ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the environment is oriented to and utilised in the co-production of talk-in-interaction and on the way in which knowledge exchange and relational issues are managed around environmental features. An analysis of the systematic organisation of turn-taking reveals the participant distribution of knowledge around environmental features as well as orientation to the emotional and physical care of the members present being of paramount importance during these interactions. A special issue of the Education journal highlights the importance of a natural outdoor environment for facilitating teaching and learning in early childhood, but also highlights some of the concerns facing teachers. An increased interest in the environment as a pedagogical tool is also evident in Australasia where the benefits of risky play in the outdoor environment were explored in Australia and the bush environment was identified as a place that afforded unique opportunities for knowledge exchange between teachers and young children in New Zealand.
