Nature as Partner: How School Communities Benefit from Ecological Connections

Abstract

AbstractHow have schools partnered with nature—as an architectural influence and pedagogical framework—to improve the campus experience for their communities? Influenced by John Dewey’s web of life concepts as a position to consider the interrelations between schooling and life, this chapter explores the benefits to schools and their communities of partnering with nature to support academic, physical, and mental well-being. Dewey believed that public education had a fundamental responsibility to support young people to understand the world around them. Public-school examples in the United States are discussed, as shaped by green infrastructure initiatives; ecosystem services; biophilic design; and community hub constructs. In this context, the motivations of stakeholders to develop partnerships between schools and nature are identified and were found to relate to desires for environmentally sustainable infrastructure, developing community networks—socially and ecologically—and delivering health and wellbeing benefits for students, teachers, professional staff, and members of the broader community.