The climate and ecological crisis is getting worse and worse, generating reactions of denial and underestimation of the problem. According to the IPCC AR6 Synthetic Report (IPCC, 2023) anthropogenic climate change is underway and constantly threatening nature and the planet but with the right actions a sustainable world is still possible. As reported in Chapter 36 of Agenda 21, education plays a crucial role in promoting and enhancing the ability of individuals to take an interest in environmental and sustainable development issues. It represents the tool through which to activate processes of empowerment of all citizens so that they assume lifestyles marked by respect for the environment, for themselves and for each other. Alongside education, public participation is considered a necessary pillar for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030. Participation allows to activate effective localization paths of the 2030 Agenda (Florini, 2018) and represents an inclusive tool, based on listening, comparison and sharing of knowledge. Engaging communities through participatory processes can help raise awareness of climate change risks, explain causes and impacts, and promote understanding of adaptation and mitigation actions put in place by governance so that community engagement in combating climate change can be increased. Involving communities plays a decisive role in the transition to sustainable cities (Kraas et al. 2016), which is why participation finds itself playing a dual role of disseminating knowledge and skills (shaping itself as a site of transgenerational learning) and a tool for transforming communities toward more sustainable lifestyles. Starting from the concept of community of practice, understood as groups of individuals who share interests in a certain issue and interact by comparing experiences and sharing knowledge, skills and methodologies, which thus hinges on the social theory of learning, the work will focus on the study of participatory processes activated within the Regional Sustainable Development Strategy as a tool for lifelong learning. The connections between participation and communities of practice will be analyzed, investigating especially the educational potential of participatory experience in relation to issues such as climate change and sustainable development, and how these processes can educate and contribute to the spread of sustainable lifestyles.

The existence of humans is characterized not only by being in the world but also by being in relationship with the world. Every living species, in order to survive, establishes a connection with its environment and other forms of life from which every other experience will be constituted. Consequently, human existence is conditioned (by the relationship with the environment and social relations) and conditioning for the same "being-in-relationship" with oneself, the world, and other forms of life (Changeux, Ricoeur, 1999). The redefinition of cultural relations between humans and their living space requires recognition of the living subjectivity of nature and anthropized territory. The territory is in relation to a community aware of the place where it lives and therefore must take care of it (Bonesio, 2012), educating each generation for its revitalization. Connecting community and territory is the nature of the common good (Loiodice, 2017), which embodies the relational, holistic nature of being in common, expressed both in the environment and in the community responsible for it and therefore must educate itself and others.

The challenge is to educate to preserve both, without the activities that enable human well-being disrupting the planet's natural balances. The ecological crisis increasingly takes on the character of a moral issue, with significant social and educational implications, prompting pedagogical reflection and promoting and supporting the transformation of intentions into educational projects, envisioning a change in worldview to contribute to a new planetary civilization today and tomorrow (Malavasi, 2018).

In the current context of discussion, pedagogical reflection stands as a promoter of innovations in processes and systems, placing the individual and the community, education, and reciprocity at the center. Nature, territory, and the environment, considered as a collective good, constitute a set of non-renewable resources, whose management must involve all actors, citizens of the world, according to socially defined roles and modalities. It is imperative to reconsider and value the pedagogical role in the face of challenges, navigating between the capital of tradition and the threats of global homogenization, between the advance of innovation and the desire for conservation, between the responsibility of teaching and the involvement in learning in all formal, non-formal, and informal settings (Parricchi 2023). Pedagogy represents the science aimed at understanding the world, unraveling the complexities, and assisting the individual in being a conscious citizen, actor, and beneficiary of a natural and environmental heritage that contributes to shaping and reshaping.

Well-known Swedish environmental activist, Greta Thunberg and Canadian Chief Water Commissioner of the Anishinabek Nation, Autumn Peltier, have acknowledged that youth-led climate activism has led to little or no change in terms of how adult decision makers respond to the climate crisis (Thunberg, Neubauer and Valenzuela 2019). In order for climate conditions to improve, they have highlighted the importance of being taken seriously by adult decision makers (The Canadian Press 2019). In addition to being tokenized and silenced, young climate activists are frequently misunderstood, universalized, and misconceptualized by politicians, government officials, and other adults in press conferences, print and online media platforms, and at international conferences and climate-related events. As a result, many young climate activists experience an emotional conundrum: their future jeopardized by prior generations, while at the same time, they may feel misunderstood and powerless to make a difference in their own lives (Ojala 2012). While research exists on youth-led climate activism broadly (Cuevas-Parra and Stephano 2020; Hoggett & Rosemary, 2018; O’Brien, Elin & Hayward, 2018; Trott, 2021), limited literature has explored young people’s perceptions and experiences of what constitutes youth-led climate activism, and young people’s understandings of participatory involvement in climate activism.

This research analyzes young people’s perceptions and experiences of what constitutes youth-led climate activism, and young people’s understandings of participatory involvement in climate activism. Drawing on qualitative interviews with youth climate activists aged 18 to 24 from across Canada, findings reveal the complexities associated with the intersectional realities of youth-led climate activism. For instance, the participants outline that they are tasked with balancing their education and engagement in activism, while at the same time, are navigating dismissal and skepticism from adults, systemic barriers that impact their engagement, as well as issues surrounding equity, diversity, and inclusivity. The activists’ insights probe interesting discussions surrounding the notions of voice, participation, and engagement within youth-climate activism. Further, they enable a critique of the portrayal of youth led climate activism and the education/knowledge that is produced about youth activists via news and social media outlets. These viewpoints unveil the importance of understanding the impact of identities on climate activism engagement.

Findings ultimately uncover a range of challenges associated with activism engagement, portrayal, representation, knowledge production, and with navigating the climate crisis. These sentiments shape important take-away messages that highlight how adults and youth-serving institutions (including the education system), can meaningfully acknowledge, understand, and support young people’s efforts to engage as activists, with the climate crisis.

In her essay on ecological education, Professor Mortari (2020) emphasises the importance of all scientific disciplines to integrate the concept of nature, human beings and their interconnection. Furthermore, she encourages the identification of dedicated spaces to initiate innovative education aimed at promoting an ecological perspective on the relationship with the environment.

Living beings are intrinsically interconnected in the system of life, as «beings ecological» (Morton, 2020). The design of promising itineraries aims to promote a harmonious and respectful growth of mutual relationships (Guerra, 2020), leading to a more attentive awareness of the elements of the world and stimulating the observation of their specificities, even in the most nuances, in recognition of the intrinsic value of each entity (Guerra, 2021).

There is a gap in the literature. Children already have systemic ecological thinking that includes all living things on the planet. They recognise and value all other species as well as humans. They see them as active and fundamental parts of the ecosystem. In the light of this, the question arises as to which educational scenarios should be adopted to draw out this kind of ecological thinking.

In this contribution to a research context in a primary school in Reggio Emilia, children were actively involved in the research with the aim of understanding whether they already had innate systemic thinking. The research was conducted through conversations in which the children shared their ideas about the environment and their relationship with nature. Using picture books, the experience encouraged the formulation of questions rather than the search for immediate answers, thus highlighting critical issues and doubts on various topics. Subsequent group activities promoted an open dialogue about shared choices for behaviour that protects the whole living system.

The continuous design collaboration (Pastori, 2017) with the teachers initiated a solid work process aimed at documenting and strengthening the teachers' proposals and the children's voices. Pedagogical documentation and observation supported the teachers in their work process, while providing the children with the opportunity to visualise their elaborative and reflective practices.

The data shows that the children already showed systemic thinking when observing the environment and living things. In addition, the open sharing of their perplexities and doubts, without feeling obliged to give immediate answers, actively involved all the children. Research suggest that education has a crucial role to play in promoting practices that emphasise active listening, experience, and the living questioning of things (Guerra in Mortari, Ubbiali, 2021). This approach would promote open dialogue and encourage critical thinking (Mortari, 2020).

In the ongoing discourse about ecological transition, several unyielding pillars come to the forefront: the ideology of growth, the central role of business and the market, the defense of the Western lifestyle, unwavering faith in technology, depoliticization, and a technocratic inclination—all underpinned by fundamental anthropocentrism (de Sousa Santos, 2022). Within the confines of this predetermined framework lie the proposals and official policies. The crux is that genuine socio-ecological transformation is unattainable within this scope. What is being presented is not a transition project but rather an adaptation and conservation—an endorsement of "green" capitalism (Felli, 2021).

Therefore, It is imperative to carve out space for novel questions and perspectives, venture beyond habitual trajectories, and nurture new "heresies" around which to conceive and facilitate a comprehensive socio-ecological transformation. This is all the more necessary as the ongoing ecological crisis and climate changes are becoming increasingly evident, as is the connection between human activities and the depletion of ecosystems (WMO, 2023).

To instill a sense of shared responsibility and cultivate care for the "common home," it is essential to establish a new ecological ethic (Mortari, 2020). Thus, we urgently need “shared lessons” (Vittori, 2022) – experiences of collective self-learning, the establishment of spaces and contexts for intergenerational and interdisciplinary exchanges, between formal and informal learning and knowledge, between human and non-human beings (Gadotti, 2005; Guerra, 2020) – to envision feasible socio-ecological transition pathways.

Therefore, in this contribution, starting from the insights gained from some experiences of critical consumption and contemporary social movements, such as the Bilanci di Giustizia Association (De Vita & Vittori, 2015) and Landless Rural Workers Movement (Borsatto & Carmo, 2013; da Silva et al., 2018), the transformative and prefigurative nature of these initiatives will be highlighted (Monticelli, 2022; MST, 2021). Indeed, while on the one hand, consuming and producing food sustainably constitutes a direct action against climate change and the depletion of ecosystems (Ravn Heerwagen et al., 2014), on the other hand, these initiatives imply a clear pedagogical element aimed at shaping citizenship that transcends boundaries and lays the foundations for ecological and global citizenship based on the principles of care (Mortari, 2020; D’Antone & Parricchi, 2020; Antonietti et al., 2022), fostering good relations between generations, living and non-living beings (Alessandrini, 2022), as well as diverse identities and genders (Borghi, 2020; De Vita, 2022).

In children's literature, especially in picture books, there are multiple horizons and irreplaceable opportunities for developing educational reflections and practice from an ecological, democratic, and global perspective.

Picturebooks can raise body knowledge and awareness and nurture conversations through different languages, ages, and abilities of readers. Picture books mediate relationships that improve the quality of life in school and community.

The contribution offers an overview on relations of wordless books and inclusion at school, "botanical" or "movement" selections in relation to body education, through the lens of "multiplicity", "tenderness", "cosmic education" The central perspective is the phenomenological one, interested in both sides of education: material and symbolic. Children's literature and libraries act as ecological mandalas, capable of fostering exploration as educational experience and sensitive connection with the world and the community through the humble and tiny space of picture books.