Having spent several days researching what can be learned in the outdoors, I have also started looking at the reasons why outdoor learning is important and what we actually mean by outdoor education and learning. I am writing with some reference to the three texts cited at the end of this piece, as well as the guidance from Curriculum for Excellence. However, I am also taking a more general view that stems from my own thoughts and experiences.
Outdoor education is, for most, a fun experience and is often viewed as having huge benefits in terms of building social and personal relationships. Its educational focus is often viewed in terms of its benefits in instilling positive personal attributes; encouraging resilience; improving motivation and fitness or its role in youth work projects and place-based education, such as the study of geography. It is also considered more often in relation to activities such as rock-climbing, hill-walking, mountaineering or even caving.
Outdoor education is, for most, a fun experience and is often viewed as having huge benefits in terms of building social and personal relationships. Its educational focus is often viewed in terms of its benefits in instilling positive personal attributes; encouraging resilience; improving motivation and fitness or its role in youth work projects and place-based education, such as the study of geography. It is also considered more often in relation to activities such as rock-climbing, hill-walking, mountaineering or even caving.
However, having spent several days researching the ecology of the area around TreeZone I can see the important role our relationship with the environment plays in our own emotional and physical well being. Education in ecology should be more than simply acquiring knowledge about different species or thinking scientifically and empirically about nature. There must also be an affective mode of thinking about the world that stems from a more aesthetic experience of it.
The man-made environments in which many of us live and work are often quite harsh and unforgiving and we struggle to find our place in them. This should not be the case in the natural world as we already have a place in it we are connected to it, depend on it and are part of it, just as we are connected to others for the same reason. Much of the emotional disconnect many people feel in relation to their world and their relationships with other people stem from a too heavy a focus on the human environment. Consumerist concerns and everyday problems create
an environment that focuses on your skills, your worth to others and a need for material goods. For those with less this can seem a daunting and unrewarding place to live.
By getting people to explore their natural spaces several things can be achieved. First, they will begin to reconnect with an environment that in many ways is our natural space, a place which is not simply there to provide for us but is a place in which we belong. Second, achieving sustainability and a balance with our environment will only be possible through spending time in our outdoor spaces and wilderness and by starting to gain a true understanding of the complex ecosystems that we are part of. Real understanding and knowledge of nature will develop through a combination of real experience, scientific thinking, an appreciation of it's aesthetic beauty, as well as an understanding of the emotions it can evoke in us. If we view our learning in these ways we will begin a journey that goes beyond simple participation in thrill-seeking pursuits or hours of categorising and identifying species.
Most who venture into the outdoors will have had experiences, possibly whilst staring out across a beautiful vista, as the sun slips away below the horizon, where they felt that 'moments like this are what life is all about'. In order to understand the self, others and the environment we must become mindful and attentive. Be refocusing our attention through outdoor learning we should begin to find new ways to deal with the strains of every day modern life as well as finding a place our place in a world that needs us to understand it and protect it.
The man-made environments in which many of us live and work are often quite harsh and unforgiving and we struggle to find our place in them. This should not be the case in the natural world as we already have a place in it we are connected to it, depend on it and are part of it, just as we are connected to others for the same reason. Much of the emotional disconnect many people feel in relation to their world and their relationships with other people stem from a too heavy a focus on the human environment. Consumerist concerns and everyday problems create
an environment that focuses on your skills, your worth to others and a need for material goods. For those with less this can seem a daunting and unrewarding place to live.
By getting people to explore their natural spaces several things can be achieved. First, they will begin to reconnect with an environment that in many ways is our natural space, a place which is not simply there to provide for us but is a place in which we belong. Second, achieving sustainability and a balance with our environment will only be possible through spending time in our outdoor spaces and wilderness and by starting to gain a true understanding of the complex ecosystems that we are part of. Real understanding and knowledge of nature will develop through a combination of real experience, scientific thinking, an appreciation of it's aesthetic beauty, as well as an understanding of the emotions it can evoke in us. If we view our learning in these ways we will begin a journey that goes beyond simple participation in thrill-seeking pursuits or hours of categorising and identifying species.
Most who venture into the outdoors will have had experiences, possibly whilst staring out across a beautiful vista, as the sun slips away below the horizon, where they felt that 'moments like this are what life is all about'. In order to understand the self, others and the environment we must become mindful and attentive. Be refocusing our attention through outdoor learning we should begin to find new ways to deal with the strains of every day modern life as well as finding a place our place in a world that needs us to understand it and protect it.
Bibliography:
Quay, J. (2012). 'More than relations between self, others and nature: outdoor education and aesthetic experience', Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor learning, 13(2), pp. 142-157. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2012.746846.
Nicol, J. (2012). 'Entering the Fray: The role of outdoor education in providing nature-based experiences that matter', Educational Philosophy and Theory. doi: 10.1080/00131857.2012.753383.
Higgins, P. (2002). 'Outdoor education in Scotland', Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor learning, 2(2), pp. 149-168. doi: 10.1080/14729670285200261.
Scottish Government (2012). Curriculum for excellence through outdoor learning. Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/cfeOutdoorLearningfinal_tcm4-596061.pdf (Accessed: 21 March 2014).
Quay, J. (2012). 'More than relations between self, others and nature: outdoor education and aesthetic experience', Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor learning, 13(2), pp. 142-157. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2012.746846.
Nicol, J. (2012). 'Entering the Fray: The role of outdoor education in providing nature-based experiences that matter', Educational Philosophy and Theory. doi: 10.1080/00131857.2012.753383.
Higgins, P. (2002). 'Outdoor education in Scotland', Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor learning, 2(2), pp. 149-168. doi: 10.1080/14729670285200261.
Scottish Government (2012). Curriculum for excellence through outdoor learning. Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/cfeOutdoorLearningfinal_tcm4-596061.pdf (Accessed: 21 March 2014).