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Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC V4.0, Open
Journal article
Thinking with Forests as Sentient Societies: Towards a Pedagogy and Ethic of Immanent Care
Australian journal of environmental education, Vol.40(2), pp.258-275
04/2024
Appears in Recent Faculty of Education Publications
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Abstract
While Indigenous knowledges have long recognised forests as sentient and caring societies, western sciences have only acknowledged that trees communicate, learn and care for one another in recent years. These different ways of coming to know and engage with trees as sentient agents are further complicated by the introduction of digital technologies and automated decision-making into forest ecosystems. This article considers this confluence of forest sentience and digital technologies through a pedagogy and ethic of immanent care as a relational framework for analysis and praxis in environmental education. The authors apply this framework to three key examples along Birrarung Marr, an ancient gathering place and urban parklands in the city of Naarm (Melbourne). These include an immersive theatre-making project exploring forest communication networks with young children; the Melbourne Urban Forest data set, which hosts digital profiles for over 70,000 trees; and the Greenline masterplan which aims to revitalise the north bank of the Birrarung over the next five years. Exploring the ethical and pedagogical contours of these examples leads to propositions for rethinking the role of environmental education in navigating the current confluence of animal, vegetal, fungal and digital life.
Details
- Title
- Thinking with Forests as Sentient Societies: Towards a Pedagogy and Ethic of Immanent Care
- Creators
- David Rousell - RMIT UniversityJessica Tran - RMIT University
- Publication Details
- Australian journal of environmental education, Vol.40(2), pp.258-275
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Number of pages
- 18
- Identifiers
- 991013225813202368
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2024
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Education
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article