Alaskan children’s perspectives of environmental stewardship in a changing Arctic environment

ABSTRACT This chapter magnifies the voices of Alaskan children in considering education for sustainability in the Arctic. The collaborative research explored how children understood and enacted environmental stewardship in three distinct Alaskan locations: Interior Alaska, the Kenai peninsula, and a rural southwest Alaska Native village. Honoring children’s agency, the study involved child-centered research methods, including children’s drawings and descriptions, role-playing, class discussions, and video tours utilizing wearable cameras. Findings revealed common themes of environmental stewardship, yet the way children perceived and enacted stewardship varied according to the social, cultural, and geographical contexts. Cleaning up litter was perceived as immediate and important for children from Kenai and the southwest Alaskan village, yet it was scarcely mentioned by Interior Alaskan children. Interior Alaskan children emphasized pet care, while children from Kenai and the southwest Alaskan village discussed animal care in relation to hunting and fishing ethics. Care for plants was less common than care for snow. Children’s spatial autonomy, sense of belonging and personal connection with place, plays an important role in the development of competencies to live more sustainably on the land. Findings point towards contextualized and child-centered approaches to promote children’s agency to act in and for their environments.