Eco-Literacy Development through a Framework for Indigenous and Environmental Educational Leadership

Abstract

In response to the call of curriculum reforms at the international, national, and local levels, we conceptualize an eco-mentorship program and envision a learning garden alternative practica. We aim to advance a framework enabling the innovation of Indigenous environmental studies, eco-justice education, and Western scientific environmental knowledge as part of a larger eco-literacy and environmental leadership curriculum in Ontario. We explore the application of a framework for environmental learning that involves eco-hermeneutic practices—by making historical and etymological connections between land and language through the development of relationships with place. As gathering and gardening practices have taken place in Indigenous cultures since time immemorial, we investigate how earth, water, food, and plants can be explored through an inter-generational knowledge model.