Towards a pedagogy of social-ecological collaborations: engaging students and urban nonprofits for an ecology with cities

Abstract

The concept of ecology with cities calls for a broader scope of pedagogical and participatory research tools for engagement with and action on urban environmental issues. Projects that take an ecology with cities approach can provide gateways for diverse audiences, including students, teachers, community members, and scientists, to participate in urban ecology, thus serving as a potential steppingstone for further engagement. While there is increasing research on the value of participatory approaches for increasing ecological literacy (e.g. citizen science), less has been written on the collaborative process of such experiences, in particular the social aspects of projects that can enable the most successful outcomes and/or lessons learned. This paper describes a collaborative research project that engaged undergraduate students and community outreach staff of an urban nonprofit organization to better understand social uses and values associated with a small public park located on the Harlem River in New York City. We explore the outcomes of the project both for students and nonprofit staff and provide recommendations for educators interested in using a pedagogy of social-ecological collaborations in urban contexts. We believe that such an approach can help to prepare future generations of environmental researchers and practitioners to engage with others for an ecology with cities.