Knowing Nature

Discussion about environmental education in Cordova, Alaska. How the programs at the Prince William Sound Science Centre address the legacy of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. We also talk about their summer programs. Bringing together kids from across the Copper River watershed, and allowing them to share their different experiences with the river and understand the connections between their communities.

Prince William Sound Science Centre

Full show notes

Interview about a campaign to develop local agroforestry in order to encourage communities to protect shea trees from being cut down for charcoal production.

Save the Shea Tree campaign website

Full show notes

Interview with the manager of the Kipepeo Butterfly Project, a conservation initiative manged in part by the National Museum of Kenya. The project works with locals around the Arabuko Sokoke forest national park to breed butterflies for export to butterfly displays around the world.

The project has improved the incomes of families and communities living around the forest. It has also changed attitudes from wanting protections against development removed, to supporting forest rangers. The Kipepeo Project has also allowed the National Museum of Kenya to regularly monitor butterfly populations within the forest, which have been doing well in the more than 20 years the project has been running.

For more information check out the Kipepeo Butterfly Project website.

For full show notes on the Knowing Nature Podcast website.

Conversation with Professor Martin Bunzl about what philosophy has to add to discussions around environmental issues. We also look at some of the themes in his latest book, Thinking While Walking. How should we think about the nature of the risks posed by climate change? What are the moral dimensions of sacrificing the wellbeing of some species for the wellbeing of others?

For more information about Martin Bunzl head to his website. www.mbunzl.org

Thinking While Walking and other books by Martin Bunzl

Full show notes on the Knowing Nature Podcast website

Interview with Dr. Richard Comont from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust about their citizen science programmes. Information about what's involved in each scheme with suggestions for the amount of time and experience is needed for each one. We also discuss recommendations for ID guides of UK bees and bumblebees (33:30).

Find out more about the Bumblebee Conservation Trust

Full show notes on the Knowing Nature website

Discussion with Rosie and Cristina about the 2021 documentary Seaspiracy. We discuss its successes and failings as a piece of science communication or environmental education, including the pitfalls of using the conspiracy framing. We also share a few ideas for how teachers might make use of the film in their classes, or approach the various issues it raises.

You may want to watch the film first and think about:

• Whose views are being represented? Whose are being left out?

More from this episode's guests

• Rosie's website

Full notes on the show, links to other reactions, and links to deeper reading.

Discussion with Lorna Fox about evaluation in environmental education. We talk about some of the limitations with how educators generally evaluate the success of their programmes, and highlight some of the pitfalls of relying on observations of student engagement during sessions.

Check out this free pdf resource from the North American Association for Environmental Education:

Practitioner Guide to Assessing Connection to Nature

Notes and suggestions for improving your use of evaluation in the full show notes here.

Interview with Dimuthu about the education programme at the Soanes Centre in Tower Hamlets Cemetery park. Dim walks us through a few of the sessions he runs, including sessions on soil formation and rocks which take advantage of one of the special features of the cemetery park, the historical grave stones. He also talks a bit about navigating the topics of death and decay which inevitably come up teaching in such a unique setting. 

This interview was recorded on location with a door open for ventilation, and fortunately/unfortunately includes a lot of background noise. 

(Bonus points of each bird species you can identify in the background?)

Full show notes

Interview with Kenneth Greenway, about balancing the needs of people and nature in a historic cemetery park. He tells us how he uses foraging as a way to encourage people to value their park while also learning some botany.  Ken also shares how staff manage antisocial behaviour like teenagers peeing in bins. 

Full show notes here

Ideas for a cross curricular unit on the parts and needs of plants based on the UK year 3 curriculum (ages 7-8). Starts with an example story inspired by the history of strawberries.

Full show notes here