“I Just Feel Fully Alive”: Enhancing Ecological Understandings Through Place-Based Experiences

Authors

  • Jennifer MacDonald University of Regina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-4467.40843

Keywords:

mystery, aliveness, experience, place, sacred ecology

Abstract

This paper delves into the phenomenon of being fully alive—aliveness—as a process for recognizing and attuning to holistic and ecological understandings. In the context of outdoor education, I narrate the experience of an initially reluctant hiker who expressed a profound sense of energy and connection during a backpacking trip. This story leads to a deeper inquiry into the meaning, ambivalence and potential of feeling fully alive for curriculum and pedagogy. I show how the sensation comes as and with mystery to offer counter-conventional insights rethinking paradigms of mastering skills and conquering nature. Then, I offer four pedagogical realizations to enhance ecological understandings through place-based experiences.

Author Biography

Jennifer MacDonald, University of Regina

Jennifer MacDonald, PhD, teaches courses in outdoor, environmental and treaty education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina. Her interdisciplinary curriculum research centres building language and meaning to enhance relationality, especially through outdoor learning experiences.

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Published

30-06-2025

How to Cite

MacDonald, J. (2025). “I Just Feel Fully Alive”: Enhancing Ecological Understandings Through Place-Based Experiences. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 22(1), 117–132. https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-4467.40843