In 1995, Finnish art educator Meri-Helga Mantere defined arts-based environmental education as a form of learning that aims to develop environmental understanding and responsibility "by becoming more receptive to sense perceptions and observations and by using artistic methods to express personal environmental experiences and thoughts." According to her, artistic experiences improve one’s ability to see; they help one in knowing and understanding:

"Arts-based environmental education is a method that supports fresh perception, the nearby, personal enjoyment and pleasure (and sometimes agony as well) of perceiving the world from the heart. It aims at an openness to sensitivity, new and personal ways to articulate and share one’s environmental experiences, which might be beautiful but also disgusting, peaceful but also threatening.
In short, aesthetic environmental education is grounded on the belief that sensitivity to the environment can be developed by artistic activities."

(Articles by Meri-Helga Mantere can be downloaded at the Resources part of this website.)