Digital Visual Journal by

The Stage For Performance Takes Place in Nature.

marinamark2009 — 2025-09-05 00:08:50 UTC

When I got to Highlands Lake Playground in Craigieburn, the stunning sights and sounds captivated me. The fountains represent the dancing of water, while the branches wiggle in the wind. Meanwhile, the ducks are calling across the water and people are walking through it all. It was like nature was having a party and inviting me for it, If I am a child now, I would run to the lake and splash my hands in the waters and feed the ducks. I would turn the whole lake into a stage for music, drama and dance.

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Analytical response

marinamark2009 — 2025-09-05 06:02:57 UTC

The Craigieburn Highlands Lake Playground created a space where people can enjoy temporal arts performances. The wind stirred the branches of the trees like performers in a dance, the fountains’ splashes and rises in rhythm, the cries of the ducks across the lake, the footfalls tapping their percussion line. The sensory immersion at a probably wonder means one a common object is presented like extraordinary or marvelous things. Wilson (2007) argues that creative play connects the mind with the body and spirit. The sound was almost as if a Pompier and a Rothko collided in a cacophony of sound. The sound of the fountains was like music that grew ever so complex after some repetitions of it, Steve Reich’s Clapping Music revolved around that idea. The water rippling in the lake conjured Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel, where silence takes precedence. According to Wooten (2013), immersion is the best way to learn the music. Dadirri, a deep listening practice used by Aboriginal peoples, draws the attention to place. Here, sound- and listening-based knowledge essential to the sensing of place is the focus. If I were to be a kid I would run and splash water and feed ducks. I would ask fountain to dance with me, and my volumes will ripple. Playing in this way reinforces the symbolic representation (Wilson, 2007) and the naturalistic and musical intelligences (Gardner, 1999). It resists what Louv (2006) calls the de-naturing of childhood. Bilton (2002) argues that outdoor environments stimulate more creative and cooperative types of play. The art of Early Childhood Education is to teach a way of life that generates resilience, creativity and ecological awareness.

Deep Listening to Nature’s Musical Dialogues 🎶🎶🎼🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎼🎼“ Language of music “

marinamark2009 — 2025-09-05 06:10:16 UTC

The sounds of nature at Highlands Lake show that music can be a type of teaching. Rhythmic waters and rippling fountains provide natural patterns for children to imitate, improvise, and transform into play. According to Wilson (2007), creative play facilitates symbolic representation. Likewise, Gardner (1999) sees musical intelligence as central to meaning making. The repetitions in the music of Reich are models for pattern recognition; that of Pärt is for stillness and reflection; and Wooten (2013) tellingly suggests that music is language; children learn through spending time by playing within sound. The deep listening process, as explained in Dadirri (Ungunmerr-Baumann, 2002), through which educators can devise ECE practices where nature acts as the orchestra and classroom, therefore resisting Louv’s (2006) “de-naturing of childhood”. In this way Highlands Lake can interpreted as a profound pedagogical narration in which music, place and child learning in harmony.

“ Dancing with Silence: Nature’s Musical Stage “ 🦆🦆🦆🦆🦚🌳🌴🪾⛲️⛲️⛲️language of movement and dance

marinamark2009 — 2025-09-05 06:23:31 UTC

At Highlands Lake, fountains sprang from the water like dancers, branches rowed through the air all in a row and the ducks glided as though they were onstage. Wilson (2007) described such an experience as a creative play past symbolic representation while Carson (1956) considered it a sense of wonder. If I was a child, I would run and jump and make up stories - be dramatic in play. Such movement develops our naturalistic and musical intelligences (Gardner, 1999) whilst resisting Louv’s “de-naturing of childhood” (2006). It educates children in a holistic manner—nature as dance floor, drama and pedagogy; like Wooten’s musical language (2013) and Dadirri’s deep listening (Ungunmerr-Baumann, 2002) .

“The Playground Where Drama Finds Its Voice” Language of drama

marinamark2009 — 2025-09-05 06:30:41 UTC

At Highlands Lake, I watched nature put on a performance: the fountains billowed, the trees bowed, and the ducks danced across the water. The audience members were mostly walkers, and I who followed the rhythm. This is in accordance with Carson’s (1956) wonder and Wilson’s (2007) play as symbolic representation. In play, children become actors and authors while turning fountains in partners and ripples in stories. This type of play builds a range of intelligences (Gardner 1999), opposes Louv’s (2006) “de-naturing of childhood”, and instils Dadirri’s slow attentive stillness (Ungunmerr-Baumann 2002). And through performance and imagination, it teaches.

References

marinamark2009 — 2025-09-05 06:45:23 UTC

1. Bilton, H. (2002). The second edition of Involvement and outdoor play in the early years has been launched. David Fulton.

2. Carson, R. (1956). The sense of wonder. Harper & Row.

3. Gardner, H. (1999). Multiple intelligences for the 21st century. Basic Books.

4. Louv, R. (2006). Protecting our children from nature deficit disorder. Algonquin Books.

5. Ungunmerr-Baumann, M.-R. (2002). Dadirri refers to deep inner listening and quiet awareness. Miriam Rose Foundation.

6. Wilson, R. (2007). Nature and young children: Engaging play and learning outside with young child club. Routledge.

7. Wooten, V. (2013). Music as a language [Video]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/victor_wooten_music_as_a_language.

8. YouTube. (2010). Steve Reich – Clapping Music [Video]. https://youtu.be/tow2tR_ezL8.

9. YouTube. (2015). Arvo Pärt – Spiegel im Spiegel [Video]. https://youtu.be/2zvjW9arAZ0.

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