REVIEWS their complex and messy realities.


Julia Ostertag is a PhD student in Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She recently completed her master’s thesis research with the Intergenerational Landed Learning Project for the Environment located on the UBC Farm, and has a BEd in Environmental Education from Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada.


As if the earth matters: Recommitting to environmental education


Thom Henley & Kenny Peavy. (2006). . Phuket: Limmark Advertising and Print- ing. 256 pp.


Reviewed by Jana Miller


Matters: Recommitting to Environmental Education is a practical resource for educa- tors, camp leaders, and nature interpreters interested in facilitating environmental education. Framed as a response to what the authors observe to be the flat-lining of environmental education, Thom Henley and Ken Peavy share over 80 ideas on how to creatively engage youth in environmen- tal awareness and stewardship. The book is divided into the three sections, Awareness, Belonging, and Stewardship, reflecting the sequential stages the authors consider to be integral to the develop- ment of a child’s ap- preciation of, and connection to, the Earth. This path, they believe, will inspire youth to participate in acts of stewardship to help restore and protect the Earth. I was interested in reading As If the


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Earth Matters because I had already found Thom Henley’s Rediscovery: Ancient


CLEARING 2011


refer to teach about biodiversity while knee-deep in pond life? As If the Earth


Pathways, New Directions to be a useful brain- storming tool when planning lessons for my class. Now, 10 years later, As If the Earth Matters is framed as a fresh look at the practice of environmental education and I anticipated new ideas reflective of current youth experiences and global environmen- tal concerns. Instead, I was surprised to discover many activities with which I was already very familiar. While environmental educators Garth Gilcrest, Joseph Cornell, and Steve Van Matre are named on the last page as sources of inspiration for the book, I think there should be acknowledgement beyond these early pioneers that these are “tried and true” activities. As a reader, I found myself frustrated with the way Hen- ley and Peavy failed to distinguish between the activities they created and their use of others’ work. The recirculation of popular outdoor environmental education activi- ties seems inconsistent with the authors’ concern that the practice of environmental education has become a lacklustre version of its former self. In this light, should not the reader be privy to a clearer picture of the history of these activities? To what as- pects of environmental edu- cation should we be recommitting? The exclusion seems to be an invitation to uncritically partici- pate in “more of the same” environmental education. From my perspective as an educator,


the usability of this book starts off strong then begins to wane. The bonding, aware- ness, and introspective activities in the first half are presented in a ready-to-use format, often providing useful tidbits of back- ground information. The activity “Come Back Salmon” (p. 47), for example, provides the following requisite information to help frame a salmon role-play which encour- ages students to use their sense of smell to navigate the waters back to their spawn- ing beds: “Every waterway has a slightly different chemical composition resulting in a slightly different odor that salmon can detect” (p. 47). I appreciate the clear layout of these activities, and the simplicity of the material requirements, which rarely go be- yond string, survey tape, recipe cards, and blind-folds. Additionally, the hundreds of colourful photos of children engaged in the activities help convey spatial information on how to facilitate the activities, making this an accessible text to keep in your back pocket. In contrast to the first section, the


second shifts to a reflective look at the authors’ practice of facilitating “extended


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immersion” field trips. Reading more like a travelogue of their international teach- ing experiences, this section lacks the same pick-up-and-use appeal of the earlier activities. While the format of the case studies do not provide enough guidance to motivate anyone but the seasoned edu- ca- tor to generate their own local versions, the brief history and design of environ- mental camps in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, as well as the Rediscovery Camp on Haida Gwaii do provide an interesting glimpse into the contexts within which the authors originally envisioned and developed their ideas. It is unfortunate that the contribu- tions and influence of the Haida and of the many Indigenous peoples they met internationally are not showcased until this late stage of the book. The last section on stewardship offers


seven international examples of stu- dents taking on innovative local environmental projects, such as the research and produc- tion of manufacturing a marigold-based insecticide. While it is important to take a look at and celebrate the successes of youth Earth restoration initiatives around the world, I think the focus of this last section on stewardship could have gone well be- yond taking a look at what currently exists. The unspoken assumption throughout


As If the Earth Matters is that the experi- ential teaching of environmental education should take place in wilderness contexts, outside of urban centres. Further, many of the activities suggested involve traversing varied terrain and require a substantial amount of physical fitness and ability. With the exception of the introspective activi- ties, the authors write with the able-bodied child in mind. In As If the Earth Matters, the authors set out the task of reinvigorating and recommitting to environmental educa- tion. Henley and Peavy fall short of offering clearly laid out teaching resources aligned with these larger objectives. The challenge for the educator in using this resource is not in the lack of ideas or activities; rather, the challenge is addressing these issues of diversity and inclusion in their execution.


Jana Miller recently completed her Master’s in Environmental Studies at York University and has begun her PhD in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada. Her research focus is on place-based and intergenerational learning.


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