In 1995, Finnish art educator Meri-Helga Mantere defined arts-based environmental education as a form of learning that aims to develop environmental understanding and responsibility “by becoming more receptive to sense perceptions and observations and by using artistic methods to express personal environmental experiences and thoughts.” According to her, artistic experiences improve one’s ability to see; they help one in knowing and understanding. In short, arts-based environmental education is grounded on the belief that sensitivity to the environment can be developed by artistic activities.

“What do I do as an environmentalist and as an art teacher? To put it rather simply: I try to support fresh perception, the nearby, personal enjoyment and pleasure of perceiving the world from the heart. To achieve that, it is necessary to stop, be quiet, have time and feel psychologically secure in order to perceive the unknown, the sometimes wild and unexpected. At times conscious training of the senses, decoding the stereotype, is needed. I aim at an openness to sensitivity, new and personal ways to articulate and share one’s environmental experiences which might be beautiful, disgusting, peaceful or threatening. I support and facilitate the conversation with the environment.” (Meri-Helga Mantere)

Below is a rich selection of early articles by practioners of (and scholars in) arts-based environmental education (AEE). Most of these articles were previously accessible on the, now no longer existing, website naturearteducation.org. New articles are regulary uploaded to the Facebook community on AEE.

Connections between Artistic Practice and Experiences in Nature: Considerations for how Art Education Can Engender Ecological Awareness
Zuzana Vasko, Canadian Review of Art Education, 42(2) 69, 2016.

Enlivening our Sense of the World: Environmental Connectedness through Artistic Engagement
Zuzana Vasko Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014.

“Being in Sync: Practicing Creative Nature Connection with Youth”
Lisa M. Lipsett, Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal: Vol. 2: Iss. 2, Article 8, 2017.

Animism, Creativity, and a Tree: Shifting into Nature Connection through Attention to Subtle Energies and Contemplative Art Practice
Michelle Flowers, Lisa Lipsett, M.J. Barrett, Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 19, 111-126, 2014.

Re-connecting with nature: Transformative environmental education through the arts
Rachel York, PhD thesis, 2014.

Bringing Art to Life: Creative Nature Connection for Educators
Lisa Lipsett, 2013

Locative Meaning-making: An Arts-based Approach to Learning for Sustainable Development
Natalia Eernstman & Arjen E.J. Wals, Sustainability, 2013, 5, 1645-1660, 2013

Inspired by nature: the positive impact of environmentally-based art education
Tara Noel Powley. Thesis (49 MB).

Nordic contemporary art education and the environment: Constructing an epistemological platform for Art Education for Sustainable Development (AESD).
Helene Illeris, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Agder, Norway. A InFormation. Nordic Journal of Art and Research, 1(2), 77-93, 2012.

Researching Art and Science in Teaching
Linda Jolly, Aksel Hugo, Edvin Østergaard, Solveig Slåttli, Jan van Boeckel, and Ceciel Verheij. Report on the Doli seminar, Greece, December 2010. IMT-Report Nr. 44, Universitetet for Miljø- og Biovetenskap, Ås, Norway, 2011.

“Nature is the art of which we are a part”
Jeff Huebner, 2011. A journey with Finnish artist Leena Valkeapää.

Transformation is in Our Hands: A creative process for deepening our connection to nature
Lisa Lipsett, Green Teacher Magazine. Winter issue, 2011.

Shades of green: Growing environmentalism through art education
Hilary Inwood, 2010.

Joining Heaven and Earth. Originally presented at the Rhode Island Art Education Convention
Peter London, 2010.

Transformation is in our hands: The educational imperative of creative Nature connection
Lisa Lipsett, 2010.

Elwyn Richardson and The Early World of Art Education in New Zealand
Margaret MacDonald, 2010. Doctoral dissertation, University of Canterbury. School of Educational Studies and Human Development, Christchurch, New Zealand.

An artist’s way of knowing
Peter London, 2009. Transcript of a presentation given at Schumacher College, England. Based on his course: ‘Drawing Closer to Nature’.

Arts-based environmental education and the ecological crisis: Between opening the senses and coping with psychic numbing
Jan van Boeckel, 2009.

Climate change – an aesthetic crisis?
Alan Boldon, 2008.

Mapping environmental education approaches in Finnish art education
Pirkko Pohjakallio, 2007. Paper delivered at the InSEA Conference in Heidelberg.

Beyond human-nature-spirit boundaries: Researching with animate EARTH
Mary Jeanne Barrett, 2007. Dissertation, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

A wanderer in the landscape: Reflections on the relationship between art and the northern environment
Timo Jokela, 2007.

Forget your botany: Developing children’s sensibility to nature through arts-based environmental education
Jan van Boeckel, 2006. Resurgence Magazine.

Science, nature and beauty
Linda Jolly, 2005.

Sustainable vision, or the art of seeing gracefully
Adrian Ivakhiv, 2004.

Coming back to the senses: An artistic approach to environmental education
Meri-Helga Mantere, 2004. Unpublished.

Education as a glowing experiment: Bifrost, a new pedagogy in practice
Ceciel Verheij, 2004.

Nature as a Teacher: The Living School experiment in Norway
Ceciel Verheij, 2004.

Knowing the Language of Place Through the Arts
Lee Ann Woolery, 2004.

Art-Based Perceptual Ecology as a Way of Knowing the Language of Place
Lee Ann Woolery, Doctoral dissertation, 2006.

Holistic education in perceiving nature: Experiences in agriculture lessons and botanical excursions at a Norwegian ‘Living School’
Linda Jolly, 2003.

Imagination and the world: A call for ecological expressive therapies
Maureen Kellen-Taylor, 1998. The Arts in Psychotherapy, Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 303–311.

Art and the environment. An art-based approach to environmental education
Meri-Helga Mantere, 1998.

Tracking a course in the landscape of environmental education
Meri-Helga Mantere. In: Mantere, M.H., (Ed.) (1995). “Image of the Earth. Writing on art-based environmental education,” translation of: “Maan Kuva.” Translation by Marjukka Barron, University of Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland, pp. 3-17.

Foreword to ‘Image of the Earth’
Meri-Helga Mantere, 1995.

Image of the Earth (translation of ‘Maan Kuva’): Writings on art-based environmental education.
Meri-Helga Mantere (Ed.), 1995.

From environmental art to environmental education
Timo Jokela. In Mantere, M.H., (Ed.) (1995). “Image of the Earth: Writings on art-based environmental education.” translation of: “Maan Kuva.” Translation by Marjukka Barron, University of Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland, pp. 18-28.

Time and a Place’s Spirit
Meri-Helga Mantere. In Mantere, M.H., (Ed.) (1995). “Image of the Earth: Writings on art-based environmental education.” translation of: “Maan Kuva.” Translation by Marjukka Barron, University of Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland, pp. 86-89.

Ecology, environmental education and art teaching
Meri-Helga Mantere, 1992.