Children Being Outdoors: HOPE for the Future

Children Being Outdoors: HOPE for the Future Nick Forsberg University of Regina Recreation Connections Manitoba Conference Winnipeg, MB February, 2014

Welcome“We have yet to fully realize, or even adequately study, the enhancement of human capacities through the power of nature.” Louv, R. (2011)

“I like to play indoors better, ‘cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are.” Paul, a 4th grader in San Diego Louv, R. (2008)

Session Overview • “Being” here and now - A Thought… • (Re)capturing your youth – An ‘experience’ • Creating and Nurturing an Understanding • Nature-Deficit Disorder: Thoughts of Richard Louv • The Inter(relationship) of Self, Other and Environment • Physical Education Curricula - Goals and Outcomes • Outdoor Education (A)gain – Definition, Characteristics, Goals • Outdoor Recreation Program – Experience and “Possibilities” • (Re)storying Recreation - An ‘experience’ • Reflection and Bridging – “So What?”

“Being” here and now-A Thought…What does it mean to becompletely ‘unplugged’?Is this possible, today?

Article: Is Our Digital Lifestyle Turning Into A Kind Of Prison? http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/story-photos/is-our-digital-lifestyle-turning-into-a-kind-of-prison.html

“Solo time can provide awareness, understanding, and clarification of one’s place, purpose, and direction in life ... sometimes in order to go inside ourselves, we need to go outside ourselves, we need to go inside to gather the strength and courage needed for the challenge.” (Knapp & Smith, 2005, p. vi)

(Re)capturing your youth We live storied lives and we tell stories about our lives.” Nel Noddings • An individual “experience” in the out-of-doors • (Re)connecting to our lives as children through nature • Sharing our story

Creating and Nurturing an Understanding Nature-Deficit Disorder: Thoughts of Richard Louv “By its broadest interpretation, nature-deficit disorder is an atrophied awareness, a diminished ability to find meaning in the life that surrounds us whatever form it takes.” The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature- Deficit Disorder Louv, R. (2011)

“Within the space of a few decades, the way children understand and experience nature has changed radically. The polarity of the relationship has reversed. Today, kids are aware of the global threats to the environment -- but their physical contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading.” Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder Louv, R. (2008)

“For a new generation, nature is more abstraction than reality. Increasingly, nature is something to watch, to consume, to wear -- to ignore.”Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder Louv, R. (2008)

“Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses.” Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder Louv, R. (2008)

“The postmodern notion that reality is only a construct -- that we are what we program -- suggests limitless human possibilities; but as the young spend less and less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically, and this reduces the richness of human experience.” Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder Louv, R. (2008)

“Modern life narrows our senses until our focus is mostly visual, appropriate to about the dimension of a computer monitor or TV screen. By contrast, nature accentuates all the senses, and the senses are a child’s primal first line of self-defense.” Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder Louv, R. (2008)

“Reducing that deficit--healing the broken bond between our young and nature -- is in our self-interest, not only because aesthetics or justice demands it, but also because our mental, physical, and spiritual health depends upon it.” Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder Louv, R. (2008)

Creating and Nurturing an Understanding The Inter(relationship) of Self, Other and Environment Physical Education Curricula (www.edonline.sk.ca) Goal of “Relationships” – Balance self through safe and respectful personal, social, cultural, and environmental interactions in a wide variety of movement activities. Outcome of “Alternate Environment” – Choose, practice, and demonstrate, alone and with others effective tactics and strategies to enhance the enjoyment of self and others, and show respect for the environment while participating in a variety of alternate environment activities (e.g., orienteering, skating, cross-country skiing, geocaching, canoeing, roping, downhill skiing, dog sledding, wall climbing, in-line skating, skate boarding, cycling, quinzhee building…)

A Thought… “[T]he physical self is only part of the self. We must be concerned also with the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual self, and clearly these are not discrete. We separate and label them for convenience in discussion, but it may be a mistake to separate them sharply in curriculum.” Nel Noddings

Creating and Nurturing an Understanding The Inter(relationship) of Self, Other and Environment Outdoor Education: (A)gain A Thought... We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we first started And know the place for the first time. T.S. Eliot

A Definition of Outdoor Education Outdoor Education may be defined as teaching / learning IN, ABOUT, and FOR the outdoors. Donaldson, G. (1958)

Education in the outdoors is self-explanatory, implying that learning occurs in a variety of outdoor settings. Education about the outdoors involves the development of understandings and appreciations about environmental phenomena, including our relationship to and interdependence with the physical universe. Education for the outdoors involves the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable the learner to enrich their own life through the wise use of the outdoor environment. Lang, L. (1986)

Characteristics of Outdoor Education Interdisciplinary – Outdoor Education forces the issue of integration in the curriculum, to study and experience things in their total relationship – one thing to another. Multisensory – The most important resources students have to learn with are their senses. Good outdoor teaching will employ every applicable sense to the learning experience. Experiential Learning – It has been proven in educational research that we learn most through direct experience, we learn faster, the learnings are retained longer and the appreciation is greater. Unique Learning Environment – The beauty, mystery and power of the outdoors serves as a stimulation for questioning, examining and exploring in seeking to gain personal understanding and commitment. Lang, L. (1986)

Goals of Outdoor Education To contribute to the individual’s personal growthby developing a positive self-concept and self-respect, a realistic understanding of one’s capabilities and limitations, and a personal relationship with the physical environment. To enrich one’s quality of lifethrough the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes related to the wise use of the outdoors for leisure pursuits, creative endeavors, and healthy life-styling. To promote a harmonious relationship with othersthrough outdoor learning experiences which are designed to develop interpersonal skills, such as cooperation, sharing, trust, caring, and sensitivity toward and respect for the rights and needs of others. To serve as an integrating mechanismfor the various components of outdoor education content, namely, outdoor activities, learning processes, and concepts and skills adapted from traditional disciplines. Lang, L. (1986)

Interdisciplinary Process-Oriented Curriculum Model for Outdoor Education (Lang, L. 1986)

“Spending time in nature, particularly in wilderness, can posephysical dangers, but rejecting nature because of those risksand discomforts is a greater gamble.”Louv, R. (2011)

Creating and Nurturing an Understanding The Inter(relationship) of Self, Other and Environment Outdoor Recreation Program: Experience…? • What life experiences have shaped your beliefs about out-of-door Recreation? • What programs currently exist that support out-of-door Recreation? • What policies guide effective out-of-door Recreation? • What policies hinder effective out-of-door Recreation? “Possibilities”…?

(Re)storying Recreation “To teach is to influence the influences. The teacher uses the influences of the world pedagogically as a resource for tactfully influencing the child.” Max van Manen • A small group “experience” • Use your nature artifacts create a ‘new’ story using any medium that fosters learning about each of you, your artifacts and reflects principles that your group believes are foundational to Recreation in the out-of-doors. • Be prepared to share your small group story.

A Concluding Thought... “As a species, we are most animated when our days and nights on Earth are touched by the natural world. We can find immeasurable joy in the birth of a child, a great work of art, or falling in love. But all of life is rooted in nature, and a separation from that wider world desensitizes and diminishes our bodies and spirits. Reconnecting to nature, nearby and far, opens new doors to health, creativity, and wonder. It is never too late.” The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature- Deficit Disorder Louv, R. (2011)

Reflection and Bridging – “So What?”With “Possibilities” comes opportunities…“Start small, start smart,but at least start.”Don HellisonThank-You!

Richard Louv on Nature-Deficit Disorder • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=972SgOmbUnM&feature=related • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY6fBRKPZKg&feature=related

Children Being Outdoors: HOPE for the Future