Nature Connection Without “Nature”: Pedagogies of Multimodal Attention in Ruderal Environments

Cognitive-psychological theories argue that attention is important for connecting to nature. This work—particularly research on attention restoration theory—provides important evidence that attentive connection to nature benefits humans. This work also tends to make four assumptions: That nature is a place we must go to; that humans and nature are separate; that attention is individual; and that the benefits of attending to ecosystems accrue only to humans. I argue that ruderal spaces (wildspaces, sites of human disturbance) are powerful pedagogical places in which attention can be redeployed to undermine these assumptions. Ruderal sites provide an accessible entry point for engaging with the complex racial and social forces that create such systems, with false binaries around nativeness–invasiveness, and with the co-opting of attention by commercial forces. In addition, these sites provide instructors in urban settings with accessible strategies for connection to nature.