This project responds to the growing need for climate-responsive education that supports the health and well-being of children, youth, and educators. Climate change is increasingly associated with climate-related stress, declining outdoor play, reduced connection to nature, and growing mental health concerns among young people (Barrette et al., 2025; Chawla, 2015). A growing body of evidence demonstrates that nature-based and Land-based learning can strengthen physical, emotional, social, and ecological well-being while fostering resilience, stewardship, and connection to Land and community (Barrette et al., 2022; Brussoni et al., 2015; Lee et al., 2025). However, educators continue to face barriers to implementing these approaches within schools, including limited training, time, and implementation supports (Cook et al., 2019; Gruno & Gibbons, 2021). This project addresses the gap between research and practice by strengthening SD61 partnerships, educator capacity, and locally relevant implementation supports for climate-responsive outdoor learning. The activity will consist of three half-day, in-person collaborative meetings held in Victoria, BC between August and November 2026. Meetings will bring together SD61 educators participating in a long-standing schools-university partnership alongside UVic researchers, graduate students, and community partners. Activities will include collaborative planning, facilitated discussions, sharing of field-tested practices, identification of implementation barriers and facilitators, sharing of local community partnerships and organizations that can support implementation, and dissemination-focused knowledge exchange. The meetings will emphasize relationship building, reciprocal learning, and practical planning grounded in Nature-Based Literacy (Barrette et al., 2022; 2025), Pathway to Stewardship & Kinship (Dueck et al., 2023), and Implementation Science frameworks (Cook et al., 2019). Participants will include approximately 10-12 SD61 K-12 teachers, UVic researchers, graduate students, and community partners with expertise in outdoor learning, stewardship, and Indigenous-led Land-based education. Participants represent an established schools-university partnership with extensive experience co-designing and implementing nature-based learning initiatives (Gruno & Gibbons, 2022, 2025, 2021, 2024a, 2024b, 2024c).
Additional team members and participating organizations:
Key collaborators include SD61 teachers from a long-standing schools-university partnership with the University of Victoria’s School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education, as well as a University of Victoria graduate student research assistant and community partners. Building on this established partnership, participating teachers are co-designing, implementing, and mobilizing evidence-informed, climate-responsive nature-based learning initiatives.