Chapter 2: Using a Learning and Development Ecosystem Framework to Advance the Youth Fields

When Katherine reflected on what led to her work as an informal climate change educator, she couldn’t point to just one thing that influenced her learning and development. She was a participant in a research project that aimed to understand how adults develop a lifelong connection with nature (see Hecht et al., 2019). During an hour-long life history interview, Katherine, a 38-year-old Black woman, described how a multitude of experiences had supported her interest in science and the environment. She recalled influential experiences as a Girl Scout, her interactions with adult leaders in Girl Scouts, the impact of having two parents who were K–12 educators, her fond memories of animals in her 7^th grade science classroom, and her leadership in high school afterschool clubs like the Science Olympiad and an Earth Club. The major educational spaces of home, school, and out-of-school programs all provided opportunities for her to develop her interest in science and the environment, ultimately leading her to undergraduate and PhD degrees in STEM and a career in the sciences.