Today in class we got to hear from Kirtsen about the importance of connecting with nature, as well as discovering ways to build a relationship with the land in the classroom. I was especially interested in this presentation as it directly relates to my free inquiry project about hiking; Kirtsen is clearly passionate about nature too, so it was nice to see that we have that in common. I’ve always thought of nature as being a significant resource for learning and developing respect for the land; especially nature around the school community. The nature surrounding elementary schools can help students focus on place and help them to recognize how the land they are on relates to their identity and sense of self.

I also found the crossover between technology and nature to be very interesting. Often times these topics seem like opposites, but as Kirsten emphasized, technology can be an amazing way to enhance our knowledge of nature. Resources like google earth, minecraft, iNaturalist, ChatterPix, and more, provided our class with perfect examples of how technology can support our understanding of our land.

We got the chance to walk through Finnerty Gardens following this presentation, which was a really nice way to contextualize what we had just learned. Last year in my Biology class, we would walk through Finnerty Gardens to examine the plants and general environment. I found that learning opportunity supported my understanding of Biology more so than the Biology lectures in class. So especially for elementary students, learning in nature and about nature has immense benefits.

Photo credits to UVic’s website: