Outdoor environmental education: turning back to the environment at a time of climate and nature emergency

Abstract

Outdoor experiences form a core part of environmental and sustainability education programming but the extent of provision and support is under-researched. This research links a reconsideration of outdoor environmental education (OEE) with survey data from school and early years staff about provision and professional learning in Scotland, UK. Analysis of the survey provides an in-depth view of outdoor duration, focus and locations of excursions, residential and non-residential trips into school grounds, local areas in 2006, 2014, and 2022. Whilst the duration of school provision has seen a reduction, in early years, provision had increased. Importantly, we show associations between increased provision and higher levels of professional learning and confidence. In the light these findings, we consider the need for a renewal of OEE more widely. We offer a theoretical consideration of the ontological bases needed to support a more relevant and place-responsive outdoor environmental educational at a time of climate and nature emergency.