Sustainability |
Outdoor Learning programs are one of the strongest and most obvious ways to meet our obligations to teach children about sustainability.
Outdoor play in parks, gardens or the bush allow children to observe and interact with nature. They can experience life cycles, and observe the wondrous variety and change of the natural world. They can find mini-beasts and trace the activity of animals. They can help tend the spaces they use. Outdoor learning can involve gardening, including growing and harvesting plants for food, rain water harvesting, composting and worm farms. Play in wild nature provides opportunities to get to intimately know indigenous environments. This play provides a solid foundation of experiential learning to build on when we add language and conceptual learning about sustainability to our indoor programs as well. Dr Sue Elliot has written a paper for us here at ECOLN on education for sustainability through play in nature. |