Today’s children spend less time outdoors than prison inmates. According to Statistics Canada, two-thirds of Canadian children spend less than 60 minutes outside per day – a trend that is largely a result of increasing screen times, coupled with a lack of urban green spaces. Even though 72% of today’s parents indicated that they would prefer their children play outside, only 40% of children today would trade time in front of the TV or electronic devices for outdoor activities. This preference; however, can be swayed with as little as one day spent learning outdoors. Studies show that just 30 minutes a week spent in a park can help improve mental health, but more is always better. Getting children outside is an unexpected issue for today’s parents and educators. This developing sedentary lifestyle and disconnection with nature is following these children into adulthood and spells out a troubling future for conservation and the health and wellness of communities.
The Faculty of Environment’s Ecology Lab leads a number of outreach programs that aim to get students and kids outside and interacting with the world around them.
“The Lab could be called ground zero for hands-on education within the Faculty”, says Anne Grant, Manager of the Ecology Lab, “embedding experiential hands on activities into the academic curriculum, and providing workshops for Waterloo students, local high schools and the community.”
Regardless of age, it is important to encourage and support ways for people to connect with and learn about their environment. Josh Shea, Faculty of Environment alumnus and Natural Areas Coordinator for the City of Kitchener, stresses the importance of initiatives and programs such as these, “It is within these settings where experiential learning is at its best. Being exposed to and provided with opportunities to learn about and experience nature in our city helps instill life-long stewardship and a conservation ethic in our community”. This kind of approach to education connects students with their classroom in a way that promotes ownership and pride in their learning, allowing them to gain confidence and develop maturity outside the confines of a traditional lecture hall. Waterloo is a campus leader in experiential learning because “Experiential education is integral to how all students learn, as it broadens the type of work-integrated learning opportunities available.” says Jean Andrey, Dean of the Faculty of Environment.
The Ecology Lab, in partnership with Forests Ontario and the City of Kitchener hosts the annual Grand River Region’s ENVirothon, a team-based competition for high school students that rewards them for learning about the world around them. During the day-long competition at UW, high school students test their theoretical and practical knowledge of wildlife, forestry, soils, and aquatics and the human impact on all the things we value in nature. The team-based activities are designed to help students develop critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, leadership, and communication skills. 75 students participated in 2019, joining the over 10,000 alumni of the program since 1994.
The concept of teaching youth outside is not a new one – forest schools facilitate learner-centred, hands-on, inquiry-based learning for kids. They create a space where children are free to engage in risk, to cultivate experiences and chase the questions, which come from an innate curiosity. According to a study conducted by the University of Michigan, it is recommended that youth, for the benefit of their spiritual health, spend 5 to 10 hours outside per week in order to build a relationship with nature. In a world where people are growing increasingly distant from the outdoors, it is paramount that we help children and young adults develop a sense of place through educating them on their role in the natural world. Erin Nicolardi, UW alumna and director of Rivers to Ridges forest school, sees this daily in her work, “identity and resilience are often grounded in place or land connection. When children are able to establish a deep connection with the land from an early age, they are able to build an identity connected to place.” Adults who develop this connection at an early age are likely more thoughtful, fulfilled and spiritual and possess a deeper appreciation for the beauty of nature and posess an acute desire to protect it. Young people who are connected with nature are healthier because they move more and play longer, are less likely to develop nearsightedness, and sleep better as sunlight regulates sleep patterns. Being outside is restorative; the sights, smells and sounds help improve focus, concentration and creativity. Forest schools seek to amplify the benefits of outdoor play and to promote empathy and confidence, foster curiosity and develop those critical connections with nature along the way. “Outside-the-box education is especially important in urban municipalities where people lack nature connection yet, there is public green space available and free for people to learn, play and grow into life long environmental champions”, says Shea. Learning to tread more lightly on our earth means getting our children outside. After all, a little dirt never hurt anybody.
If you would like more information on the Ecology Lab’s workshops you can follow their Twitter or Facebook accounts for more information. If you are interested in forest schools, we encourage you to check out the Kitchener Forest School and Rivers to Ridges, two programs spearheaded by Waterloo alumni Josh Shea and Erin Nicolardi.
