With the weather warming up, what better way to learn about connection to nature than to go outside! The grade 5/6s jumped at the chance to take their final Beyond Recycling lesson outdoors into the Kimberley Nature Park. The students have been coming to this outdoor classroom regularly all year, but this was the first time Beyond Recycling Educator Kim joined them.
Together, we spent most of the day outside in the sun, snow, slush and ice. The theme for this field-trip was We Are Nature, so the students slowed way down to take in the experience of connecting to the land. Through Racoon Circles, sit spots, and shelter building the students were reminded just how nature nourishes, supports, revives, and protects us.
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We observed how shapes and patterns found in nature are also found in cities and even our own bodies. The veins in leaves, lichen and the shape of tree branches are all similar to the veins in our bodies, the blood vessels in our hearts, and the neurons in our brains.
Students then got to use many of these found items along with tarps and rope, to build shelters that could help protect them if they ever got lost in the forest.
After discussions, reflections, exploration and building time, it was clear to everyone just how much we are all connected to each other, and to nature!