Co-creative Regeneration of a School Community Nature Space: Using Participative Pedagogies to Support the Care and Wellbeing of Adolescent Boys – The Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools

This paper explores how co-creating a school community nature space in a private school for boys can support young people’s agency, self-determination, learning, and well-being. Australian youth are currently experiencing high levels of mental health and well-being concerns. Many young people feel they have little or no control over their life trajectories and worry about their futures; their top personal challenges relate to school, mental health, and relationships. Boys have lower average academic achievement, school retention, and higher rates of suspension and exclusion from school. This highlights the urgent need to find alternative ways of engaging boys in education that support their overall health and well-being. Schools have begun to recognise that they can play an important role in caring for adolescent boys. They have shifted their core focus from academic achievement to a more equal emphasis on learning, health, and well-being. By focusing on real-world, place-based participative pedagogy, our project builds on previous research in social art and design practice, community participatory research, outdoor education, and real-world experiential learning. More specifically, this research harnessed a range of innovative learning strategies, using outdoor, nature-based, non-traditional classroom environments to support multiple aspects of the care and well-being of boys in a private school in Brisbane. The research also outlines how effective collaboration across institutions and sectors can be achieved.

About the author

Associate Professor Stephen Parker, is a clinical academic psychiatrist in Brisbane, Australia. He works as the Director of Research for the Metro North Mental Health Service and clinically as the lead Psychiatrist for the Metro North Early Psychosis Service. He is a mental health services researcher who completed his PhD in 2020, which focused on developing evidence for residential rehabilitation services and practice. His current research focus relates to youth mental health, and in particular, the challenges faced by people experiencing substance use issues and psychosis.

Dr Tanja Beer is an ecological designer and community artist who is passionate about co-creating social spaces that accentuate the interconnectedness of the more-than-human world. She is a Senior Lecturer at the Queensland College of Art and Design and the Co-Director of the Performance and Ecology Research Lab (P+ERL) at Griffith University. Tanja’s extensive career spans over 20 years of theatre practice in Australia, Europe, and the UK. Her concept of Ecoscenography has been featured in numerous programs, exhibitions, articles and platforms around the world.

Mrs Kerrie Mackay is a Technology and Engineering Technician at Moreton Bay Boys’ College and a Doctor of Philosophy student at Griffith University, Queensland College of Art and Design. She is a multi-disciplinary artist and designer whose practice focuses on nature connection and wellbeing. Her qualifications in Science, Graphic Design, and Art, along with her lifelong connection to nature, combine to offer unique perspectives on co-creative and sustainable practices. Her research explores how participatory design and artistic pedagogies can support wellbeing, environmental stewardship, and community regeneration. Her work integrates creative methodologies with ecological thinking to foster deeper connections between people and their surroundings.