UEE) as a sub-genre of environmental education is still a relatively novel field of study, but an especially relevant one in Canada given its population’s concentration in urban centres. Rather than perpetuating the trope of urban centres as environmentally deficient, UEE presents an opportunity to empower urban residents toward learning and acting sustainably in vibrant and interconnected urban social-ecological systems and landscapes. Participant interviews were conducted with eight Metro Vancouver UEE practitioners and analyzed using a hermeneutic phenomenology approach to elucidate their experiences and propose how they may inform emergent practice. As major Canadian cities increasingly infuse their strategic plans and land-use decisions with environmental targets, further study of UEE in Metro Vancouver would enhance the planning and programming capacity of policy-makers, not-for-profits, educators, all levels of government, and all other interested stakeholders.