https://youtu.be/74UC7d4eOjM?si=LtAwWKv94waCdQKz

Transcript

Once upon a time, there was a bird named Breeze who loved to fly high in the sky, feeling the wind beneath her wings. One day, a storm suddenly approached, and the wind grew strong. Breeze's feathers became wet, so she quickly flew to a tall tree with a hollow to shelter from the rain.

As the storm raged, Breeze worried about her friends. She couldn’t stay inside, so she flew back out, guiding other birds to safety in trees and bushes. After the storm passed and the sky cleared, Breeze felt proud of her bravery.

From that day on, Breeze became a symbol of courage, showing that even in tough times, helping others makes a big difference. And as she soared through the sky, she sang a song:

"Though the storm may roar and cry,

I’ll spread my wings and soar on high.

Through the rain and through the night,

I’ll find my way and take to flight.”

I also noticed children playing in the distance. Though I could not see them clearly, their laughter and shouts brought a sense of liveliness to the space, reminding me of the joy and freedom children experience when they interact with nature. The playful sounds of the children, despite being far off, felt like an integral part of the environment. I was aware of their presence, and yet, I didn’t feel disrupted by their sound. Instead, I felt that they contributed to the overall atmosphere of the place.

The soundscape was punctuated by the approach of footsteps on the gravel path. At first, they were faint but grew louder as someone drew closer. This moment of hearing footsteps—compared to the more distant sounds of children or birds—brought a change in my perception of space and attention. The footsteps grounded me, reminding me of the human presence within nature. I paused to focus on the sensory experience of those footsteps, contrasting it with the more organic sounds of the creek and the birds.

I watched a bird struggling to fly against the wind. It flapped its wings, rising and falling with the gusts, its flight dramatic and shaky, as if it were fighting an invisible force. The bird would move a little, then be blown back, trying again and again to stay in one spot. The drama of its struggle reminded me of the tension between freedom and resistance in nature. As I watched, I felt connected to the bird's effort, like I too was being carried by the wind, caught between the calmness and unpredictability of the world around me.

As per Oliveros (2015), she emphasizes the importance of not just hearing sounds, but actively listening to them. She mentioned listening requires a more intentional engagement with sound, a deeper awareness of the nuances and textures of the sounds we encounter (min 7.15). During my visit, I practiced this type of active listening, intentionally tuning into the different layers of sound: the gurgling of the creek, the chirping of birds, the distant hum of cars, and the approaching footsteps. Each sound had its own rhythm, tone, and volume, and I found myself distinguishing between background noise (the cars and children) and foreground sounds (the birds, the creek, and footsteps, rustling of the leaves).

In my experience of nature, the breeze rustling through the trees inspired me to mimic the movement of leaves with my hands, while also trying to imitate the graceful dance of birds flying in the sky. The shifting clouds above seemed to move in and out of view, adding to the flow of nature’s rhythm. This connection to movement is similar to the dancers in, Bowman (n.d.), video, where they all effortlessly make motions to mirror the natural world. The dancer’s body moves with such ease and intention, flowing from one position to the next, much like how I felt the environment influencing my own movements, creating a beautiful agreement between body and nature’s ever-changing dance.

The experience brought a sense of peace and calm, but also a deeper connection to my childhood memories of playing outside. The distant laughter of children reminded me of how natural environments are places of exploration and imagination. Wilson (2018) emphasizes the importance of nature as a source of imaginative play for children, and I could feel how the environment sparked creativity in me, as I let my thoughts wander and create stories around the environment.

After engaging with nature, I have learned the  importance of sound, movement, and imagination in our connection to the world, and this has influenced how I view the potential of natural spaces in early childhood education. Through active listening and creative exploration, children can learn to engage with their surroundings in ways that are meaningful and imaginative, laying the foundation for lifelong creativity and learning.

Bowman, A. (n.d.). Movement, Sound, Play | Artifact Dance Project | TEDxTucson. [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrgpeuPbp-I&t=5s.

Oliveros, P. (2015). The difference between hearing and listening | Pauline Oliveros | TEDxIndianapolis. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/_QHfOuRrJB8.

Wilson, R. (2018). Nature play. Nature and Young Children, p.9. doi:https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315148533-2.