Dangling from a rope, 100 feet up in the canopy of the H.J. Andrews old growth forest a student said to me, “I’m not surprised that I’m not scared. If I were this high up in a building, I’d be afraid, but because I’m in a tree, in nature, I’m not afraid.” Moments like this are so rewarding, and perpetuate my love of being an environmental education facilitator.
I am passionate about the child-nature relationship. I believe that children learn not only scientific, but also social lessons from nature such as humility, awe, reciprocity, and self-confidence. I am involved in outdoor environmental education because I want to incite wonder and appreciation in my students, and to encourage their curiosity and need to explore their world through nature—both their internal world and external world. As a facilitator, I embrace students as individuals and whole humans, each carrying with them their own beliefs, interests, and experiences as intricate as my own. I strive to relate to each student’s interests and to ensure that each feels safe, included, and appreciated at all times.
Children should have a relatively self-directed environmental education, one that is guided by their personal interests. Thus, as a facilitator I strive to foster children’s love of nature by first ensuring they feel comfortable, and second, by responding enthusiastically to their natural curiosity. I do this by tapping into child’s passions and through inquiry, constructivist, and experiential learning. I vie to reach Coyote’s Indicators of Awareness: awe & reverence, caring & tending, quiet mind, common sense, alive & agility, and inquisitive focus.
I maintain a positive, encouraging attitude: instead of saying no and shutting down a student’s enthusiasm, I seek a positive compromise. For example Jules, a three-year-old that I nannied in France, loved going to the pool. He couldn’t swim, so he wore a life vest whenever we went swimming. Even though he was scared, he wanted to go down the waterslide like the older children. Instead of saying no and not permitting him to go down the waterslide, I saw an opportunity for him to push his boundaries in a safe way, by going down the slide with him. At the top of the slide he was trembling with nervousness, and at the bottom he was trembling from exhilaration. I encourage students to challenge their comfort levels and reach for new connections and new experiences. I endeavor to facilitate this in whatever way I can, whether that means holding a student’s hand through an experience, or simply facilitating a new experience.
I believe that as we touch nature, nature touches us back. I seek to reveal this reciprocity, which comforts and invigorates, to my students. My primary goal is for my students end the day feeling revitalized by a reciprocal interaction with nature. In order to save our environment, children must first love and cherish it, before they will want to protect it. Sharing my sentiments of love, wonder, and reciprocity in nature with my students ensures the future wellbeing and prosperity of both our children and the environment. Love is the seed that grows inspiration for children to sprout seeking knowledge, growing awareness, and blossoming with empowered individuals ready to take action.
I am passionate about the child-nature relationship. I believe that children learn not only scientific, but also social lessons from nature such as humility, awe, reciprocity, and self-confidence. I am involved in outdoor environmental education because I want to incite wonder and appreciation in my students, and to encourage their curiosity and need to explore their world through nature—both their internal world and external world. As a facilitator, I embrace students as individuals and whole humans, each carrying with them their own beliefs, interests, and experiences as intricate as my own. I strive to relate to each student’s interests and to ensure that each feels safe, included, and appreciated at all times.
Children should have a relatively self-directed environmental education, one that is guided by their personal interests. Thus, as a facilitator I strive to foster children’s love of nature by first ensuring they feel comfortable, and second, by responding enthusiastically to their natural curiosity. I do this by tapping into child’s passions and through inquiry, constructivist, and experiential learning. I vie to reach Coyote’s Indicators of Awareness: awe & reverence, caring & tending, quiet mind, common sense, alive & agility, and inquisitive focus.
I maintain a positive, encouraging attitude: instead of saying no and shutting down a student’s enthusiasm, I seek a positive compromise. For example Jules, a three-year-old that I nannied in France, loved going to the pool. He couldn’t swim, so he wore a life vest whenever we went swimming. Even though he was scared, he wanted to go down the waterslide like the older children. Instead of saying no and not permitting him to go down the waterslide, I saw an opportunity for him to push his boundaries in a safe way, by going down the slide with him. At the top of the slide he was trembling with nervousness, and at the bottom he was trembling from exhilaration. I encourage students to challenge their comfort levels and reach for new connections and new experiences. I endeavor to facilitate this in whatever way I can, whether that means holding a student’s hand through an experience, or simply facilitating a new experience.
I believe that as we touch nature, nature touches us back. I seek to reveal this reciprocity, which comforts and invigorates, to my students. My primary goal is for my students end the day feeling revitalized by a reciprocal interaction with nature. In order to save our environment, children must first love and cherish it, before they will want to protect it. Sharing my sentiments of love, wonder, and reciprocity in nature with my students ensures the future wellbeing and prosperity of both our children and the environment. Love is the seed that grows inspiration for children to sprout seeking knowledge, growing awareness, and blossoming with empowered individuals ready to take action.