The value of eco-art projects for youth

Educational initiatives enhance understanding of environmental issues, Isabelle Guillard says.

Young people have amply demonstrated that they are ready to act in the fight for social change, but are we giving them the tools to do so?

Climate change does not occupy an integral part of the Quebec curriculum, except for the optional environmental science and technology class in Grade 10. Even then, its component is not compulsory. In other disciplines, teachers can complement their educational content, but resources remain insufficient considering the unprecedented collapse that scientists are expecting in the next decade.

Art teachers have started to work in partnership with artists and such organizations as the Monique-fitz-back Foundation and Équiterre to create eco-art projects that highlight the relationships between humans and the environment. These collaborative projects aim to provide a systemic understanding of environmental issues by making connections across the disciplines and developing a holistic approach. More importantly, these projects give youth hope about the future and can inspire them to become leaders in their communities.

Education based on the transfer of knowledge or multiple choice tests no longer suits the needs of youth, nor do they address the complexity of the challenges faced in climate change. New strategies and practices outside the classroom are needed to reconcile students with nature and expose them to the real world. A good example is the eco-art project Troubled Waters: Tracing Globalization Waste in the Delaware River, organized at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. Students explored the causes, impacts and implications of different types of waste that pollute the Delaware River. In chemistry, the students took water samples. In political science, they studied and mapped the process of producing this waste, and in the multimedia class, they documented and represented the theme of waste by showing films.

Lead artist Jesikah Maria Ross facilitated collaboration between participants and community partners to find solutions to restore the ecosystem. This project demonstrates the power of a cross-disciplinary approach to environmental education.

A Canadian project, The Still Creek in Renfrew Ravine, initiated by artist Carmen Rosen, has rehabilitated a natural habitat where one of the last streams in the city of Vancouver is open to the air. With the participation of 200 volunteers, schools and organizations, an abandoned and polluted site was transformed into a preserved sanctuary where people can have fun, observe the beauty of nature and even see the return of Keta salmon. High school students helped design the landscaping, which features native plants and trees, a maze and a mosaic path. They also created ephemeral works and performances allowing reflection on the protection of water and its ecosystem.

If many of us have a hard time responding to scientific data, it could be because we feel disconnected to the reality that is catching up on us. The arts can be transformative, allowing us to make emotional connections to the place where we live using our senses and esthetic sensibility, and prompting us to build a stronger sense of community through the sharing of our common values.

Youth need concrete examples of what they can do to change the present. They need to be guided in their decision-making and actions so that they can build confidence in reaching their objectives efficiently individually and collectively. On the other hand, teachers need to receive additional support to be able to plan and organize eco-art projects that solicit collaborative work. Their schedules do not always allow time for meetings with partners and teachers outside their disciplines or for doing paperwork for funding.

Our governments should implement new policies to allow every young person to experience the world outside the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development, and recognize the role of the arts in resolving the social and cultural challenges facing today’s world.