On Embracing the Concept of Becoming Environmental Problem Solvers: The Trainee Perspective on Key Elements of Success, Essential Skills and Mindset

Abstract

Life in the Anthropocene is characterized by many environmental problems, and, unfortunately, more continue to emerge. Although much effort is focused on identifying problems, this does not necessarily translate to solutions. This transcends to the training environment where students are often adept at understanding and dissecting problems but rarely are explicitly equipped with the skills and mindset to solve them. Here a group of undergraduate students and their instructors reflect on embracing the concept of becoming environmental problem solvers. We first identify themes associated with historical and contemporary environmental successes that emerged from our reading – or more specifically, we identify the recipe elements that underlie environmental success stories. Key elements of success involved setting clear objectives, identifying the scale of the problem, learning from failure, and consulting diverse knowledge sources. Next, we reflect on the skills and mindset that would best serve environmental problem solvers and enable future successes. Essential skills include innovative and critical thinking, ability to engage in collaborative teamwork, capacity to work across boundaries, and resilience. In terms of mindset, key attributes include the need for courage, enthusiasm and commitment, optimism, open mindedness, tenacity, and adaptability. We conclude with a brief discussion of ideas for revising training and curriculum to ensure that students are equipped with the aforementioned skills and mindset. The ideas shared here should contribute to ensuring that the next generation of learners have the ability to develop solutions that will work for the benefit of the environment, biodiversity, and humanity. Solving environmental problems will increasingly fall to the next generation so it is time to ensure that they are prepared for that task.