Learning Along the GreenWay: An Experiential, Transdisciplinary Outdoor Classroom for Planetary Health Education

Susan M. Thompson () and Nick Chapman
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Susan M. Thompson: School of the Built Environment, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
Nick Chapman: City Futures Research Centre, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-38

Abstract: Built environment professionals are instrumental in envisioning, implementing and managing the urban realm to ensure that it is health supportive and sustainable. Central to their education is developing a deep understanding and appreciation of this responsibility and opportunity. Despite some progress in the classroom, challenges continue given the long history of siloed and separated disciplines and curricula. The climate emergency, ongoing chronic health conditions, and more recently the global pandemic demand a continued reframing of education away from the tradition of sequential, separated and unlinked faculty and school-based subjects to be transdisciplinary, experiential and authentic. Such principles are embraced by the Planetary Health Educational Framework and One Health. Against this theoretical context, we present our long-term educational practice using the GreenWay in Sydney, Australia, as an outdoor classroom for school and tertiary students. This multi-purpose, complex and nature-based green corridor in the urban heart of an international city facilitates experiential and transdisciplinary learning from a planetary health perspective. Based on the successes and challenges of our teaching, we reflect on the implications for environmental educators to deliver authentic and experiential outdoor education that inspires and empowers the next generation to create health-supportive and sustainable environments.

Keywords: experiential learning; healthy built environments; outdoor classroom; school education; sustainability; tertiary education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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