Trauma-informed environmental education: helping students feel safe and connected in nature

In any given environmental education program there are students who have experienced trauma, yet the field has not expanded to consider the particular needs of these students. This paper weaves together strands from psychology, education, and healthcare to outline the concept of trauma and how it manifests in students and to introduce a series of principles for trauma-informed environmental education. Trauma-informed environmental education is not a form of ecotherapy. Rather, it asks environmental educators to have an operational understanding of how trauma shows up in their students and to adopt approaches that have the highest likelihood of supporting these students as they learn and develop lasting bonds with nature. Environmental educators have the challenge of helping students experience trust and safety in nature even where trauma (including individual, systemic, and cultural) affects the ability of many students to connect and feel safe. Interdisciplinary collaboration around trauma-informed environmental education is needed.