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Katrina Maurer

(Nature Name: Catbird Kat)

Kat has been with the High Park Nature Centre since 2011. She is the School Programs Supervisor. She stumbled across the Nature Centre through an internship while completing her B. Ed. at OISE. Kat is a nature lover and maker. She loves to help people make connections to nature through games and crafts.

Jessie Cowe

(Nature Name: Juniper Jessie)

Jessie draws upon a diversity of experience in her commitment to both widening the scope of, and scaling out EE for Ontario educators and learners. Jessie has a passion for critical perspectives in food studies, which became the focus of her Master's program (MES at York University). Jessie strives to create opportunities for nature connection, participatory learning and community building through her roles as a nature lover, gardener, Community Programs Coordinator & Naturalist Teacher at HPNC, and President for the Ontario Society for Environmental Education.

Magali Meagher

(Nature Name: Millipede Magali)

Magali is an OCT certified educator who has been a Nature Interpreter at the High Park Nature Centre since 2015 where she teaches inquiry based clubs and curriculum-linked school programs in both French and English. Along with her passion for learning outdoors, Magali is the co-director of Girls Rock Camp Toronto. In 2018 she completed a Masters in Environmental Studies culminating in a project that used songwriting as a method to reflect on teaching and learning. Magali likes turning over logs, visiting goldenrod and getting up close and personal with a blade of grass to discover tiny worlds of possibility.

Learn strategies to engage kids of all ages with the outdoors! This course is appropriate for teachers and parents who work with children ages 3-12.

Learn how to avoid hazards like poison ivy, how to teach your kids to dress for the weather so they can be comfortable and warm, and how to make sure your group stays together (while social distancing!).

We know that one of the most intimidating things about outdoor education is knowing where to start! We'll equip you with games and activities so you can get started right away!

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Katrina Maurer (Nature Name: Catbird Kat) Kat has been with the High Park Nature Centre since 2011. She is the School Programs Supervisor. She stumbled across the Nature Centre through an internship while completing her B. Ed. at OISE. Kat is a nature lover and maker.

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When you think back to your favourite childhood play experiences, chances are they took place outdoors, unsupervised and while hanging out with friends. But today's kids spend far less time playing than their parents did.

Mariana Brussoni, a professor at the University of British Columbia and BC Children's Hospital - featured in The Nature of Things documentary - has spent years researching the benefits of play that have an element of risk. Risky play for children, she explains, is "thrilling and exciting play where children engage in risk without certainty," and it has been proven to have immense benefits.

The benefits of risky play

Risky play involves kids experimenting and pushing themselves to figure out what will happen, without knowing the exact outcome. If kids don't go far enough with their play, it's boring and if they go too far, it gets too scary, Brussoni explains. She likens it to a science experiment, where kids are testing out their environment and determining what they're comfortable with.

"When we have kids engage in play, it's really a fundamental way for them to figure out the world - how the world works, how their body works," says Brussoni, adding that these little experiments are all done "in context of a relatively safe space."

Risky play in early childhood can help develop a child's self-confidence, resilience, executive functioning abilities and even risk-management skills. And Brussoni's work in injury prevention research shows that engaging in risky play can actually reduce the risk of injury, too.

Brussoni gives the following tips for parents on how to put riskier play into action.

Focus on 'as safe as necessary' over 'as safe as possible'

Consider a playground. Things such as needles on the ground or broken equipment would be cause for parental intervention, whereas navigating a bush with thorns at eye-level, for example, would be something you could involve the child in.

Rather than removing the plant altogether, Brussoni advises assessing the situation together, having the child take stock of the thorns and then suggest ways to stay safe. Balance the risk with the benefits, she says.

Provide guidance

Brussoni suggests that when you walk your child to school every day, it can be helpful to take the time to point out the potential dangers so that they gradually reach a point where they have enough knowledge to stay safe. This builds confidence and prepares them for solo adventures.

MORE:
From bonobos to sheep, lots of animals enjoy play as much as we do
Unstructured play can create mentally healthier kids

Don't let your own fears get in the way

Parents' fears can get in the way of giving their children freedom. Worries about kidnapping and injury, and the fear of people thinking they're bad caregivers can drive many parents to intervene before their child can engage in risk during play.

But statistics show that the likelihood of a child in Canada getting kidnapped is 1 in 14 million - similar odds to winning the lottery. And recent estimates show that children would need to spend about three hours per day playing, every day, for 10 years before they were likely to get an injury that needed treatment (and it would likely still be minor).

Brussoni and her team of researchers have developed an online tool called Outsideplay.ca, which informs parents on making informed choices regarding risky play for their children.

Practice the 17-second rule

Instead of telling your child not to climb so high or run so fast while observing them at play, take a moment - or, as Brussoni advises, 17 seconds. Step back, she says, and "see how your child is reacting to the situation so that you can actually get a better sense of what they're capable of when you're not getting in the way."

Brussoni explains that this will provide them with "the opportunity to figure out for themselves what's comfortable and what they can do," while allowing them to develop those all-important risk-management skills.

Get out of the way

In , Brussoni states that the most important thing parents and guardians can do is get out of the way: provide children with an environment for play and then let them play.

This doesn't necessarily mean that optimal risky play is unsupervised. For younger kids, it may simply be about facilitating and supporting children in how they want to play, rather than guiding it .

6 key factors to risky play:

1. Play with heights, such as climbing trees or structures

2. Play at high speeds, such as a fast game of tag or riding a bike really fast

3. Play with tools, such as building a fort or whittling a stick

4. Play near elements, such as playing near fire, water, a cliff or something that a child could fall into

5. Play with a chance of getting lost, such as wandering the neighbourhood with friends unsupervised, or simply hiding in the bushes for younger kids.

6. Rough-and-tumble play, such as play fighting "

Provide time, freedom and space for good play

Brussoni emphasizes that parents need to carve out enough time to let children play, despite a high volume of homework and extracurriculars. Kids need to be afforded the freedom to play the way they want to, without being limited by the mindset of their guardians.

High-quality play also requires space - both physical and psychological. In terms of physical space, there needs to be enough of it, and it has to be of good quality (more on this later). Psychological space, Brussoni explains, "involves the feeling that somebody has their back" so that kids "feel like they have the latitude to try and try these experiments."

Create a play space with loose parts and materials

Brussoni and her team are currently developing a playability index to find out what elements are necessary to create a high-quality outdoor play space in neighbourhoods.

In her interviews with hundreds of children, one factor stood out: the freedom to build on imagination. In the typical North American playground, equipment is fixed and the options for play are limited; there is only so much you can do with a slide, monkey bars or swings.

Instead, Brussoni's team recommends removing all this structure, and instead providing loose materials such as logs, mud, tarps, crates, sticks, planks, ropes and even water to play with.

These elements can often be found in nature, vacant lots and even junkyards, but the most important element in any play space is, again, the psychological and physical space to take risks.

To learn more, watch on The Nature of Things.

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Risky play for children: Why we should let kids go outside and then get out of the way

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It turns out play with an element of risk may be exactly what today's kids are missing

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Prescribing Nature for Health | Nooshin Razani | TEDxNashville

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How Playing Outside Impacts Your Well-Being | Craig Childs | TEDxMileHigh

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Nature Kindergarten | Frances Krusekopf | TEDxVictoria

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Blog - Child and Nature Alliance of Canada

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Free outdoor learning resources for recreation workers

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by Petra Eperjesi, Manager of National Programs, and Kara Kulak, teacher, Horace Allen Public School, Alberta
Kara Kulak is a Kindergarten teacher at Horace Allen Public School in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. She has been an advocate in her school community to find more opportunities to embrace outdoor exploration and learning, and outdoor play that involves healthy and developmentally-appropriate risk-taking. When we heard about the wonderful work Kara and her school community are doing, we knew we wanted to share it! Kara, we often get asked how the Forest and Nature School approach can fit in the context of public education. How can teachers start from outdoor free play and be sure that they will meet the curriculum they're accountable to? How do you fit getting outside to play and explore into your schedule? How do you connect it back to your curriculum?
I have a background in inquiry-based teaching, and a few years ago I started weekly "Wonder Walks" with my kindergarten class around the nature spaces of our school. We started small, on the grassy areas and few trees around our schoolyard. We defined "nature-made" vs. "human-made" items and the kids learned that during our Wonder Walks we were exploring nature, rather than playing on the human-made playground structure. After a few Wonder Walks at our school, we went to explore the great forested park across the road. By the end of the year, we had built up to a hike down to the waterfall at the end of the path.

Our Wonder Walks usually start with a guiding question or topic. Sometimes it's a topic I pull directly from curriculum (i.e. signs of seasonal change or numbers in nature), but sometimes it's more open ended (i.e. exploring snow, watching the clouds) and students are practicing language, physical literacy and inquiry through our exploration. Knowing your curriculum is key to creating, or even just noticing outdoor learning experiences. As I watch the kids explore, I am taking pictures and making mental notes of what curricular outcomes they are discovering. I can guide them with a question or a challenge along the way, too.

As you reflect on your curriculum and start to see the opportunities to cover multiple curricular areas and outcomes, while enjoying the benefits and beauty of the outdoors, you can't not make time for it!
Thanks, Kara. I have also found that knowing the curriculum really well helps me to see the ways in which the students are meeting those expectations authentically and in a self-directed way. Do you ever go on Wonder Walks without a guiding question or topic? Does that look, sound, or feel different at all?
I have a big list going of general Wonder Walk topics I think of, and some reflective or connected activities we can do after returning inside (i.e. journal writing prompts, connected art projects, loose part building activities, etc.), but I have learned I need to be flexible and know to follow the students' curiosity too! Once I had a plan to inquire into clouds...in the end, it was the most blue-bird day you've ever seen - so we studied our shadows. Another time, we were going to watch for the gophers that are always popping their heads up in our field - of course, not a gopher to be seen, but the kids found a ton of worms instead!

Even with a guiding question, the student exploration is quite free, but we also do go outside to play and hike around, too! The kids always find things to explore and learn about even without a specific focusing task. On our school-wide outdoor play days a huge part of the skill building is for students to judge their own risk tolerance when trying new things, and to problem solve with their peers, as staff take a more hand-off approach. It always feels so filled with excitement when kids are outside!
What sparked your school community's interest in "risky play" and what are some of the steps you've taken to support it?
Another teacher at our school runs a lunchtime Eco Club at lunchtime with students. They found out about Earth Play for Earth Day from Earth Play Canada and introduced the staff, students and parents to the idea of spending a whole day playing outside. I jumped on board and we drafted letters to parents asking for loose parts and created the permission form using the guidelines from Earth Play Canada:

Risks and Rules:

When I am here I agree to:

Keep all materials and tools within this area

Listen to the Play Rangers and ask for help when needed

Not hurt myself or anyone else

I agree to let my child play here without interference - my child is an expert of their own play!

I understand that scratches and bruises may happen here, first aid is available if needed.

I know that good play can be messy - my child may get wet, dirty and extremely happy. I'm ok with that!

The day was absolutely magical! Despite the fact that it was at the end of April, we had a huge dump of wet sticky snow that the kids used to build with and create "mud slides" down the hillslope. Teachers and parents stepped back and let the kids be the experts on their own play. It was so much fun (and so easy to implement) that we decided to do it again at the end of the year, instead of the more traditional Track-and-Field type day. This time the weather was warmer and students took off their shoes to climb on the rocks in the creek.

As we started this year, I shared the article from you Petra, about "What to Say When You Want to Say 'Be Careful'". We reflected on what a success our Earth Play days were - when the rules and adult intervention were very minimal. We re-looked at our current "rules" for recess and decided to revamp them to teach students to take care of themselves, each other and our school environment (our 3 school rules) and manage their own play and level of risk more independently. Initially, we just let it loose and found that some of our "rule follower" kids were feeling a bit shaken and confused as to why we were no longer telling them not to climb the slides/stay off the big hill/keep their hands to themselves. So we decided to run a week-long series of pre-recess assemblies to introduce the new concepts to them. We covered Rough and Tumble Play, the playground, the big hill and play with snow. Through images and skits we explored what was acceptable and what was not (i.e. rough and tumble play is not angry fighting and we still don't punch and kick our friends, but we could wrestle or tickle them). We also tied in the "Kelso's Choices" program our school is using - a series of options kids have to solve "small problems".
I love that idea of pre-recess assemblies, and that you met the challenges arising on the playground as an opportunity to educate and support, as opposed to just shutting it all down! What a huge success. What have been some of your other greatest successes, victories, or points of pride?
Last year, on our final hike to the waterfall, I had a student say, "Mrs. Kulak, I used to hate nature, but now I love it!" and I thought, my job here is done! The kids always mention Wonder Walks as one of their favourite parts of kindergarten, and it was so exciting to have our whole school outside together last year. I also loved the day we explored puddles and spent the afternoon running snow-pants through the dryer at our school. Watching the kids use natural items to create small worlds for their animal toys in the forest is pretty special, too. And I love the hive of children buzzing up and down the "big hill" among the towering trees. So exciting to see them enjoying the beautiful natural setting of our school.
Nice! What have been some of the trickiest challenges you've faced, and how did you move through them?
What first comes to mind is the development of recess "fight clubs" when we first started to allow Rough & Tumble Play - yikes! That's when we knew we needed to do some more teaching around this topic and we started to have the pre-recess assemblies. Now we can go up to wrestling students and check in - "Is everyone still having fun?" We also shared the information about the new recess guidelines with families, so they could understand the rationale and help to guide their children.

On the more day-to-day issues, making sure students are dressed appropriately for the weather is important. So I communicate with parents early and often that we spend lots of time outside. In our class we talk about how we are explorers and we need to dress well for our adventures (but I also have a closet of extra snow pants from parent donations and second hand stores). We've also been able to do one permission form for the year to allow students to go down the forest path. Then, with a few weeks' notice, we just need to organize a few parent volunteers to join us.
How have you gotten any hesitant or fearful folks on board?
Knowing the research behind why outdoor play and risky-play is so important and beneficial for children can help to convince people. ParticipACTION's Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play has lots of supportive statistics and Frances Carlson's article Rough & Tumble Play 101 gives some great food for thought as well. Talking them through the process and asking them to observe with you, rather than jumping in right away, can help them to feel more comfortable with the concept.

On one of my first Wonder Walks to the forested park, a group of my kindergarten students started climbing around on the steep hill. The dad that was standing there asked me if I felt ok about this, and I replied, "Yep, I think so. How about you?" and he said, "Oh, I don't feel good about any of this." I think trying to keep track of 6 adventuresome kindergarten students was a lot for him, but I said, "Let's just watch." So we witnessed these kids clamber up the steep hill and then get to the top, and I was thinking...now what, how will they get down? Well, sure enough, they naturally started to traverse down at an angle, some found a way that had fewer bushes, and others went down on their bums and used their hands to scoot down. It was awesome! So the dad and I just watched and commented on how great it was to let them figure it out, find their own boundaries and explore a bit. The ones who felt capable went all the way to the top, and some up and down multiple times. Those who struggle more with their gross motor skills naturally stayed closer to the bottom, but still pushed their own limits by climbing up a bit. All the kids were thrilled, even those who went up just a little ways. "Mrs. Kulak, I climbed a mountain!!", "Mrs. Kulak!! I climbed up the hill!!" Using the experience as a journaling prompt resulted in their strongest journal entries. They were buzzing with excitement and all had something to draw about.

Documentation is also important to me, and this is another way in which information helps hesitant or concerned parents, for example, see the value in our outdoor adventures. I share a weekly "Wonder Walk Talk" email with parents outlining and sharing lots of pictures of what we did outside. I sometimes include a list of curricular links for parents, especially at the start (i.e. the trees have different sized branches and we compared their length to our hands and arms (Early Numeracy - measurement)) to illustrate that even when kids are "just playing" they are developing gross motor skills, utilizing language and communication, noticing cause and effect relationships - the list goes on!
Wow. We talk a lot about "meeting people where they're at" - hearing their concerns without judgment, and inviting them with research, information, and compassion, to watch and see what might be possible when we get out of the way of kids a bit. You are really putting that into practice! What advice would you pass along to folks hoping to nurture a school or community culture that supports outdoor and risky play?
Pick a time to go outside and commit to it, otherwise you'll be tempted to default back to your comfort zone inside your classroom. Push yourself to be ok with the unknown and trust your students - give them the space to practice and develop their skills. Start small - spend an hour exploring outside, allow the kids to climb that hill, and build from there! Student excitement and engagement will be your best advertisement for more outdoor play!
What hopes do you have for your class or your school in terms of outdoor and risky play?
We have really exciting plans to build an outdoor classroom for our school with beautiful spaces for a variety of outdoor play and learning. I know we'll continue to build on our outdoor play days, and I plan to visit some new zones along the forest path this year! We are also booking a risky play workshop through the Child & Nature Alliance for school staff this spring and I plan to take the Forest School Practitioner Course in the fall.
Kara, thank you so much!

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by Petra Eperjesi, Manager of National Programs, and Kara Kulak, teacher, Horace Allen Public School, Alberta Kara Kulak is a Kindergarten teacher at Horace Allen Public School in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. She has been an advocate in her school community to find more opportunities to embrace outdo

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Risky play can be an intimidating concept for parents and caregivers to try to implement with their children. How much risk is too much? How can play remain safe?

Dr. Mariana Brussoni recognizes the dilemma. In fact, she's an expert on the subject. Her research focuses on caregivers' perceptions of risk and safety when it comes to kids' play, and also on the design of stimulating play environments.

We consider it thrilling and exciting forms of play involving uncertainty and the chance of physical injury.

-Dr. Mariana Brussoni on risky play

Active for Life editor-in-chief Richard Monette talked with Dr. Brussoni about the value of risky play and parents' anxiety around it. She also gave many tips to help parents enable their children to take part in active free play.

Listen by clicking the play button below:
Related resource: Outsideplay.ca

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Active for Life podcast: Dr. Mariana Brussoni on the value of risky play - Active For Life

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Risky play can be an intimidating concept for parents and caregivers to try to implement with their children. How much risk is too much? How can play remain safe? Dr. Mariana Brussoni recognizes the dilemma. In fact, she's an expert on the subject.

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Has your child ever done something that has made you gasp and want to cover your eyes? Early climbers climbing out of their high chair, children scaling trees so high you can barely spot them or swimming beyond their depth, or teens wrestling like they're in a WWF match? Good! We hope you may find some relief in the fact that your child is doing EXACTLY what they are designed to do! Take risks! And that is exactly what we're going to be talking about - Risky Play. What it is, the 6 types of risky play, why children seek out risk, why it's important and how to incorporate it into your outdoor play.
👉 Our Discussion

What is risky play?
"A thrilling and exciting activity that involves a risk of physical injury, and play that provides opportunities for challenge, testing limits, exploring boundaries and learning about injury risk."

Benefits of Risky Play
"The only way to learn to make good decisions is by practicing making decisions."

The 6 Types of Risky Play

1. Play at heights

2. Play at high speed

3. Play with dangerous tools

4. Play with dangerous elements - fire, water, animals

5. Rough and tumble

6. Play in secret spaces

What is the purpose of risky play?

Risk is not necessarily a danger to be avoided but rather a skill that needs to be managed.

How can help your child manage risky play?

What can you say instead of 'Be Careful!'

In a nutshell, we want our children to be as safe as necessary not a safe as possible.

'A ship is safe in the harbour - but that is not what ships are built for...'

👉 Freebie
To get you started we have created a ''what to say'' guide so that we can encourage problem solving and personal risk assessment in our children instead of our usual go to response of "Be careful". To download the Risky Play cheat sheet, simply head to www.wildlingsforestschool.com/free-downloadables

👉 Links and Resources
👉 Guest Details
Vicci Oliver and Nicki Farrell are adventurous nature play makers, risk-takers, children's rights advocates and the co-founders of Wildlings Forest School. We are the hosts of the 'Raising Wildlings' podcast and we put the dirt back in childhood.

Wildlings aims to get more children outdoors connecting with nature, creating the village parents are yearning for and inspiring change in the education system.

During any Wildlings Forest School program, you are likely to find Wildlings up trees, sliding down mud slides, whittling with pocket knives, lighting fires and building rafts. We let kids, be kids - because children can't learn to protect nature if they've never had a childhood in it.

👉 Wildlings Forest School Contact Details 👉 Did You Enjoy This Episode?
If you enjoyed this episode and the Raising Wildlings podcast generally, we have a favour. Please take two minutes to subscribe, and to write a rating and a review. You can do that on Apple Podcasts right now by clicking here. If you are an Android user, you can follow the podcast on Spotify here and Google Podcasts here. Those actions will help the podcast reach more people, and we would be truly grateful. Thank you so much.

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E10. Risky Play and What to Say Instead of 'Be Careful!' - Wildlings Forest School

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In this episode, we're talking about Risky Play. Has your child ever done something that has made you gasp and want to cover your eyes? Early climbers climbing out of their high chair? Children scaling trees so high you can barely spot them? Or teens wrestling like they're in a WWF match?

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Heather hosts the That Early Childhood Nerd Podcast and contributes articles to the Playvolution HQ website. Connect with Heather for personalized Skype workshops, book studies, consulting and more.

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Heather hosts the That Early Childhood Nerd Podcast and contributes articles to the Playvolution HQ website. Connect with Heather for personalized Skype workshops, book studies, consulting and more.

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Indigenous Learning, Sustainability, Teaching
Using learnings from the land and Indigenous people to shape tomorrow's teachers

How a 12-day placement in a local Indigenous community gives teacher candidates a chance "to develop the knowledge, motivation, and skills to facilitate the transmission of an environmental consciousness to their future students... and to establish inclusive learning spaces by being better able to teach to and about Indigenous people."

My dad taught me about the land. We were a hunting, gathering, and fishing family, so we were always on the land harvesting food. I have many wonderful memories: fishing; snaring rabbit; partridge hunting; and picking apples, berries, fiddleheads, chokecherries, puff balls, leeks and mushrooms.

Picking mushrooms requires particular knowledge and skill because some mushrooms are dangerous. After a day picking mushrooms my dad would fry them with onions and serve them with venison steaks or chops.

Invariably at the dinner table, my brother, sister, or I would ask our Dad, "How do we know these aren't the poison ones?" to which he would reply, "Well, if you wake up in the morning, then I know they weren't poisonous." While his response provided a small degree of worry, my siblings and I found it funny because we had trust in his knowledge. I acknowledge that my love of the land definitely comes from my father.

Filling a gap

When a gap needs to be filled, you fill it. This is a common experience for me as an Indigenous educator (Anishinaabe - Bear Clan from Kitigan Zibi First Nation) trying to fill the gap in Indigenous education.

I teach in the School of Education at Trent University and have had numerous Bachelor of Education students approach me inquiring about including Indigenous knowledge into their curriculum plans. They came knocking on my office door with requests such as, "My associate teacher is asking me to teach the Grade 6 unit on First Nations Peoples and European Explorers in my practicum, and I have no idea where to start," or "My practicum is in a secondary school English class, what Indigenous texts could I explore with my students?"

These teacher candidates identified a gap in their knowledge and skill regarding inclusionary practice, yet had the desire and fortitude to ensure their teaching would be inclusive of Indigenous students and promote healthy cross-cultural sharing.

If your organization, school district or faculty of education is an EdCan member (see the list here) , you can enjoy unlimited access to our online content! Click here to create your online account.

I had enough of these requests to identify a need for an explicit learning opportunity toward the goal of educating teacher candidates about Indigenous people and how to teach Indigenous students and non-Indigenous students about Indigenous people. Since all teacher candidates in the School of Education at Trent University are required to find a site for an alternative learning opportunity for three weeks or 75 hours, I felt this would be an opportune timeframe for an in-depth learning opportunity.

Land-based learning

Since the worldview of Indigenous peoples is connected to the environment, and since there is a global/universal need for all students to learn about the state of the planet, I felt a land-based program would serve the dual purpose of learning about Indigenous people while instilling an ecological consciousness in teacher candidates, and ultimately their future students. I also knew that I could take my students the furthest in the shortest amount of time teaching on, and with, the land. The Learning From the Land and Indigenous People alternative settings placement was born in 2007 and has been delivered every spring since then.

Teacher candidates spend twelve days with me in my home community of Burleigh Falls and Lovesick Lake in the Kawartha Lakes to experience land-based activities in order to develop a personal connection to the environment and an awareness of Indigenous, specifically Anishinaabe, culture.

The placement offers teacher candidates a chance to develop the knowledge, motivation, and skills to facilitate the transmission of an environmental consciousness to their future students. Additionally, the placement assists teacher candidates in establishing inclusive learning spaces by being better able to teach to and about Indigenous people. It is my hope that teacher candidates develop themselves personally and professionally while increasing their cultural capacity to teach Indigenous and environmental education.

Learning activities on the placement include: a medicine walk, fishing, tracking/bush work, harvesting, canoeing, shelter building, a "solo" (period spent sitting alone in nature), observation and survival skills, a daily morning circle, sharing circles, traditional teachings, traditional land-based practices, storytelling, eating collectively, field trips to local Indigenous sites, drumming and dancing, and environmental learning activities that are transferable to the classroom.

Making learning connections

"These future teachers clearly state that they are better prepared to teach about Indigenous people and teach Indigenous children."

Through an intensive evaluation process, including daily student reflections and a pre/post-evaluation questionnaire, teacher candidates indicate that the Learning From the Land and Indigenous People placement is immensely enjoyed and valued as a learning experience. Many define the placement as the highlight of their teacher education program: "This was the best part of my year." Another teacher candidate says: "Truly this has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. I really feel changed and in such a positive way."

Teacher candidates identify connections that were made on multiple levels:

within themselves - "I feel so much more whole. I feel at peace and much more centred and calm. Obviously the more whole the teacher is the better able they are to teach their students."

with the land/environment - "The image of Earth as mother has further deepened my respect and love for the Earth."

within the teaching and learning group - "This placement has allowed me to make new relationships that I will be able to draw on and maintain for a long time to come."

with their teaching practice - "The teachings will carry me far beyond character development initiatives - this is curriculum in action. The depth of community, the acceptance of learning, the affirmation of no shame, are principles which need to carry us all as teachers."

with the Indigenous culture - "Before this placement I didn't realize how incredibly deep and rich Indigenous culture is."

These future teachers clearly state that they are better prepared to teach about Indigenous people and teach Indigenous children - "I now have new skills so that I can teach about Anishinaabe and First Nations peoples to my classes in a respectful and engaging way. I feel that I am also better prepared to teach Indigenous students." Perhaps the experience can be summed up by this teacher candidate: "I came away with a better understanding of Anishinaabe culture as well as a new yet familiar approach to teaching and learning. This was a rich experience - a lot was accomplished in a short time. I feel full of possibility with respect to future teaching. I also feel connected with local Anishinaabe culture and the land."

Holistic learning on and with the land

The Learning From the Land and Indigenous People alternative settings placement is transformational and self-actualizing education that occurs through teaching holistically by engaging all four aspects of who students are as human beings. That means teaching to students' mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual capacities.

"An opportunity to learn about Indigenous people through the land and to move through the 4Rs: respect, relationship, reciprocity, responsibility."

All education, including environmental sustainability education, must engage all four parts of our beings: our minds, our bodies, our hearts, and our spirits. While it may seem easy to envision how we could engage the mind, the heart, and the body, it is somewhat more difficult to envision how we could engage the spirit or the soul. Talking about spirituality in education can cause tension because some equate it with religion. From an Indigenous perspective, spirituality has nothing to do with religion. Spirituality is about knowing, feeling, and acting like we are connected to the natural world. It is a spirit-to-spirit connection and it is accessible to everyone regardless of religion because we all share this same natural world, this one planet. It is not about religion; it is recognizing that we only exist because of the life-givers that provide us with everything that we need. The life-givers are the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, the sun that provides light and heat, and the earth that provides us with the food that we eat. We all need those things, and that is universal.

Spirituality is also about being humble enough to acknowledge that humans are the most insignificant beings on this planet, because we cannot live without the life-givers that are provided for us - yet the life-givers can exist without us, and perhaps the planet might be all the better. The earth does not need us, but we need the earth. This humility allows us to understand and respect our connection to, and dependence on, everything else.

In the Learning From the Land and Indigenous People alternative settings placement, teacher candidates have the opportunity to learn about Indigenous people through the land and to move through the 4Rs: respect, relationship, reciprocity, responsibility.

Respecting the land requires re-spect, looking again, at all that the natural world provides; seeing ourselves as inextricably linked, and thus in relationship, with the natural world; engaging with the natural world in reciprocal and balanced ways; and acting with responsibility, or response-ability, to ensure respect, relationship, and reciprocity.

To live life in a spiritual way is to live respectfully in reciprocal relationships that result in taking responsibility.

The Learning From the Land and Indigenous People alternative settings placement engages this spirituality with teacher candidates, with the hope that they will teach to their students' spirits, resulting in spiritual connections to creation and the natural world.

I encourage all educators to consider how they can instil and foster a spiritual connection in environmental education through land-based learning.

This will shape the future.

Photo: Rich McPherson

First published in Education Canada, March 2020

Meet the Expert(s)

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Land as Teacher: Using learnings from the land and Indigenous people to shape tomorrow's teachers

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Indigenous Learning, Sustainability, Teaching Using learnings from the land and Indigenous people to shape tomorrow's teachers How a 12-day placement in a local Indigenous community gives teacher candidates a chance "to develop the knowledge, motivation, and skills to facilitate the transmission of an environmental consciousness to their future students...

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Just before her regular school year started, 18-year-old Isabella Zeller-Calahoo spent a day in late August learning to scrape a moose hide in her auntie's backyard in Edmonton.

"It's amazing, but [my] arms, oh me!" Zeller-Calahoo said. "They're weak right now, but they'll be tough when I get older; they'll be bigger."

The full-day process is a workout. It's also a lesson in biology, chemistry and art.

As her auntie explained, once the fur is scraped off the hide, the next steps for tanning involve softening the hide with brains and colouring it with smoke. And as her mother explained, every animal has exactly enough brain material to cover an entire hide.

An oil in the brain called lecithin softens the skin into a workable leather.

This is part of Zeller-Calahoo's school curriculum for the year. She's taking online classes at Strathcona High School in Edmonton, but during the day most of her studies will focus on land-based learning through an apprenticeship with her auntie, artist MJ Belcourt, whose family is also from the Michel Band in northern Alberta.

"I'm grateful that I had a chance to learn it, and I want to teach others who have that same desire," Belcourt said. It's meaningful for her to share generations of traditional skills like hide-scraping or porcupine quillwork.

National data on how many students are participating in land-based education projects this year doesn't exist. But educators say the programs have become increasingly popular since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with thousands of K-12 and college students in Alberta and British Columbia alone set to take part this school year.

Increased interest amid COVID-19

Indigenous organizations are looking at outdoor learning programs as well.

This summer, Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, an Edmonton-based organization that offers programs to support Indigenous families, started offering new courses to teach youth Indigenous survival skills on the land.

In the last week of August, Bent Arrow asked parents on Facebook if they were sending their kids back to class. More than half of the people who responded said they were keeping them at home, while most students in Edmonton Public Schools will be going back to class.

Zeller-Calahoo's mother, Jodi Calahoo-Stonehouse, said other parents have asked her about teaching their children Indigenous land-based skills.

"If we think about the smallpox pandemic, it wasn't that long ago in our history," Calahoo-Stonehouse said, referring to diseases that have taken a heavy toll on Indigenous people to explain why some families are especially nervous about sending their children back to the classroom.

"We know it's really, really important to pay attention to what experts are saying - to pay attention to our elder stories," she said. "The elders are telling us that when the leaves fall, it's time for us to bunker down and to stay safe."

Schools turn to land-based teachings during pandemic

Several First Nations schools in B.C. are expanding land-based learning this year because of COVID-19, according to Clayton Grice, president of the First Nations Schools Association of British Columbia and principal at the Tl'etinqox School, an elementary school in the Chilcotin District about 100 kilometres west of Williams Lake, B.C.

"More people are going out camping and fishing and getting back to the land, and we want to continue that as we plan for our reopening," Grice said.

One school plans to build a pit-house, a traditional lodge built by nomadic people, on school grounds. Another school plans to take students on a two-day trip out on their territory, he said.

Grice said the Tl'etinqox chief has specifically encouraged his school to do more land-based learning since the pandemic began. Students will be building a smokehouse and learning traditional hunting techniques like trapping and tracking this year.

He emphasized that the land is also a natural place for students to learn languages from elders.

"They might refer to the snares of the animals by that traditional name instead of the English name," Grice said. "It's an opportunity for us as school staff to say, 'OK, we're going to specifically target certain language goals in conjunction with this land-based activity.'"

'It's like a grandpa teaching his grandchildren'

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde said many parents are reviewing their school options this year, and land-based education is a good alternative.

"When you have the right instructors on getting back to the land, the knowledge-keepers have a lot to share and teach our children," Bellegarde said.

"People think you can only learn math and science according to a textbook - not necessarily."

Indigenous families who choose to pursue land-based education have another option outside of the classroom, he said.

Elder Tom Snow, who teaches medicine picking and on-the-land survival skills to youth in Edmonton, said it allows students to gain a greater appreciation for the environment and the history of their own people. And it's fulfilling for him to pass on those lessons.

"It's like a grandpa teaching his grandchildren," he said. "There's a feeling of elation when they're really into it."

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School on the land: Indigenous teachings get kids outside the classroom | CBC News

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Just before her regular school year started, 18-year-old Isabella Zeller-Calahoo spent a day in late August learning to scrape a moose hide in her auntie's backyard in Edmonton. "It's amazing, but [my] arms, oh me!" Zeller-Calahoo said. "They're weak right now, but they'll be tough when I get older; they'll be bigger."

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Two times a week grades 3, 4, and 5 students, dressed for the bush, finish their lunches and load into the school van. They are taking part in the Mother Earth Mentoring Program, a "culture-nature-awareness- experiential learning-critical thinking" program that is part of a pilot project at Waabgon Gamig First Nation School on Georgina Island. The project combines in-class learning with outdoor education, connecting the standard Ontario curriculum with First Nations ways of knowing. It has had an enormous impact not only on the students, but also on the culture of the school and the local First Nation community on Georgina Island. "Akinoomaagzid," the traditional name of the program given by respected Elder and native language teacher Barb McDonald translates as "The Earth is our Teacher."

The school van transports the children to one of the outdoor classrooms located on the island - places like the SugarBush Trail, the Nanabush Trails, the quarry, or the beach. This is where students' classroom learning connects with the environment. Upon arriving at their destination, students often lay tobacco and ask Mother Earth for permission to enter the bush before they begin exploring and applying their lessons. After an afternoon of exploring, the students gather into a closing circle and give an appreciation for the day. The circle is often the most powerful moment of the day. The following day students reflect on their adventures by documenting their questions, researching the bugs they have found, writing journal entries, recording video, or making paintings.

Throughout the week, the seeds for the outdoor lessons are planted in the classroom. Two classroom teachers, an amazing team of support staff, parents, community members, Elders, and Coyote Mentors (from the Stick and Stones Wilderness School and Earth Tracks) spend their days planning, evaluating, assessing, and documenting the program. A strong academic morning with math and literacy blocks, is followed by afternoons in the outdoors. Curricular expectations in science, social studies, arts, health, and physical education are integrated into the afternoon program, and are often linked into the morning block by literacy, real-life math problems, hands- on projects, and classroom discussions. For instance, when students study Canada and the World, they learn the basics of mapping in the classroom. Then while in the bush, students create a "songline" of key features along a trail that will help them map their base camp in their mind's eye. Students learn basic mapping skills in a way that engages multiple intelligences.

Differentiated instruction is at the forefront, and the practice of critical inquiry has become second nature to students. Shy students become leaders, weak writers become reporters, busybodies become photographers, and the students who dislike insects and mud go home filthy with a "bug box" to share with their families. Because everyone has a role, everyone is successful. This tiny waterfront community houses phenomenal stands of butternut, an endangered species, and an abundance of flora and fauna, many of which are considered species at risk. Learning outside on the earth's blanket provides students with the opportunity to see, feel, hear, smell, and sometimes even taste their learning.

It is these hands-on experiences and personal connections to learning that keep students excited and engaged. Everyone has the opportunity to discover their unique gifts and these are celebrated both in and out of the classroom. Parents report that rather than running to the TV or video games after school, their children are doing Google searches on life cycles and habitats, or trying to identify the strange creatures that made their way to the kitchen sink. A student who was struggling with writing brought journals with detailed drawings of salamanders and snakes he had discovered on an outing to school. Another student who had been fearful of creepy-crawlies, volunteered to take an unknown swimming creature home to research what it was. These anecdotes about the MEM program demonstrate that something magical is happening. We are creating bright-eyed learners who are passionate to find answers to their daily wonderings.

Besides, the standard provincial school curriculum and standard educational practices have not served First Nations students well. Waabgon Gamig is not striving for the same education or same results. The school strives for results that exceed provincial school counterparts. A recent federal government report reveals that the 2009-2010 national graduation rate for First Nations reserve students attending provincial schools is 39 percent. For the province of Ontario, the rate is lower, at 33 percent. These statistics speak volumes about the need for differentiated, creative, and engaging programming for our students. If we can get them excited about learning at the elementary level, their chance for school success will improve. Students encourage each other to face their fears in this supportive environment, raising self-esteem while building a community of learners through hands-on, minds-on, outdoor experiential education.

Having people in the community serve as resources is like having 100 encyclopedias of cultural and traditional knowledge at your side. Local experts such as biologists and environmental coordinators are regular guests to the school. Local Indigenous knowledge is also cultivated through community luncheons, parent conferences, and mainland visitors. A sense of stewardship and pride across generations has evolved through the involvement of parents and community members as they share their specific knowledge and stories of the land. They bring their expertise and knowledge to the school, thus propelling the preservation and renewal process of intergenerational learning and teaching. Archaeology, soapstone carving, quill work, beading, painting, and traditional teachings about food, fire, sweat lodge ceremonies, and the rites of passage are just a few of the learning experiences embraced by all.

In addition, a wide variety of professional resources such as Nature's Curiosity, Project Wild, Below Zero, and Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature help ensure academic standards of teaching, learning, and assessment are met. Using Harvard University's "Making Thinking Visible" framework for assessing students' thinking has also been something new for the team at Waabgon. Gone are the days when students were assessed on regurgitated information. That's for the birds.

The ultimate question remains: Is a program like this possible in a "regular" school? The pupil-staff ratio at Waabgon is utopian and certainly a program to promote nature awareness would be more demanding in a school with a 25-plus:1 ratio. But consider this: even in Ontario's city schools, nature is close by. Many schools have ravines or parks or woodlots or fields within walking distance. The diversity of ecosystems may be limited, but even one of these locations can provide the space to follow most of the 12 core routines outlined in Coyote's Guide - a place for students to have the opportunity to listen and learn about bird talk, to iden- tify the characteristics of an ecosystem, to wander, to identify flora and fauna, to track animals, and so on. Backyards or parks close to apartment buildings could become "sit- spots" for children where they learn to relax and observe and journal about what they see and hear and feel and find. (See Coyote's Guide for all 12 core routines).

The rest of the planning is the same: enlisting the support of the administration to leave the building, getting parents on board and perhaps volunteering, teachers as well as kids putting on weather-appropriate outdoor clothing, and getting dirty out there. Plan to be patient and persevere in order to see those behavioural changes. For example, rather than smashing the rotten log to pieces, students will start to gather round and observe insects and grubs, asking questions and wondering with bright eyes. If all else fails or the weather doesn't co-operate, bring nature inside. Load up your room with plants and ask the caretakers to water them on school break. Bring in fallen nests, an assortment of leaves, milkweeds, or pictures from your own environmental excursions. Your Brain on Nature: TheScience of Nature's Influence on Your Health, Happiness and Vitality by E. Selhub and A. Logan might provide the facts and figures you need to convince those who hold the pursestrings and/or make the rules to let you leave the building often, and in all weathers.

Finally, the overall goal of Waabgon Gamig and the Mother Earth Mentoring Program is to assist students in becoming environmentalists and critical thinkers for twenty-first-century learning.

Our learning journey for today ends with this: One day while out for a walk in the trails with the curator of amphibians for the Toronto Zoo, one of the kindergarten students considered taking a salamander home. The student pondered and then changed her mind. She hesitated and then said, "No - the salamander doesn't belong to me, it belongs to the Earth." So what are you waiting for?

Get out your rubber boots!

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On the Blanket of Mother Earth: First Nations Environmental Education

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Two times a week grades 3, 4, and 5 students, dressed for the bush, finish their lunches and load into the school van. They are taking part in the Mother Earth Mentoring Program, a "culture-nature-awareness- experiential learning-critical thinking" program that is part of a pilot project at Waabgon Gamig First Nation School on Georgina Island.