Title: Submit Module Four Assignment
Course: Nature & Human Wellness eeCourse > Section: Module 4: Leveraging our Interconnection: Strategies & Implementation

Link to my course journal

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vElEW3_pdASVQl8S6ZIdRUF9nx9tMZdv33t8U1Qf5Ws/edit

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vElEW3_pdASVQl8S6ZIdRUF9nx9tMZdv33t8U1Qf5Ws/edit

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s0tV3xQywtdZGVfTEryMlH9Bq6EP4vQu5Av2L-TK_3I/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DWyvEEGuLanwfpczfgo-HQJjLAaXfZdqsJqYcjWPawM/edit?usp=sharing

MODULE 4: Leveraging our Interconnection: Strategies & Implementation

Lesson 1: Nature Based Interventions in Learning

As you wrap up working through the course, we encourage you to reflect deeply on your personal relationship with the natural world, if your understanding of our interconnection has deepened or changed, and how you might integrate this understanding into your practice.

During the 3rd module, you were asked to do an initial assessment of at least five nature-based methods/tools for positively impacting wellness for your students or adults you work with through your lessons or programs. You can now refine your strategy to implement wellness through nature connections into your work.

1.      To review, list your 5 methods here; refine your list and add more if you choose:

Silent listening session
Journaling
Water play
Overnight tent camping
Loose part collections

I would definitely also include a variety of walks/hikes.  Some could be scavenger hunts, some could be simple hikes, others could involve things like bird-watching or flower-collecting in appropriate locations.

I have heard some about the therapeutic benefit of art.  I would add some nature-based art projects to my toolkit to enhance the wellness benefits!

Lesson 2: Nature Based-Interventions in Health & Wellness

Now that you have explored the benefits of nature on learning outcomes, how outdoor learning and the greening of schools improves wellness, and trends toward adding nature experiences as therapeutic strategies, reflect on the following in this journal:

1. How has time in nature changed in your life/community since you were a young child in school?

I was lucky enough to grow up on a farm, so I was deeply immersed in nature.  I know that fewer and fewer young people are able to enjoy this experience as small, family farms are decreasing.  My own children are not living on the farm daily, due to economic challenges (I have to work in town, transitioning property is costly, etc.).  I have to be much more intentional about getting my children outside and immersed in nature on the days they are not on the farm (most weekdays).  There has also been a significant decrease in the amount of time youth are spending outdoors in any community, due to electronic devices.  Luckily, I live in a small town, so youth are still safe and able to navigate around the neighborhoods to play outdoor games, etc., if they find motivation to detach from electronics.

1. How are you witnessing changes in educational approaches that include outdoor learning/nature connections?

I feel like our community has had long-standing nature-based education due to the National Scenic River in our backyard, along with the various agencies connected with it, being dedicated to youth EE.  For more urban environments, I am noticing an increase in school gardens and green spaces, which is exciting.  It is especially fun to see FFA program develop greenhouses and serve as teachers for younger students who stop by and visit.

1. How can your students connect with nature no matter their zip code; ie. How can students benefit from the natural world no matter where they live?

Communities and schools need to be dedicated to enhancing or re-imaging existing spaces to try to incorporate more natural components.  But even if these efforts are lagging, families can experiment with gardening, even if it just a pot or two on a balcony, or inside a kitchen window.  If families are concerned about safe play outdoors, they can band together to provide supervision for students on a rotating schedule.  Local organizations can be recruited to visit students in schools, afterschool programs, etc. and “bring nature inside” through nature trunks and kits.  These are just a few ideas for helping youth in all settings increase interaction with the natural world.

Revisit your original answers you gave to the following questions during your first course journal assignment (listed below as a reminder):

●      What are you hoping to get out of this course?

●      What are five questions you have about Nature & Human Wellness?

●      Of these five questions, which one connects or relates the most with your current work/community/ee practices?

As you wrap up working through the course, we encourage you to now take a few moments to reflect in this journal on the following:

1.      How has your personal relationship with the natural world expanded or changed?

I have a better grasp of how hard-wired we are for natural spaces.  It is more than being attracted to beauty, it is a yearning that exists deep within our DNA.  My eyes were also opened more to how quickly we moved from a way of living that existed for thousands of years prior.  It is no wonder that we are having mental health issues!  Our minds cannot even properly process or cope with what is happening around us, unless we give it ample down time in nature.  Even then, information is coming at us so quickly and so much around us is artificial, it may still be a losing battle.

2.     How has your understanding of our interconnection with nature deepened or changed?

I have a greater understanding of biodiversity and how everything is completely intertwined.  I didn’t realize just how quickly human behavior is threatening biodiversity.  This is a great wake-up call and it is inspiring me to be an even greater champion for conservation.

3.     Are there any ideas or thoughts you have on how you might integrate this understanding into your practice?

We have been doing quite a bit in our work already to get youth outside and learn about nature.  But I think it’s time I start explaining to the young people the “why” behind it (at age-appropriate levels)!  I feel that this will ignite more passion in them to protect the planet and grow up to be parents who understand the importance of getting the next generation into nature.  It will also help them stop and think more for themselves about measures they can take now to improve their mental health and wellbeing.

MODULE 4: Leveraging our Interconnection: Strategies & Implementation

Lesson 1: Nature Based Interventions in Learning

As you wrap up working through the course, we encourage you to reflect deeply on your personal relationship with the natural world, if your understanding of our interconnection has deepened or changed, and how you might integrate this understanding into your practice.

During the 3rd module, you were asked to do an initial assessment of at least five nature-based methods/tools for positively impacting wellness for your students or adults you work with through your lessons or programs. You can now refine your strategy to implement wellness through nature connections into your work.

1. To review, list your 5 methods here; refine your list and add more if you choose:

Microscopes
5 minute outdoor meditation
Outdoor scavenger hunt
Barefoot walks
Feel the abiotics

- All of these are about discovery and self-awareness in nature. I actually really like that although I hadn’t thought about it like that before now.

Lesson 2: Nature Based-Interventions in Health & Wellness

Now that you have explored the benefits of nature on learning outcomes, how outdoor learning and the greening of schools improves wellness, and trends toward adding nature experiences as therapeutic strategies, reflect on the following in this journal:

1. How has time in nature changed in your life/community since you were a young child in school?

I think fewer people spend time outdoors in nature from when I was a kid. There’s a lot of evidence of that. And I think the reasoning makes sense, although I disagree with it. I think that, unfortunately, what we face now is a whole generation of parents who have not spent much time outside and therefore don’t even feel comfortable encouraging their children to go out. So the problem perpetuates itself. Additionally, it is challenging to encourage outdoor activities when the climate is in fact changing and therefore it is not always safe to go outside. For the first time in my 25 year career (that makes me feel so old!), we had to cancel outdoor activities a year ago in the summer because the air quality was so poor due to wildfires in Canada that it was unsafe for children to be outdoors. Figuring out the parameters for what we can and cannot do, and explaining it to concerned parents and partner organizations, adds another level of complication to an already challenging situation when you are trying to encourage people to spend more time outdoors in urban nature in the city. It also makes it easier to explain why we need to work to improve the ecosystem, though!

1. How are you witnessing changes in educational approaches that include outdoor learning/nature connections?

I think we’re witnessing a breakdown of our educational system. And as we witness that, new and different types of education are developing. I am a strong believer in public education - it is one of the things that is most important for equity in our society. But saying that, I still feel that the educational system is broken and the “one size fits all” approach that so often is used does not work for the kids in our society. Fortunately, I think that outdoor education and nature connections in education are becoming more common and are helping to provide educational opportunities for kids who are otherwise not getting the best education. Programs that involve kids caring for school gardens or using nature as a classroom - or even just using outdoor spaces as stress relief - are helping to enhance kids’ ability to learn. I am hopeful that the trends of forest classrooms and outdoor schools that are becoming more common in Europe will eventually show up more in the midwest.

1. How can your students connect with nature no matter their zip code; ie. How can students benefit from the natural world no matter where they live?

I feel very strongly that nature can be found in all locations - even in the heart of the city. The biggest challenge is helping students and teachers feel safe using those spaces. And making them comfortable for lessons. While working with Kennedy Elementary in Omaha, we took the kids outside all the time. And the noise from the traffic on the busy street by the school was overwhelming for some of the kids. Despite having a great green space with lots of trees, we could not use the front of the building at all for learning. However, we were able to shift and use the back of the building. Although the green space was actually not as nice as at the front of the building, there was still grass, a few trees, and space to run around. I have also worked with daycares where we focused a lot on neighborhood nature walks, encouraging kids to focus on the nature in the city that lives in conjunction with the built environment. Even though this is not the same as immersion in nature, I think it still allows for the discovery of the natural world and hopefully provides some of the same mental and physical health benefits that you see from activities that provide more immersion in nature.

Revisit your original answers you gave to the following questions during your first course journal assignment (listed below as a reminder):

- What are you hoping to get out of this course?
- What are five questions you have about Nature & Human Wellness?
- Of these five questions, which one connects or relates the most with your current work/community/ee practices?

As you wrap up working through the course, we encourage you to now take a few moments to reflect in this journal on the following:

1. How has your personal relationship with the natural world expanded or changed?

It’s interesting to complete this course in the middle of winter. During the holidays, and now with sub-zero temps, I am inside bundled up and cozy and thinking about nature. But I’m also planning a summer camping trip to national parks and seeing the effect of being indoors all day on my young children. I’m not sure that this course really changed my perspectives, but it did present me with an expanded view of the reasons why the benefits of spending time outdoors exist. I’m still left pondering the “what do we do about it,” question, which, I suppose, is what I am doing for my career. Ha.

1. How has your understanding of our interconnection with nature deepened or changed?

It’s an interesting thought to look at the question of human health and wellness from an evolutionary perspective. I think in all my time as an environmental educator, I haven’t really gone to human evolution as a thought on this topic. It is fascinating, though, to think of how evolution and modern thought intersect. At first when I started this course and the content went back to human evolution, I was wondering how it all tied together and it didn’t seem to fit. But the story told does actually make so much sense in so many ways. And as someone who is authentically invested in understanding human health and wellbeing as it relates to nature, it is a wonderful perspective.

1. Are there any ideas or thoughts you have on how you might integrate this understanding into your practice?

This course leaves me wondering if the perspective of the evolution of the connectedness of human wellness to natural evolution even matters when I am teaching others on the subject. I think so often the way to get people to understand something is to make it relevant and significant to them. I’m not sure that the general population actually cares about why these benefits exist… or even that they exist. So I’m left wondering how to get people to care. In Chicago, a number of years ago, with the initial “Lights Out” initiative to help migrating birds, none of the owners or managers of the sky scrapers cared that hundreds of birds died daily by running into their buildings during migration season. But when the argument was made that turning the lights out for a few hours at night during migration season was not only a good PR campaign, but that it saved them tons of money in energy costs, then they cared about it. I am left wondering what the strongest argument is for getting the point across. When I work with daycare providers, I emphasize that kids sleep better when they spend more time in nature - so for a nice, quiet naptime, morning outdoor play is important. So finding that relevant argument for each audience is important. The connectedness to natural evolution is one perspective and one argument that might work well for a specific audience, but I think the overwhelming thought I’m taking away from this is to provide a broad spectrum of benefits - hopefully one of them will hit home in my teachings and therefore will resonate with the audience.

Graders' comments

Thank you for providing such great reflections in this last module, it's clear you've taken away a lot from this course and I'm so grateful for that! I've so enjoyed having you as a participant, your enthusiasm for the topic and your personal reflections have been so enjoyable to read through. It's clear you're in the right profession of helping others, and I'm so excited for how you might take your learnings in this class to add nature to your toolbox for helping others! Thank you so much Tanner for sharing and particpating in this course!

Thank you again for sharing so much of your experience and brilliant reflections in this last module. I've so enjoyed having you in this course Kim, your perspective as an educator and your own personal experience with nature connection has been so great to learn from and expand my own understanding and thinking! It's clear you were able to get a lot out of this course, and I'm so grateful you were here! I left more comments in your journal, thanks for sharing Kim!

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed your presence and reflections in this course Melissa, I'm so grateful you participated in this pilot program! Your last module's journal reflections were excellent and profound, it's clear you've taken a lot from this course and also shared back what you've learned from your own experience - which has even helped expand my perspective as well. This is the best part of collaborative learning! I left more detailed comments in your journal, thank you for sharing so much Melissa!

Thank you for the submission to module 3 Myra, I thought your reflections were thorough and thoughtful! Your nature wellness kit was really well though through as well, maybe that could serve as an additional tool to think about for your junior blue bird program next summer. I think the structure proposed for your capstone project/program looks excellent so far, I know it will take place next summer but  I do hope I get to hear about it! Thanks again Myra, well done here.

Great reflections here Pete, thank you! It's great to hear how the course has helped back up your already strong beliefs of the connection to nature humans have, I hope what you've learned from the content here continues to help you achieve your goal of helping others connect in deeper ways to the natural world through paddling and other outdoor adventures!

Great final reflection Alexus! Thank you so much for providing such thorough responses, it was such a joy to be able to read through your reflections and learn more about your perspective and how the course impacted you. I'm so grateful you were part of this first course, I hope to see you at future courses in the next year!

Great reflections Michelle, thank you! It was good to hear how much reflection you've done on this topic throughout the course, I hope it was helpful to solidify so many things you already felt strongly about, and help empower you to speak more to the benefits of wellness nature has on us to your students and team. Thank you for adding such rich and thorough reflections throughout this course on all of the content and your own experience, it was truly a pleasure to read through and learn from you!