How did you initially find your way to Green School NZ?

My research at GSNZ concluded a year-long research program in Climate Change and Global Sustainability in the Westfjords of Iceland and in Ecuador. Throughout the program, I maintained a deep interest in the intersections of education and design. I was eager to apply my learnings within a school fostering environmental education in a hyperlocal context, and equally with a global orientation - Green School New Zealand was just that. 

What has your experience been at GSNZ, as a scholar and what does your work / research consist of?

I’ve always been curious to understand what frames our ideas of the world, and the agency we have to change it. I firmly believe that eco pedagogy has the potential to radically reframe our understandings of civic participation, and challenge static mediums — however important ‘reuse, recycle, and reduce’, it is starting to sound like a broken record. Working in collaboration with young learners deepy immersed in the natural world, provided the ideal context to design an ongoing project in thinking beyond the constraints - what can we do that we cannot yet imagine? 

What have been your takeaways from GSNZ? And what do you think GSNZ’s unique approach to holistic education could mean for the future of community, sustainability, education, and the wider field of academia?

GSNZ provided a strong, kind, and playful environment to explore the key tenets of environmental education, and to what degree we can globalize or standardize it. Immersing myself within the wider GSNZ community, supported a broadened understanding of the integral relationship between place-paced learning, and our commitment to our local, and global home. Education at large is in need of systemic transformation, and I hope my continued research can play a role in orienting pedagogical frameworks and inspiring new references for cataylizing agency, and place-based accountability. 

How has GSNZ inspired you in your current work?

Anchoring my research within GSNZ’s learning environment, helped ground my work.  I believe that anyone seeking to rethink pedagogy should collaborate with students, placing them at the heart of what they learn and how. I don’t believe in working on pedagogy in echo chambers, without understanding how it really lands with young learners. Working in an environment that celebrates open discussion and exploration, felt incredibly reassuring and supported building work that could truly connect with students. 

What is it you are currently working on and where do you hope to take it?

I currently continue to research and develop open-source education tools and creative campaigns that tap into the power of our collective imaginaries similar to ‘Twins on a Farm’ which I developed in response to some of my learnings at GSNZ. I hope this work can speak to young learners on an international level, and foster cross-cultural learning, and climate action.

It sounds incredible, we’re keen to learn more. How can our GSNZ community help support you in your work?

I think the GSNZ community is an incredible source of support in their understanding of education as non-static - living, and breathing adjusting to its time, and its learners. I would love to collaborate with more members of the community to amplify work that seeks to rethink how we learn, and what.

You can learn more about Emma’s current work here.

You can read about Emma’s earlier GSNZ reflections here.