Looking closely for environmental learning: citizen science and environmental sustainability education

In this chapter, I will discuss how environmental citizen science can be used within formal educational settings. I will rethink the intersection between informal and formal learning environments and informal and formal pedagogies by exploring these potentials. Citizen science projects use school ground ‘micro-geographies’ (Kraftl, 2022) and local green, blue, and grey spaces to make urban ecology visible to the children. The chapter presents an environmental citizen science project that collects data on bee foraging in urban environments. Guiding children to notice, name, record, and reflect upon the presence (or absence) of bee-friendly habitats within urban contexts can increase ecological consciousness. Raised ecological consciousness may, in turn, lead to the adaptation of values and attitudes within more-than-human worlds. I argue that using mobile Apps to understand pollinators’ presence (and absence) in local contexts can deepen an appreciation of the coexistence of species. App-technology has the potential to extend such learning, allowing children and young people to appreciate, through geotagging, broader biodiversity contexts in real-time. Finally, I will explore how the benefits of involvement in citizen science projects can be enhanced by developing learning resources that augment the process of doing citizen science