Bringing nature into learning and the classroom
The Wildlife Trust commissioned research to evaluate the impact that experiencing nature had on children. The research found there were significant benefits for children’s wellbeing after they spent time connecting with nature. Headlines from the research include: 90% of children felt they learned something new about the natural world, 79% felt their experience could help with school work, 84% of children felt they were capable of doing new things, and 79% of children reported having more self-confidence.
With such significant findings, we thought we’d look at 5 ideas to help connect children’s learning and nature:
Bring nature into the classroom. This can be as easy as placing plants around your classroom, but you could also bring various items of foliage in for learning across different subjects. Bring a selection of leaves in and set some tasks; firstly, identify which trees they are from, next ask the students to draw the leaves to form a tree for your classroom wall.
Name that plant! Set a goal for the year that every student should be able to name ten different species of birds, flowers and trees. This can give a sustained focus to nature as you revisit different species across the year and check in on students learning of the names.
Explore local habitats, from the school grounds and beyond. What insects, plants and trees can be found in your playground? What about the local park? Have you thought about how your school playground area could be changed in order to attract more species of butterflies or birds?
Share nature. Encourage pupils to take a photo, video or a sound recording and share it with the class during your nature sessions. You could create a great collage of images and a library of the sounds of nature.
What’s happening in your local area? Find out if there are wildlife groups who could come into school to do a talk about the nature on your doorstep. Get involved in your local nature networks, such as the Wildlife Trust or the RSPB.
World Environment Day 2021 will focus on how we can revive our ecosystems by, for example, planting trees or cleaning up riverbanks. It’s important we instil a sense of appreciation for the nature around us; not only for sustainability, but also for our mental health which can benefit greatly through a connection to the natural world.