Navigating eco-anxiety and eco-detachment: educators' strategies for raising environmental awareness given student's disconnection from nature

Awareness of environmental problems such as climate change can motivate action, but educators debate whether to raise students' awareness given that it may provoke eco-anxiety. We have even less understanding of how these relationships are affected by young people's growing disconnection from nature. Through 28 semi-structured interviews in Canada and the United Kingdom, we explore how educators perceive students' nature connection and eco-anxiety and how they introduce discussion of environmental problems. Educators frequently observed experiential, cognitive, and emotional indicators of nature disconnection and eco-anxiety, although many (39%) reported rarely, if ever, witnessing such environmentally related distress. Educators prioritised improving nature connection over raising awareness of environmental problems. When they discuss these issues with students, they emphasise hope and encourage pro-environmental behaviours to avoid eliciting eco-anxiety for those not currently experiencing it, a strategy that is partially inconsistent with literature suggesting some eco-anxiety can nurture pro-environmental behaviour. Our findings provide new insights into the challenges that educators face in helping their students navigate current environmental trends.

Automated summary

Educators frequently observe indicators of nature disconnection and eco-anxiety among young people but not all educators witness such environmentally related distress. They prioritize improving nature connection over raising awareness of environmental problems. When discussing these issues with students, educators emphasize hope and encourage pro-environmental behaviors to avoid eliciting eco-anxiety.