Wild pedagogies taking root in Wageningen University

Wild pedagogies are emerging as a relational strand of education that aims to critically rethink learning: instead of learning about nature, they aim to learn in, with, through and for nature. Researchers from the Forest & Nature Conservation Policy Group (FNP) and the Education and Learning Sciences Group (ELS) are joining the global movement of wilding pedagogies, through both research and education. PhD researcher Reineke van Tol published an article on the implementation of wild pedagogies in higher education. Lecturer Koen Arts practises wild pedagogies in the field and has recently published an article about the opportunities and challenges for implementation of wild pedagogies at WUR. Both articles appear in a special issue on wild pedagogies by the Australian Journal of Environmental Education.

What are wild pedagogies?

Wild pedagogies stem from the vision that the converging socio-ecological crises of our time require a different type of education. More and more scholars agree that radical changes are needed in how humans relate to nature and act upon it. Education is a key sphere where such transformation can be facilitated, but this requires more than just knowledge. Current educational practices, by focusing on a cognitive understanding about the world, often reflect the dominant western worldview which positions humans as separate from or above nature. Wild pedagogies, in contrast, offer relational, embodied, and disruptive ways of learning that facilitate students to explore their relationship to nature.

In their article, Reineke van Tol with co-author Arjen Wals provide a broad understanding of wild pedagogies as learning practices that engage with wild(er)(ness) in various ways. They present an open framework, consisting of four explorative areas that are seen as the core of wild pedagogies. They describe how wild pedagogies engage with:

1. Wild and caring learning spaces. Learning occurs in outdoor, wild environments, encouraging interactions among students, teachers, and the more-than-human world.
2. Learning from self-will and wonder. This emphasises learning driven by curiosity and wonder rather than predetermined outcomes.
3. Relational learning with the world: nature as co-teacher. Activities such as mindful observation, embodied exercises, and adopting other-than-human perspectives help students relate deeply to the non-human world – rather than learning about the world, which focuses on cognition.
4. Disruptive learning for the world. Wild pedagogies challenge current educational norms to foster inner and societal transformation. As a result, students can go through uneasiness, resistance and vulnerability, which are inevitable parts of inner transformation. Self-reflection, emotional connection, and sense of responsibility and care are important conditions to facilitate this.
   

- An interviewee in the article by Arts et al (2025)

In their article, Van Tol and Wals go beyond the theory of wild pedagogies and explore what such learning can look like in practice. Based on three WUR courses that are inspired by wild pedagogies, they formulate ‘drops of inspiration’ that can be used as inspiration for practically designing learning experiences based on wild pedagogies. Examples of exercises are fire making, meditation/grounding exercises, a solo vision quest in nature, and sharing experiences that occur during these exercises. Many exercises emphasise attentive observation, receptivity, and reflection on one’s relationship with the world. A safe and caring learning environment is crucial for such deep reflective experiences. Van Tol and colleagues are currently exploring whether – and if so, how – such wild learning experiences contribute to students’ relational development with the world.

Barriers and opportunities for applying wild pedagogies at WUR

The paper by Koen Arts and colleagues examines how wild pedagogies are perceived and practised in and around Wageningen University, and what the perceived opportunities and barriers for further implementation are. The study is based on 31 semi-structured interviews with people involved in wild pedagogies, including teachers. The researchers found reported benefits for students such as improved learning, personal and social development, wellbeing, increased pro-environmental behaviour, and a deeper understanding of humans' place in nature.

While this sounds promising, there are barriers when implementing wild pedagogies in the university education system. Some interviewees have the perception that universities, including WUR, still largely operate under traditional, cognitive paradigms that may resist such transformative approaches. A prevalent adherence to neoliberal values (such as productivity, efficiency, and quantification) and lack of teachers, time and resources are some of the perceived obstacles. On the other hand, most interviewees believe that wild pedagogies can be beneficial for any field of university education and particularly in environmental sciences. They also mention opportunities for implementation at WUR, such as growing student demand and enthusiasm among an emerging network of teachers, as well as an institutional openness to bottom-up experimentation.

While initial responses from teachers and students are enthusiastic, there is only a handful of academic publications about wild pedagogies yet. These two papers – and the special issue – therefore provide an essential addition to the literature, being the first to offer reflections on the practice of wild pedagogies and empirical support of their value in academic settings. They also offer valuable elaboration of the theory. The paper by Arts and colleagues argues that embedding wild pedagogies requires more than just addressing practical obstacles and opportunities, but calls for a fundamental rethinking and redoing of academic teaching, science, and universities' role in society – not abandoning the old ways altogether, but inspiring education to bring about the change that is urgently needed for a world in ecological crisis.

Photos by Koen Arts