Paper short abstract:

By examining several ethnographic vignettes of games, songs, and activities for students, I wonder whether the learning strategies are indeed about liberation from more mainstream or colonial models; or are they embodied learning practices that reassert the dominance of “sustainable development.”

Paper long abstract:

Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, an area with 2.5% of global species biodiversity and currently covered by land use restrictions over 80% of its territory, has seen increased interest in ecotourism given the popularity of Corcovado National Park’s lowland rainforest. This biodiversity “hotspot” will appear in national and international or social media sources for various reasons: a narcotrafficking boat has stranded while tourists gawk; an exclusive hotel secures a spot on a honeymoon wish list; or the “wild” and “natural” place is promoted to North American and European gap-year students for volunteer opportunities. In any case, the area buzzes; it’s protected; it’s known as an off-the-beaten-track conservation success story; and, in a country where tourism dominates foreign currency exchange, economic undercurrents beneath activism, science, and sustainability-minded conservation are quite pronounced.

Here, learning about ecological conservation is elevated to great importance, not only during special environmentally themed events, but also in the K-12 classroom. Students are taught in elementary school and onwards of the ecological importance of their region. Some of these teaching methods take the form of ecopedagogy – a method thought to be modeled upon Paolo Freire’s radical teachings but meant to include ecological sustainability and the inherent value of non-human life as paramount. By examining several ethnographic vignettes of games, songs, and activities for students, I’d like to lead an inquiry into whether the learning strategies are indeed about liberation from more mainstream or colonial models; or are they embodied learning practices that reassert the dominance of “sustainable development.”