Place-Based Education

In a culture increasingly dominated by “global” environmental issues, from rapid climate change to widespread water pollution, there has never been a greater need for education that explores the world at the local level – at the scale of community, ecosystem, and local economy. This statement might sound paradoxical; but in reality, it is at the local level that many of the most critical environmental decisions are made. Our choices, from where to buy food, to whether to bicycle or drive to work, to whether or not to vote to preserve local open space, have regional and even global repercussions. Our actions can contribute to global warming, or prevent it. Our food choices can support the pursuit of sustainable agricultural practices, or otherwise. And the path toward learning how to lead a more sane and sustainable existence begins with education rooted in the local community, or “place-based”.

The term “place-based education” was coined by the Orion Society in the 1990s. According to Laurie Lane-Zucker, Executive Director of Orion, “Place-based education might be characterized as the pedagogy of community, the reintegration of the individual into her homeground and the restoration of the essential links between a person and her place. “Place-based education,” she further explains, “…asks seemingly simple questions: Where am I? What is the nature of this place? What sustains this community? It often employs a process of re-storying, whereby students are asked to respond creatively to stories of their homeground so that, in time, they will be able to position themselves, imaginatively and actively, within the continuum of nature and culture in that place. They become part of the community, rather than a passive observer of it.”  

Place-based education is an educational model that includes both participation in the local community and direct contribution to it. A place-based school curriculum involves partnerships with local environmental, social, cultural, and/or governmental organizations, in which students become involved in service efforts and research projects that aid in the process of building and maintaining a vibrant community, a home place. As a history project, students might conduct an oral history study, collecting the memories and stories of a community’s elders. For science, students could conduct ecological surveys of the plants and animals present in a piece of land under consideration by a town for preservation as a natural area. A partnership with a local organic farm might teach students about sustainable agricultural practices, help the farmer get her crops in, and furnish fresh fruits and vegetables for a school luncheon. The possibilities for such partnerships are manifold, and they share a common characteristic:  all participants benefit, while the community thrives.

In this age of the standardization of what constitutes “knowledge” as defined by state-level testing in practically every state and most school grades, is there a place for such local knowledge? This question, of course, assumes that there is a disconnection between what happens in a home community and what happens on the state, national, or even international level. Local knowledge provides students with concrete examples for patterns found elsewhere, and concrete connections to events that might otherwise seem irrelevant. Twentieth century American history, for example, becomes more powerful, more real, when the events are found to have shaped the lives of elders sharing their life stories. While each local government might be somewhat different, with city councils or town boards, learning about how local government works will constitute useful knowledge whether students choose to remain in their home communities after school or follow career paths elsewhere. A deep understanding of the components of a local ecosystem enables students to understand more clearly how an ecosystem works, an awareness that can be applied to deserts and rain forests alike.

Ultimately, place-based education is about re-inhabitation, about getting to know a place and learning how to be at home there. It is a process of appreciating anew (or for the first time) the wonders going on all around us:  the ecological diversity of a local patch of woods, or the cultural richness of a community (stories, music, celebrations). Over time and many such experiences, appreciation can lead to the desire to support and protect what a community offers culturally and environmentally – in other words, a sense of community stewardship. As David Sobel writes, “Emphasizing hands-on, real-world learning experiences, this approach to education increases academic achievement, helps students develop stronger ties to their community, enhances students’ appreciation for the natural world, and creates a heightened commitment to serving as active, contributing citizens.”