Program Effectiveness in Facilitating Intergenerational Influence in Environmental Education: Lessons From the Field

Young People in the Global North: Environmental Heroes or Pleasure-Seeking Consumers

“…Percy-Smith and Burns (2013:324) have lamented that broad policy initiatives often lead to 'naïve, simplistic and tokenistic' approaches that allow young people to 'have a say' in relation to environmental issues, without supporting their active participation (see also Percy-Smith, 2010). Notwithstanding these challenges, a growing body of geographical research has highlighted the important roles that young people are playing as agents of environmental change -oftentimes in everyday contexts of home, school and in the wider community (Ballantyne et al, 2001;Breunig et al, 2013;Collins, 2014Collins, , 2015Hadfield-Hill, 2013;Horton et al, 2013;Percy-Smith and Burns, 2013;Vivoni, 2013). Young people's mundane everyday practices have important environmental, ecological and political consequences (Horton et al, 2013).…”

“…Young people are already active members of households, extended families, friendship networks and communities (Collins 2015;Hadfield-Hill, 2013;Larsson et al, 2010). They have the capacity to 'transmit' environmental knowledge and sustainable behavior change across and between such networks (Ballantyne et al, 2001;Bentley et al, 2004;Collins, 2014Collins, , 2015Griffin et al, 2005;Larsson et al, 2010). Particular attention has been paid to their roles in promoting sustainability within families/households, and also within peer groups.…”

“…First, a significant body of evidence from geography (Hopkins, 2013;Horton et al 2013;Valentine, 2000Valentine, , 2003, environmental education (Ballantyne et al 2001) and sociology (Larsson et al, 2010) has demonstrated that youth is a key period of transition and socialization during which norms, practices, habits and values (including those pertaining to environmental, political and social issues) are established. Geographers have made an important contribution to these debates by highlighting the spatial nature of environmental concern and the importance of home, school and community to enacting environmental practices (Collins, 2014(Collins, , 2015Collins and Hitchings, 2012;Hadfield-Hill, 2013;Horton et al, 2013;Percy-Smith, 2013;Percy-Smith and Burns, 2010).…”

“…The focus of the chapter is timely because of urgent concerns about the climate change impacts of high-consumption lifestyles in the Global North (Gibson et al, 2013). While geographers and social scientists have begun to tease apart everyday sustainabilities in this context, particularly at the scale of the household, young people are rarely the focus of such reviews (for exceptions see Ballantyne et al, 2001;Collins, 2014Collins, , 2015Gram-Hanssen, 2007;Klocker et al, 2012;Larson et al, 2010;Stanes et al, 2015). This chapter highlights recent geographical research that has sought to fill this gap and aims to open up conversations for progressing this research agenda.…”

“…Over the past decade, the same generation that has been accused of unbridled consumerism has been lauded for its environmental consciousness and capacity to instigate environmental change at a range of geographical scales (Autio and Heinonen, 2004;Autio et al, 2009;Bentley et al, 2004;Fielding and Head, 2012;Percy-Smith and Burns, 2013). Young people have been shown to play an important role as bearers of environmental knowledge in diverse spaces; the home, the school and within and across communities (Autio et al, 2009;Ballantyne et al, 2001;Breunig et al, 2013;Collins, 2014Collins, . 2015Hadfield-Hill, 2013;Horton et al, 2013;Larsson et al, 2010;Percy-Smith and Burns, 2013).…”