Despite reports of climate change and various environmental catastrophes around the world, it’s important to remember that the great outdoors is still, well, great.
The beauty of nature, though stressed by man, is still very much in abundance. So it’s crucial that people—particularly young people—understand nature’s importance so they may work to improve it in coming years.
For this reason, various district schools chose to participate in the Oct. 18 Take Me Outside Day. The event is intended “to encourage schools to extend the learning environment beyond the desk and four walls and to use the great outdoors as part of the regular teaching practice,” according to the non-profit Take Me Outside organization.
By the banks of the Wolastoq
Kim Ouellette, a Grade One teacher at Kingsclear Community School, knows the value of nature in education.
“Here at KCS, we really believe in taking children outside everyday for learning,” Ouellette said. “Starting in kindergarten, we have dedicated learning blocks that occur outside. Most of that happens in the OC—the outdoor classroom. There’s water, there’s mud, there’s trees; we take our science kits and we go everyday and do learning out there.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 18, Kingsclear Community School students planted a tree in recognition of Take Me Outside Day. Groups of students from all grades were brought to the field behind the school to see the sapling and to put their nature education to good use by fielding Ouellette’s questions on the environment. Younger children got the chance to experience the outdoor classroom too.
After a spirited environmental Q&A, students helped dig a hole and plant the tree.
Grade 4 student Violet and Grade 5 student Jude said they enjoyed learning about the importance of the natural world in their lives, with Violet adding, “It’s good to take care of nature.”
Ouellette also makes sure students understand how Indigenous communities have been stewards of the land for centuries.
“We have been learning about Indigenous cultures of the Wabanaki people and the lands that we live in [and] we embed Indigenous teachings into our practice,” she said. “We’ve actually had guests come and smudge with us in our outdoor space. They talk to us about how we can respect nature.”
“My hope is that they will learn to respect nature and that we learn from nature. It’s not that we own the land or the trees or the space, but that we cohabitate together.”
Kingsclear Community School Teacher Kim OUELette
Further south on the Wolastoq, Essential Skills Teacher Natasha Douthwright had a literal field day with her students at Cambridge-Narrows Community School on Take Me Outside Day.
“We got trees donated,” said Douthwright. “The older classes helped the younger classes plant nine trees on the school grounds.”
Douthwright knows a thing or two about incorporating the outdoors into education. She and Community Schools Coordinator Marcy Malloy co-lead Cambridge-Narrows Community School’s Climate Action Group. The group works with students on sustainability projects, and last school year, their efforts led to the school earning a Sustainable Future Schools designation—and a $500 grant—from Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF).
“The tree planting activity hits every single one of the [United Nations’] 17 sustainability goals,” Douthwright said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for students and teachers to get outside and learn about nature.”
Said Ouellette, “What we do impacts nature and what happens in nature impacts us. So my hope is that the children will grow up understanding this relationship, respecting this relationship, and then passing it on to their children when they get older.”
