Wayfinding as an educational experience of (re)orienting to life and living

We face crucial ecological and social concerns suggesting that dominant cultural values, naturalized in curriculum and pedagogy, support experiences that reinforce a type of human being who has lost their way within an ecological web. Kindled through holistic understandings brought into dialogue with students on curriculum-linked outdoor learning programs, this article draws from the transformative experience of being lost – and other aspects of uncertainty – to pedagogically position wayfinding as a meaningful catalyst for renewing relations. Framed by hermeneutic philosophy and nuanced by teachings of sacred ecology, offered here are principles for wayfinding – spanning different beginning places, trusting the unknown, dialogue, struggle, and temporality—that encourage dwelling differently and balancing ways of being toward the continuation of life. By weaving different knowledges and experiences, this work endeavors to enrich the feeling, knowledge, and sense of wayfinding in educational contexts by engaging with ambiguities to build trust, respect, and reciprocity.