Engaging the Ecological Imagination

What do playing with baby animals, tending to a food garden, or hugging an old growth tree have in common? In a positive learning environment, these activities kindle an ethics of care, nurture empathy, and develop a ground for social responsibility. Research studies suggest that kids exposed to the natural world are more inclined to take inspired action as adults, for causes that protect the natural world. Further studies support the idea that spending time in nature contributes to a creative imagination, and a deeper understanding of our inter-dependence with nature. A felt connection with the natural world cultivates a reimagining of ourselves, that is embedded in emotional, social, and imaginative engagement. Identifying with the intrinsic value of nature, not only supports the preservation of nature as crucial to human needs, but is essential for human flourishing. Recognizing that our highly stimulated, plugged in social behaviours are just a distraction from our deeper, inherent needs, that when in natural environments stimulate a sense of aliveness, wonder and awe. Continued exposure to nature may ignite new understandings of systems thinking, ecological

Summer Kids Camps

principles, and perhaps transcend current perceptions and understandings of social conditioning.

Kids need to engage all their senses in experiential learning to understand how deeply connected they are to the natural world, guided by mentors that embody the intrinsic value of nature, and recognize the agency of, and kinship with the natural world. Imagine a world in which the highest good of each person and each species is thoughtfully considered in decision making processes. The whole world is revealed in tiny dew drops glistening on a spider’s web.

Michelle Atterby, MA (s) in environmental education, has been facilitating naturebased programs, and animal assisted learning programs for youth and adults for almost two decades.