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Paper short abstract

This paper examines a place-based eco-literacy practice that combines ecological observation and future imagination to explore how local and Indigenous knowledge systems can reshape imaginaries of the green transition.

Paper long abstract

The green transition is frequently framed through technocratic narratives that prioritise policy instruments and technological solutions. Such framings often marginalise local, experiential, and more-than-human knowledge systems that shape how communities understand and live within ecological change. This paper explores how place-based eco-literacy practices can contribute to rethinking resilient futures through the lens of transformative environmental justice.

The study draws on a participatory eco-literacy session conducted in Phoenix Park, Dublin. Participants begin by slowly observing their environment, attending to species, sounds, textures, and ecological relationships through sensory engagement with place. They then create relational maps that document interactions among plants, animals, landscapes, and human presence. In a subsequent step, participants imagine hopeful future versions of the same environment, mapping how ecological relationships and forms of coexistence might evolve over time.

By grounding futures imagination in direct engagement with ecosystems, the practice shifts attention from abstract transition narratives toward situated ecological knowledge. This relational approach resonates with principles found in many Indigenous and local knowledge systems, in which environmental understanding emerges through long-term observation, reciprocity, and care.

Positioned within Science and Technology Studies debates on environmental justice and sustainability transitions, the paper argues that such practices help pluralise the epistemologies shaping the green transition, opening space for more relational, inclusive, and regenerative visions of resilient futures.