‘I like to dance with the flowers!’: Exploring the possibilities for biodiverse futures in an urban forest school

Abstract

AbstractThis article explores the ways in which ‘forest school’, an educational approach where children engage in creative and play based activities in a ‘natural’ environment, can contribute towards Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG 15) by promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and by helping address biodiversity loss. Drawing on data from an inquiry that explored childhoodnature play in an inner‐city forest school in London, England, this article discusses the ways in which nature relations emerged over weekly visits to an urban park over the course of one school year. We, the adult and young child researchers and more‐than‐human nature, enacted ‘shared play’ as part of a post‐qualitative approach that involved playing together as a form of data creation. Co‐created ‘play tales’ from the inquiry foreground encounters between children, grass, flowers, soil, trees, fruits and insects and illuminate the ways in which nature relations ignited small, yet powerful, acts to protect and restore the flora and fauna in the urban park. This article asserts that post‐anthropocentric, postdevelopmental educational approaches create opportunities for multi‐species relations to slowly emerge and flourish. These stories illuminate the ways these ethico‐political relations and onto‐epistemological transformations can prevent the continuation of terrestrial ecosystem degradation and contribute towards biodiverse futures in urban areas.