Environmental Geography and Outdoor Education

Environmental geography and outdoor education is an unusual but coherent combination, linking the scientific study of natural environments and their relationship with human activity to the educational practice of using outdoor settings as spaces for learning, development and wellbeing. Environmental geography examines climate, landscapes, ecosystems and the political and economic processes that shape how natural environments are managed and changed. Outdoor education explores how engagement with the natural world can foster personal growth, teamwork, resilience and environmental awareness, particularly in young people.

At the University of Stirling this four-year programme develops your knowledge and skills in both fields. In environmental geography, you will study physical geography, ecology, climate science, environmental policy and the geography of human-environment relations, developing the analytical and research skills that environmental work requires. In outdoor education, you will engage with the theory and practice of learning outdoors, including the safety, leadership and facilitation skills that effective outdoor education demands.

A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you the opportunity to engage with different natural environments and different approaches to environmental education in another country. Stirling's own landscape, in the Forth Valley with access to the Highlands and national parks, provides an exceptional setting for this combination.

Graduates work in outdoor education centres, national parks, field studies organisations, conservation bodies, schools and environmental charities. Roles in outdoor learning facilitation, environmental interpretation, nature-based therapy and community environmental education draw on both strands of the degree. Environmental consultancy, planning and policy roles draw those more focused on the geography strand.

Some graduates go on to postgraduate study or professional training in education, environmental management, conservation or outdoor leadership, and the combination of scientific grounding and practical outdoor experience is a distinctive and valued profile in a growing sector.