Exploring science as a collective undertaking embedded in sociocultural contexts is a critical aspect of science education. This article concerns questions of curriculum design for science education for young learners, and it reports findings of a study on a conservation and environmental education initiative in Mexico's Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve. Using situational analysis to study this case, I discovered that conservation projects and the science behind them are seldom framed as situated within complex social factors; yet these factors often drive decisions about the environment and can drastically affect what is taught in science curriculums. Presenting science in all its complexity can make science curriculums 'live' and can help students understand science as instrumental in addressing challenges that society confronts today.