Cultivating Consciousness: Lessons in Environmental and Climate Justice from the Classroom

Last week's session in my Education & Sustainable Development class at Teachers College was both insightful and transformative. We had the honor of welcoming Ruby Olisemeka, the Director of Urban Engagement of the Westchester Land Trust, to speak on the vital topic of Environmental and Climate Justice.

Embodying Environmental Justice (EJ) and Climate Justice (CJ)

Ruby brought a key message that I emphasize strongly in my teachings: adopting an Environmental or Climate Justice lens is essential. It's not just 'nice-to-have'; it's a fundamental component that should be interwoven into the fabric of all research and educational programs focusing on Environmental, Sustainability and Climate Change Education. This is crucial for fostering future personal and collective actions that are equitable and just. Moreover, environmental or climate injustice is not only a local issue but a global one. It's a complex challenge that calls for an intersectionality approach, even transcending human interactions and encompassing unequal privileges and consequences within and between countries and regions. Importantly, intersectionality is the overlapping and cumulative way of forms of discrimination (including race, gender, socio-economic class, age, etc.) as it pertains here to the effects of environmental hazards and climate change.

Insights from Scholarly Readings

Our class delved into scholarly readings that further outlined the intertwining of environmental education with justice issues. McKenzie et al. (2017) underlined the shift towards acknowledging and addressing disparities in environmental privileges. Environmental justice therefore is the mobilization to address the disproportionate ways in which some groups are affected by environmental hazards, while other groups disproportionately reap the benefits. Dittmer et al. (2018) discussed the need to extend environmental education beyond learning and developing concern to finding solutions, or the development of "Action Competence." Murdock (2020) shed light on the disproportionate environmental degradation borne by women and children of color, underscoring the need for explicit gender analysis in environmental justice scholarship. Finally, Sze (2020) argued that sustainability and social justice are interdependent; one cannot exist without the other.

Addressing Imbalance: An Unforgettable Illustration

The most memorable moment came when Ruby used Tony Ruth's "Addressing Imbalance" illustration. The visual represented two children with unequal access to an apple tree. Despite equal resources, access remained skewed. It was only through the allocation of diverse resources, tailored to their individual needs, that both children could equally access the tree. This epitomizes the concept of equity. The illustration took it a step further by highlighting that justice goes beyond equity—it requires fixing the system to ensure lasting equitable access.

Beyond Inclusion and Diversity: The Consciousness of Equity and Justice

Ruby concluded by expanding the dialogue to the consciousness surrounding equity and justice. She highlighted that while diversity and inclusion often concentrate on physical attributes, the consciousness of equity and justice doesn't always align with diversity in terms of race, gender, class, age, nationality, or abilities. This profound takeaway resonated deeply, reminding us that the path towards environmental and climate justice is as much about shifting mindsets as it is about changing policies.

As educators and students dedicated to creating a more just and sustainable future, we are inspired to weave these lessons into our practice and advocacy. Thank you Ruby!

References:

Dittmer et al. (2017). “We can keep the fire burning”: Building action competence through environmental justice education in Uganda and Germany. Local Environment, 23 (2), 144-157.

McKenzie, M. et al. (2017). Environmental Justice. In A. Russ & M.E. Krasny (Eds.) Urban Environmental Education Review. Chapter 6. pp. 59-67.

Murdock, E. (2020). History of Environmental Justice. In B. Coolsaet (Ed.). Environmental Justice: Key Issues. Routledge. Chapter 2.

Sze, J. (2020). Sustainability and Environmental Justice: Parallel tracks at the crossroads?  In B. Coolsaet (Ed.) Environmental Justice: Key Issues. Routledge. Chapter 9.