Programme and abstracts - GIH

Abstract:Since the settlement/invasion of Europeans on the Australian continent the majority of thehuman population has been urban, predominately in the wetter southern and eastern areas.The continent is home to both high biodiversity and endemic species. Australia has thedubious record of the worst rate of mammal extinction in recent times, and many otheranimals and plants are also at risk of extinction. Because of the continent’s physical isolationand colonial history the notions of native and introduced flora and fauna are pronounced andimportant to understanding the long-term survival of many species. From an educationperspective, although the urban and rural areas offer different experiences, one cannotassume that those from urban areas lack access to the natural world, or that rural dwellershave greater opportunities. Endangered fauna may be found living in urban areas, and manyrural areas have little or no remaining flora and fauna. In this paper I will consider outdoorenvironmental education in an Australian context and the dynamic between urban and ruralexperiences and knowledge of the land. I will employ the Deleuzo-Guattarian concept ofassemblage to re/consider education socio-ecological imperatives and opportunities with/inurban-rural interface.Title:Using urban nature for outdoor training and experiential learning purposes.Author/s:Susanne Lesk, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria.Abstract:In Austria, there are different traditions concerning the outdoor work with young people oradults. Some approaches use outdoor training as an end in itself, others assume that there isan automatic effect produced by experiences in (urban) nature. In the presented projects theAustrian concept of IOA® (Integrative Outdoor Aktivitäten), is applied, which emphasizes theuse of outdoor methods in combination with previously fixed objectives and topics. Thispresentation aims to illustrate how urban nature (e.g. parks, the Danube island, the naturalenvironment including small forests, meadows and hills), all being part geographically of thecity of Vienna, can be used for different target groups and settings in the context of outdoortraining and experiential learning situations (e.g. in the field of secondary and tertiaryeducation or vocational training). Placing the focus on urban nature raises questionsconcerning the theoretical and practical relationship between culture and nature. Urban natureand different places within it can be experienced and perceived differently than naturalsurroundings outside the city. We have more observers, more noise and other externalinterferences than outside the cities, but the urban nature in places like Vienna offers alsosome additional options.Title:Becoming Outdoor: The implications for working with young people.Author/s:Diane Collins, Journeying Gently, UK.Abstract:Throughout my career in teaching, youth work and community development work, I have beenfascinated by why it is that some people engage with the outdoors, while the focus for othersis indoor activities. What impact might this have on environmental understanding and action?Drawing on the findings of research undertaken with people in the non-formal sectors ofeducation, I will explore why it is that some of us define ourselves as ‘outdoor’, whereas otherssee themselves as indoor people. Some of the factors related to gender, socio-economic andsocio-cultural backgrounds, ethnicity and disability, and personal attitudes to the outdoors, willbe identified. Finally, I will reflect on how outdoor practitioners might replicate some of theexperiences that have contributed to us and others becoming outdoor people, so that we can34