What if the most powerful shift we could make right now wasn’t external—but how we frame our work with nature and one another? As we prepare for the Advancing Environmental Education Conference and lean into our theme, Tending the Garden: Growing our CommunitEE, we’re reflecting on what it means to foster deep, lasting relationships—with land, with systems, and especially with each other. In a time when so many changes feel outside our control, we’re thinking about the shifts we can make: the small, intentional choices that grow stronger communities, more relational learning, and a field rooted in care. This is the first in a three-part series exploring how environmental and outdoor learning can evolve to meet this moment—and how we can navigate our changing world.

As environmental and outdoor educators, we often talk about connecting people with nature — those magical moments when a child catches a crawdad for the first time, or the awe of standing at the top of a mountain after a long hike. These are powerful, sometimes life changing moments.  We will always continue to strive to foster these moments.   AND we have been wondering.  What if we made a small, intentional shift in our thinking from our role in facilitating connections with nature to nurturing relationships with nature and with each other? How might that change our programming?  How would we change our practice?  For many of us, we might already be using these ideas interchangeably, but what would it look like to be intentional?

We asked ChatGPT to describe what an intentional shift in framing might look like and it generated this table.

ChatGPT’s answer may resonate with you or you might have different definitions that you use in your practice.  What struck me was the idea that relationships imply community, culture, and social norms.  I wonder how often we intentionally think about centering culture and community in our outdoor and environmental programming.

Expanding Our Definition of Nature

At CAEE, we are trying to define “nature” expansively.  It’s easier said than done.  A recycling or health care center isn’t what comes to mind when you think about nature.  But the reality is- nature isn’t just forests, rivers, or wildlife — it’s the complex, interdependent systems that sustain all of us. That includes the air we breathe, water flowing through our communities, soil that grows our food, and human systems of recycling, waste management, and even health care. When we think of nature this way, environmental and outdoor learning becomes about caring for both natural AND social systems- including all of us.

From Individual Connection to Communal Relationship

As environmental and outdoor educators, we are skilled in engaging learners in inquiry, discovery, exploration — it’s hard not to.  Many of these practices that help us build relationships with nature are baked into environmental and outdoor learning.  But how intentional are we at building relationships between learners?  Between educators and learners?  Between organizations and communities?  What might this look like?  How do you do this already?

Building Relationships Between Learners- What it could look like:

• Shared reflection circles after a nature walk or outdoor activity where learners share what they noticed, felt, or wondered.
• Group nature journaling where learners sketch or write side-by-side and share entries, fostering vulnerability and trust.
• Collaborative stewardship projects like habitat restoration, gardening, or trail clean-up, where students take collective ownership.
• "Nature buddies" or peer mentorship, pairing older and younger students to explore and learn together.

Between Educators and Learners- What it could look like:

• Co-creating agreements at the start of a program, with learners helping decide how they want to treat each other and the land.
• Educators sharing personal stories of nature connection, modeling openness and inviting students to do the same.
• Educators as co-learners, openly wondering alongside students and validating their observations and knowledge.
• Feedback loops, where learners help shape the direction of the learning or suggest activities that interest them.

Between Organizations and Communities- What it could look like:

• Community storytelling events where elders, local leaders, or youth share nature-related stories that are valued and woven into programming.
• Hiring local community members as guides, educators, or cultural liaisons.
• Ongoing relationship-building through regular presence, open invitations to co-design programs, and transparency in decision-making.
• Place-based programming that reflects the local ecology and community values, traditions, and priorities.

We have probably all engaged in these activities in some way.  What would it look like to center this type of learning?  

What if small shifts in our design could ensure those relationship building elements of environmental and outdoor learning were not side effects of good programming, but the center of our design? How might a focus on relationships shift our outcomes? How could we build in more moments for learners to get to know each other while also getting to know the place they’re in? If relationships were our guiding principle, how might that help us develop a more enduring culture of care — not just for the environment, but for all of us who live here?  Especially in a time when we are often more connected digitally than personally. A time when some of the government systems we have depended on are not offering the same level of care they have in the past.

Why This Shift Matters

We have been talking about our lack of connection for over 20 years.  In environmental and outdoor learning, we have focused primarily on our lack of connection with nature.  Richard Louv brought this issue to light with his book, “Last Child in the Woods” in 2005.  Just a few years prior in 2000, Robert Putnam published, “Bowling Alone,” chronicling how we sign fewer petitions, belong to fewer organizations that meet, know our neighbors less, meet with friends less frequently, and even socialize with our families less often.  Even more recently, in 2024, social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, wrote “The Anxious Generation,” to show how the rise of smartphones and social media has caused an epidemic of mental illness in adolescents by replacing free-play childhood with a "phone-based childhood".  Rarely, do we talk about these things together, as interconnected systems.

Leaning into the idea of building relationships and a culture of care reframes environmental and outdoor learning not just as an educational or environmental endeavor, but as a social strategy. This framing addresses multiple needs.  I asked ChatGPT how it would frame a culture of care in environmental and outdoor learning and it came up with these guiding principles:

• Care is Cultivated: Relationships with nature and each other grow through ongoing engagement and mutual respect.
• Care is Collective: Learning together fosters empathy and shared responsibility, strengthening community ties.
• Care is Healing: Outdoor experiences support mental health, emotional balance, and trauma-informed education.
• Care is Empowerment: A strong relationship with nature nurtures agency, belonging, and civic identity.
• Care is Culture: Integrating outdoor learning into education and community life nurtures a culture of care for people and planet.

We have always believed that we are better together, and it feels energizing to think about how increasing our focus on the social aspects of environmental and outdoor learning could create ripple effects that increase our connection with nature.

What If…

What if we designed a program, a lesson, or an experience with this intentional shift in mind? What if our goal was to create lasting relationships with the natural world and with one another?  How might that look different than fostering connections with nature?  How might this transform how we teach and how our communities engage?

Let’s Grow Our CommunitEE — Together

At this year’s Advancing Environmental Education Conference, let’s not just share ideas—let’s build relationships.

Whether you’re a first-time attendee or a longtime CAEE member, we invite you to build and deepen your relationships with other members of the network.  Ask a question, share a story, or offer support!

Let’s model the shift we want to see. How can we make care, connection, and community the heart of everything we do.

See you at the conference—let’s grow together.

Katie Navin is the Executive Director at the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education.  She has been active in the field of environmental education for over 20 years.  Katie has served as an educator and developed curriculum at organizations ranging from museums to residential outdoor facilities in seven different states.  She joined CAEE in May of 2008 and is active in the environmental and outdoor learning community both in the state and nationally.

Thank YOU to Deb Matlock of Wild Rhythms for her thought partnership!