In 2020, the world was hit by COVID-19. Big data expeditiously travel around the world, having a performative effect on the way individuals, private enterprises, and local governments make decisions regarding the pandemic. As collective actions, symbolisms, and representations are (re)created or (re)constituted in the contexts of the pandemic, “new” questions can be formulated and “old” ones revisited regarding ecological justice in environmental education (research). Framing the special issue (SI) as an assemblage, we, as editors, challenged the authors to constantly return to the question of “What is in it for Nature?”, while presenting their findings on what pandemics reveal about the politics of global environmental issues. As individual contributions, each paper of the SI targets a particular context of the pandemic to (re)visit environmental (in)justice. As an assemblage, the SI assesses where we, as an international community, currently stand in relation to “new” and “old” issues of environmental justice.

Global politics of the COVID-19 pandemic, and other current issues of environmental justice

The global COVID-19 public health crisis has driven policies of lockdowns and social distancing that have had negative social and economic impacts, worsening inequalities and social exclusions, and...

COVID-19 and the desire of children to return to nature: Emotions in the face of environmental and intergenerational injustices

COVID-19 has impacted education on all levels, with many institutions turning to online formats to deal with the global public health crisis. This study aims to carefully consider participatory risk management, given concerns about the specific impact of COVID-19 upon environmental and outdoor education. An environmental and outdoor education expedition-style university-based field course at the Laponia World Heritage Site provided the context for considering environmental and outdoor education’s response to COVID-19. Whether or how risk could be effectively managed in the unique setting during the COVID-19 pandemic was explored using action research methodology. A combination of systematic instructor observation, student–instructor communication, and surveys to student participants provided the data to consider the research question. Outcomes underscore the critical role of participatory risk management in environmental and outdoor education settings and highlight the concept of interdependence in environmental and outdoor education risk management. In addition, the research provides support for the action research idea of practitioners as researchers.

What We Can Learn from Environmental and Outdoor Education during COVID-19: A Lesson in Participatory Risk Management

The impact of perceived crisis severity on intention to use voluntary proximity tracing applications

Abstract Many environmental educators shifted to online programs in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify program characteristics from digital environmental education experiences that are associated with one or more elements of environmental literacy. After reviewing 153 candidate articles, 32 articles that evaluated 47 diverse programs met our selection criteria. For each of these programs, we systematically coded the articles to identify guiding theories, program types, program characteristics, and outcomes assessed. We also identified the authors’ explanations and empirical evidence for program characteristics that led to positive outcomes. In this paper, we synthesize the results and present 12 guiding principles that show promise in enhancing outcomes related to environmental literacy in online programs for K-12 students. These principles, which are defined and illustrated with examples from the literature, include: social-ecological connections, relevance, social interactions, role models, autonomy, active involvement, challenge, use of multiple modalities, positive framing, preparation, feedback and reflection.

A systematic literature review to identify evidence-based principles to improve online environmental education

This is an unusual article in that it brings together the perspectives of many on this journal’s editorial board, around the issue of contending with COVID-19. Twenty statements showcase a range of thoughts and experiences, highlighting the differences and similarities in the way the pandemic is impacting on the educational practice of outdoor and environmental education. The future is not yet written, of course, so it is worth thinking about how the current moment may impact on the months and years to come. The aim of this article is to influence and support such thinking.

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What future/s for outdoor and environmental education in a world that has contended with COVID-19?

The initial online publication contained several typesetting errors. The original article has been corrected.

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Kirsti Pedersen-Gurholt

Papers

What future/s for outdoor and environmental education in a world that has contended with COVID-19?

Correction to: What future/s for outdoor and environmental education in a world that has contended with COVID-19?