2025
Practices and principles of re-engaging young people with nature: pooling the expertise of teachers and nature educators.
There is growing awareness of the benefits for mental health, alternative learning pathways, and opportunities to improve relationships within the school community, of taking students outdoors and teaching them a bit about the natural world. But many teachers lack experience and confidence, and in time and financially over stretched schools, under constant pressure of exams, it’s still not something that is prioritised.
Kim and Joe have been working with a community of around 25 teachers and outdoor educators to co-create ideas for how to re-engage young people, particularly teenagers, with nature, and to overcome some of the practical and perceived barriers. Through three workshops and various discussions the group has created a set of practical principles as a guide for teachers and other educators. We will go through our key findings, and look forward to hearing your views.
We are really grateful for funding from the HERO project to do this project.
