Empowering Communities on the Margins: Participatory Design in Environmental Education

Within a global landscape characterised by increasing fragmentation, community empowerment requires interdisciplinary, evidence-based and validated methodology for assuring collaborative and transformative action. This research addresses the need for equity and inclusion in underserved rural areas by investigating the CleanAir@Schools initiative in Romania. The study employed a human-centred, multi-stakeholder methodology, utilising exploratory workshops with educators and pilot implementations to develop a learning framework on Sustainability Education, in which students used passive sensors to measure local air quality. Results indicate that the project successfully mobilised entire school communities, catalysing a pedagogical shift from passive reception to active, inquiry-based environmental education. Furthermore, the strategic use of both digital and analogue technologies ensured accessibility for communities facing digital divides. The research concludes that participatory design acts as a catalyst for long-term community empowerment and social transformation by addressing localised challenges through inclusive, restorative practices. By intentionally centring society’s margins, design research fosters regeneration and care, serving as an essential resource for social innovators and policymakers.