This study investigates nature connection practices in a nonformal place-responsive programme for primary school-aged children in Brisbane, Australia. The practices are explored in terms of their role in making visible the interconnectedness of humans, place and the more-than-human, drawing on posthuman educational theories and practice, in particular common worlds approaches, as well as place pedagogies. The project explores the practices of sit spot, solo wander, journalling, gathering, story-sharing and nature names with a group of children participating in an outdoor homeschool programme. Children’s representations of their experiences in place through story, writing, drawing and the collection of items from nature are analysed to create narrative summaries, which are reflected on and presented with some of the children’s journal entries. The study finds that when integrated together, the nature connection practices: foster embodied and generative place encounters; enable relationships with place and the more-than-human to emerge; cultivate learning with place and (re)story place relations. The paper recommends the use of these nature connection practices in programmes that focus on or integrate outdoor learning in order to generate new understandings about place that recognise the entanglement of humans, place and the more-than-human world.

As social, economic and environmental issues have become more prominent in the 21st century, there has been increased critical scrutiny into the ways that outdoor learning interacts with sustainability issues and concepts. As a result, a number of discourses have emerged which interrogate human/nature relationships in traditional outdoor education and propose greater engagement with place-responsive or sustainable approaches. Drawing on research with teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand, this article explores possible intersections between sustainability education outdoor learning. Accordingly, this article focuses on two key ideas: First, the nexus of experience and place offers significant promise for educational endeavours that seek to educate for a sustainable future. Second, traditional conceptions of wilderness as a pedagogical site, can be problematic for outdoor education programs which seek to claim the ground of sustainability. While there is much that can be gained from journeys in remote pristine environments, not all of these experiences necessarily lead to the development of attitudes, understandings, skills, and motivation to live more sustainably. Furthermore, approaches to outdoor learning that seek to develop connection to and care for remote, pristine places, at the same time ignoring more local or impacted places, could present a dichotomous view of ‘nature’ to students, thereby disrupting efforts to educate for sustainability.

This study explores the observations and perceptions of environmental education centre officers and teachers regarding children's experiences with nature. The study also explores the officers' and teachers' perceptions of the potential of using nature experiences in environmental education. A thematic analysis of data from interviews with 13 officers and 8 high school teachers in Sydney, Australia, revealed a widely held perception that children and young people have limited experience with natural settings in nature reserves and national parks. The interviewees suggested that although their students were interested in learning in natural settings, many were uncomfortable, afraid, and only had a vicarious understanding of Australian ecology, flora and fauna. The participants' view of the potential of nature experiences was twofold: nature experiences were fundamental for developing a connection with nature and establishing environmental concern, and experiences in nature facilitated ecological knowledge, which was considered to be a component of understanding and developing place identity in the Australian environment.