Connect with nature.

This photo captures it all. It was taken last week when my students visited an outdoor education centre. Although this student was reluctant to go outside on a scavenger hunt with his peers, he was interested in the opportunity to feed chickadees with birdseed.

I observed various students as they approached the wooded area with seed in hand. Boots crunched in the snow as children moved around for the ideal spot. Arms were outstretched high above their heads, as though elevating their chance to attract the birds attention. Some students giggled, some talked, and others made the call of the bird, chick-a-dee-dee-dee, with no success. When the others left, this student walked into a thicket and hunkered down in the snow. I sat close by and we waited. Although it felt like a long time in our silence, we were soon surrounded with chickadees. It was a magical moment that just required nature, time, and space.

Bringing the outdoors in and taking children outside is a necessary component to any learning program. This is especially true for those who want to support inquiry-based learning and a sense of wonder in their students. Last year, when I had students write about their “I Know Here,” their special place was often a bedroom. A few students named a park, but many settings were artificial and controlled. In Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in The Woods, he says, “Most children are hard-pressed to develop a sense of wonder… while playing video games or trapped inside a house because of the fear of crime” (p 96). Many children seek a quiet refuge, if not their bedroom it may even be a corner in a room. But in these environments they lack the space to move and the natural environment to interact with. Nature inspires children in all their capabilities – athletic, artistic, scientific, and poetic! “Nature presents the young with something so much greater than they are; it offers an environment where they can easily contemplate infinity and eternity” (Louv, p 98).

Connect your students with nature, by:

• allowing time for unstructured exploration or walks
• encourage students to just notice their senses
• integrating with technology by using apps to document biodiversity or natural forms
• supporting student wellbeing by explicitly recognizing the benefits of nature
• igniting a sense of appreciation and wonder.

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