‘It takes a whole school’ is a collaboration of NatuurCollege, Education & Nature Based Sollutions (eNablS), Collectief Natuurinclusief, Rendabele Regeneratieve Landbouw (ReGeNL) en Wageningen University & Research.
LETTERS
At the end of the day, the participants wrote nearly 100 letters
to a future student of nature-inclusive education
here is a collection of quotes from these letters:
I wish, that none of your bicycle rides will be the same
bike at least once, accidentally, into the ditch
that you may feel the soft leaves of a lamb’s ear.
–
That you may catch a cackling laugh in the background
of another young person, a friend
a human being who flourishes as part of all life
who is aware of its beauty and wonder.
–
May you be given space on this Earth
with a shared piece of land; because
this helps in asking your own questions
and then, learn to live by them.
–
I wish that ecology means something to you
that you learn to garden and how to create a forest, together
harvest from it, close to the essence
and thus, be able to navigate your own emotions.
–
I am also sorry, that I taught you how to live
in keeping our world small.
Nature grows between cracks and holes
Don’t be a flapjack in a human suit.
–
Although we gathered here
are still very green and white
we look forward to you!
Don’t stay inside, outside is for everyone.
MORNING
A NATURE-INCLUSIVE STORM
Upon entering, a mandala grew
from things outside brought inside. Blossom
nuts, stones and a shell.
Without words, we learned
to make a storm, with hands and feet
we imagined a turbulent climate
of increasing budget cuts
or
we celebrated a feast of togetherness.
Arita, such a robust person who roamed with camels
shared wisdom – as well as doubt.
For the indigenous people she visited,
school is an opportunity – and a farewell,
a broken rhythm of the land.
Between opportunity and farewell there can be balance.
It matters from whom you learn and in what conditions
something that Paul had also introduced:
nature-inclusive education is perhaps the emancipation of
the teacher as a role model, as living example of balance
in a green building at a green schoolyard embedded in green streets
such whole education is increasingly, societies cornerstone.
Parents can do a lot nowadays, but not everything
this was no different in the past, when it took a whole village.
What kind of knowledge does a village have?
To Maria, knowledge is as big as the language and ambition we share.
Do we share with gestures and with skills?
With dance and comfort? Then that is
where science can be found.
Do people attach themselves to a place?
Then the rhythm of that land is
where science can be found.
Lian and Louise, shining examples of balance
role models of the work that reconnects,
showed – in the end – a spreadsheet,
in language of overview and facts,
how the six dimensions of nature inclusiveness
fit three restrictions in class.
Not everyone can spend a week outside with students
what can a teacher achieve, with one hour inside?
Francesca, as a teacher made enthusiast
by the special teacher training
took her students in Environmental Law
down to the river
to let them address
what legislation does for all the life in its waters.
It was this encounter of presence in the flesh
that brought insight in the act of legislation.
short break, with apple juice –
from the food forest on campus.
Vincent was for some time, as he proclaims,
‘an intensive child stock breeder’ – or: biology teacher.
Today he presents the latest figures of 10 years
of outdoor schooling, toward 25% outdoor education each week
– still 23% to go…
Even after school, green schoolyards are
to concrete urban jungles
the safe places for a parent to breathe with their child
or
as a child alone, to explore their brave space.
Bushcraft teacher Ella was herself surprised
that her high school students proudly wore their wet shirts
on their first outdoor lesson in the rain
as a costume of so-be-it-ness.
And because even such rain proofed not too bad,
her school now wants more of this. Hurray!
Two students Yoram and Evita, as living examples of
nature inclusive education
need only stand and shine
the students in the audience saw them shining bright
and remarked jealously to want that glow as well
that’s what good teaching does to you!
Nonverbally, this was all the evidence
we needed here today.
And finally, a howl from beyond
with forty years of experience in sustainable education
Roel pointed out that some of the subjects heard here
have been around for as long as he breathes –
was that a [sigh] we hear?
Education in the Netherlands is not imposed
which means there is a lot of freedom.
So what may help a school or teacher to embrace such freedom?
And deploy it to educate sustainable and regenerative citizens?
What might help, ruminated Roel, is a science that is concise,
for every type of school a precise type of nature inclusiveness.
For this we need a science as Maria excavates
from a language to a knowledge
that can ride a storm
that we ourselves create, where science can be found.
Lunch with mere plants, sunshine calls upon us.
_ Paul Roncken
AFTERNOON
WORKSHOPS
Reports can be read here
TEACHER TRAINING
In the Teacher workshop participants experienced two nature-inclusive teaching methods from the teacher training. In the reflection afterwards it stood out that a single activity, when translated to teachers’ own practice, can serve very different purposes. For example the exercise ‘experience a day in the life of animal’ can be transformed in an activity to start creative writing, to stimulate wonder and curiosity, to come up with research questions, to facilitate perspective taking, to increase observation skills, etc. Here you can find more information on the teacher trainings on Nature inclusive education.
CAMPUS
With an intimate group of 10 people we visited 3 learning spaces during the afternoon. Together we answered different questions at every learning space like ‘what do you like/dislike about this learning space?’, ‘What does your ideal learning space look like?’ and ‘How can we make indoor learning spaces more nature inclusive?’. We harvested our thoughts with post-its, drawings and a mind map. After having visited two outdoor learning spaces we arrived in our final learning space: an indoor classroom in the Orion building. Very white and very silent. That felt very different than being outside!
NEW LANGUAGE
The workshop New Language is a big surprise especially for myself and the participants. Where at first everyone – after a short awareness exercise – began the writing exercises somewhat hesitantly, after forty minutes new words appeared to have flowed from the pen! Or new insights born and articulated about how we as humans are intertwined with the natural world around us. Sitting under a tree, with the earth, everyone appears to be able to open to the experience of connecting with whatever life is around us at that moment. And words and phrases are written that name this experience of inter-est, living in the in-between space. More importantly, it allows participants to then talk about it with each other. What initially seems unnameable becomes comprehensible through the language given to it by each individual. Thus language has the ability to open up the world of inter-est and make it tangible. I myself did not expect the harvest of this: the resulting dialogue brought connection not only with each other but also with the multi-species world. It tastes like more research into ‘Writing with Nature’ and how to further develop this methodology and see how it can contribute to the discourse on human-nature relations. So it will certainly be continued in the PhD research ‘Writing with Nature’ that I have started, and I will take these experiences with me in my talk at the Nature conference.
REGENERATIVE LEADERSHIP
During our session, we looked at our own leadership experiences from a lens of regenerativity. In doing so, we looked from the three core values for regeneration: love, courage and presence. We had great conversations and searched for the right language to do this work with different layers inside and outside of education!
Parallel session Intermediate Year – a year to grow
We sat in a circle under the shade of a tree
discussed a gap year
As a break, as a place to practice living.
A year in which you yourself hold the compass –
The unknown is not a scare, but an invitation.
Adventure is not an edge, but the middle of the story.
And agency not extra, but the beginning.
And nature – needs no mention.
We explored the edges of our comfort zones:
Being alone, and finding peace in that.
Learning leadership, in your own way –
as a woman, as a man, as a human being.
Pushing boundaries gently.
And the ages?
From sixteen to thirty –
like links in a chain,
where difference is not a break but a responsibility.
What emerged was not a list,
but an atmosphere.
A gap year that is not between ,
but fully ín life.
WHOLE SCHOOL APPROACH
Sixteen people participated in this indoor workshop on exploring how the lens of the WSA can help encourage and support nature-involved living among students and staff. After a brief introduction about the WSA flower, the group was divided into three: a PO group, VO/MBO group and an HO group. Using a poster and cut-out flower petals, the group considered how each aspect of the WSA could be developed in conjunction with nature connection and engagement as a background or focal point. Opportunities and challenges were also identified. These were briefly shared in plenary. After which a few more inspiring examples were presented in a short introduction. Time was too short to really go into depth.
PRIMARY SCHOOL
What we talked about and what we discovered:
Children learn by doing.
Offer activities that evoke curiosity and wonder.
Give children a search and they find much more than they were looking for.
We discovered spring with all our senses and with the help of the trees. When we looked for closed buds, everything turned out to smell like spring.
We picked out the buds we found. That there is so much in a small bud, we didn’t know.
Natuurwijs, connecting with nature with heart, head and hands.
WORLD CITIZENSHIP as an opportunity for Nature-inclusive Education
Peter Luijten (Leren voor Morgen) en Miguel Heilbron (Wereldburgerschap) led their group in a conversation around the concept of ‘world citizenship’ and the opportunities it affords for education. World citizenship education connects ‘citizenships education’ with education for sustainability, inclusion, human rights education and global perspectives. All schools, among which primary, highschool and vocational schools in the Netherlands now have a mandate to offer education around citizenship, which could be broadened to world citizenship. We reflected on the ‘why’ of world citizenship and nature-inclusive education and the connection between the two, and on examples from practice. Included in the conversation were ‘Collectief Wereldburgerschapsonderwijs’, de ‘Whole School Approach’, and the ‘Wereldburgerschap-cirkel’. We also practices a short version of the ‘Seven Sentence Starters in support of active hope’ exercise by Joanna Macy.
Photo’s _ Evita Laheij and Jelte Vredenbregt
