Leveraging community resources and interpersonal connections supports pro-environmental action in adults

To further environmental education, it is helpful to have insight into the process of environmental learning and how it influences how people act in their communities. This study looked at environmental learning through concientización, which is one's ability to take pro-environmental action at a community-wide level. The researchers explored how two theories of learning, affinity spaces and Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), to support the path towards concientización. Affinity spaces are places in which people connect around a common interest and share their distinct knowledge, tools, and technology. Affinity space theory suggests bringing together diverse participants, promoting diverse modes of engagement, and assigning specific roles and allowing multiple approaches to contribute in a group help sustain learning experiences for participants. Asset-Based Community Development occurs when communities identify resources already available to them and draw upon these resources. The researchers analyzed instances of affinity spaces and ABCD during an adult community watershed stewards volunteer program to examine how the program supported community-driven environmental learning and concientización.

This study looked at the Watershed Stewards Academy (WSA), a program based in Maryland and the District of Columbia. The program participants, or stewards, take a course on stormwater management and then have the opportunity to implement an optional capstone project in their communities. The researchers conducted interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations with 14 former and current WSA stewards. The stewards were diverse in gender, age, race, and level of involvement with the program; some participants merely attended courses while others additionally completed capstone projects. Focus group and interview questions explored participants' motivations for engaging in the WSA, plans for their capstone projects, learning experiences that arose through the classes and projects, what resources they might need for their projects, and how they used or might use technology in their work. The interviews, focus groups, classroom observations, and participants' experiences were analyzed in the context of affinity spaces and ABCD to understand how learning develops to support concientización.

The researchers first looked at how community-driven environmental learning occurs through affinity spaces by looking at how participants interact with one another and share knowledge. The authors state that affinity spaces are characterized by bringing together people of different orientations and domains, promoting diverse modes of engagement, and drawing on distinct roles and multiple ways of contributing. They then investigated how the participants leverage their community resources through ABCD. The authors explained that local institutions, civic associations, and resources of community members are community assets that can be activated. Existing resources, community relations to drive action, and connecting these resources and relationships to develop solutions all can drive mobilization.

The researchers found that the participants utilized aspects of both affinity spaces and ABCD in their path toward developing concientización. Community-driven environmental learning occurred in multiple ways; the participants connected what they had learned in their WSA classes with local policy issues and began to take these practices to their communities. This included implementing capstone projects around their own passions, neighborhoods, and backgrounds. For example, one participant leveraged their training in marketing to create a publicity campaign for a rebate program. The participants took on leadership roles in their communities and had a change in view regarding their relationship with their local environment. Affinity spaces are characterized by participants bringing together diverse participants, promoting diverse modes of engagement, and allowing multiple ways to contribute in a group. While interacting with their surroundings, the participants demonstrated these characteristics of affinity spaces theory, particularly drawing on multiple ways of contributing. Thus, participants developed a critical understanding of their community, a key aspect of concientizatioń.

The WSA participants interacted with the community in many ways. The participants looked to one another for resources and knowledge to inform their capstone projects and to their communities for project collaboration. The participants also addressed challenges they faced working within a community, such as understanding community dynamics and priorities of individual community members and leadership. The researchers found that participants engaged in ABCD by leveraging the resources available in their communities through their connections and pooling individual knowledge with other stewards. For example, one participant who was a teacher reached out to past students and their families to assist with a drain stenciling project. The researchers' findings demonstrated that the participants developed an understanding of their ability to make a change in their community, another key aspect of concientización.

One major limitation of this study is that the participants were not chosen randomly. The participants were intentionally chosen to reflect a diverse group within the WSA. Another limitation is that only a fraction of the participants was included in each of the evaluation methods (focus groups, interviews, and classroom observations). Additionally, the level to which affinity spaces and ABCD played a role in concientización in this context may not be reflected in another geographical location or culture.

The researchers' recommendations shed light on how environmental educators can help communities understand complex environmental issues and inspire them to engage in sustainable practices within their values. The researchers recommend that environmental projects utilize community's members skills, connections, and interest to succeed. This will support affinity spaces and ABCD, which in turn will support concientización. The researchers also highlight the importance of supporting community members to identify and leverage their own resources.