UCLA

Effectively addressing complex, real-world problems like climate change requires expertise from and collaboration across multiple disciplines. It will be essential to provide educational opportunities that help students from all backgrounds build identities as creative problem-solvers. Informal education programs that combine transdisciplinary learning with outdoor, nature-based components may be uniquely positioned to foster problem-solving by students because they combine an array of experiential and reflective practices in contexts distinct from school and home. This exploratory sequential mixed methods case study examined a Los Angeles after-school program for high school students. The study identified key program elements and investigated how those elements influence participants’ relationship to nature and sense of empowerment to address environmental problems. Additionally, the study described how participants act as environmental problem-solvers in their own lives following program participation. Findings suggest that numerous key elements work concurrently within the focal program that influence participants’ connection to nature, the development of their problem-solver skills, and their sense of empowerment. Findings also indicate that participants are engaged in a range of nature practices and do act as environmental problem-solvers in their own lives. The study finds parallels in the literature, but also offers an asset-based perspective on urban students’ relationship to nature and stewardship.