85 results for group: 2024
Building a Sense of Place Through Birds
Get to know your local birds using the magic of Merlin! The Merlin Bird ID app lets you discover which birds are in your area from season to season, by sight or sound. Take a bird walk with us to practice using the app, learn activities that use birds to inspire connection to place, and chat about the power of birds to connect people locally and globally. Prior to the workshop, please download the Merlin app and install the Canada West and your local bird packs so you’re ready to explore your local birds and the birds of Banff.
Games and Activities to Move You – Using Drama and Games to Enhance Nature Connection
This we know. Kids yearn to move and they have an active imagination. Why not capitalize on this by integrating dramatic movement to enhance a child's understanding of the natural world? We'll make a working tree using our bodies, we'll learn to authentically stalk like foxes, we'll fly like geese and learn what they can teach us about leadership. Jacob will share some tips and tricks for engaging children by showcasing some fun, tried and true games and activities that get children moving and imagining. He'll share some resources that have been useful in his more than 35 years of teaching outdoor education. Kids will only be moved to protect ...
We All Belong in Nature: Ecojustice in Outdoor Education
Nature supports wellness, however not all youth have equitable access to nature. Truth be told, mainstream outdoor education is inaccessible, exclusive, and expensive.
Join CPAWS Southern Alberta Education to learn how you can provide inclusive nature connection opportunities that support wellbeing for everyone. This session will guide your role as an educator and caring community member in responding to inequality in outdoor education, and provide tools and resources that make a difference. CPAWS will demonstrate how to take immersive environmental lessons, games and activities and apply cross-cultural guidelines to make nature’s inclusive ...
Documenting Children’s “Worlding”: Towards the Development of Common Worlds Pedagogical Documentation Practices
In this session, early childhood educators and professionals (post-secondary instructors, advocates, researchers) will gather to discuss pedagogical documentation in the context of nature-based programs. How can the experiences of children and the more-than-human both be represented in documentation? In this facilitated discussion, participants will be invited to share their current practices of documentation with the children in their care, as well as discuss examples of documentation provided. Informed by recent common worlds research, the aim of this session will be to inspire new perspectives, develop new practices, share and connect with each ...
Reading into Belonging and Well-being with Children’s Literature
Books can be an important vehicle for supporting a sense of belonging and well-being within a learning community. They can offer important invitations to discover, learn about, and discuss diverse perspectives. Have you thought critically about the books that you are bringing into your work with children? Who is represented within the books available in your classroom? In this workshop, we will explore some of the opportunities offered by children’s literature with regards to bringing diverse perspectives into outdoor experiences, take a closer look at some examples of children’s literature, and discuss tools that can help with selecting childre...
Hear and Now: Sound Mindfulness for Outdoor Learning Experiences
Discover the sound of peace and place in this outdoor, ‘ears’-on, immersive experience. Participants will engage in various contemplative listening activities grounded in audio-ecology. Culminating in a group rhythm-making circle using found materials, we will embark on an embodied journey through our sense of hearing to connect with nature, each other, and ourselves. A major component of wellbeing is the sense of belonging that comes with being part of something. Tuning into the reciprocal relationship of listening and being heard can open up many avenues of growth and learning for all people.
Nurturing Nature’s Joy
Reconnecting with the natural world is just as important for adults as it is for children. This workshop is dedicated to promoting the power of play within us, the adults, who will lead by example to inspire future generations to cherish and enjoy the wonders of nature and the outdoors. Through reconnecting with our personal 'why', sharing practical insights and reconnecting ourselves with the wonder of nature, this session will leave participants inspired and invigorated to continue to promote and celebrate the importance of outdoor nature play. This workshop will focus on nature as an overall experience that promotes curiosity, creativity and ...
The Evaluation of a Nature-Based Childcare Program: Findings, Lessons Learned and Next Steps
Childcare programs delivered outdoors can provide an opportunity to reintroduce, reinforce and supplement outdoor play during early childhood. In addition, outdoor childcare programs may positively affect practitioner wellbeing, professional engagement and the quality of education being delivered. However, there remains a gap in the literature regarding the health and developmental impacts of nature-based childcare programs and more research is needed.
As part of the Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play, researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute are evaluating a nature-based childcare program in Ottawa, Ontario, ...
Nature Knows No Limits: Promoting Inclusion and Accessibility in Our Outdoor Classroom
Join us for an inspiring and informative workshop where we will explore the transformative power of outdoor education in promoting inclusion and accessibility for all students. In this workshop, we will delve into the realm of limitless possibilities that nature provides, regardless of physical abilities. Through engaging activities and captivating storytelling, we will highlight personal experiences working with neurodiverse students and students in wheelchairs. Discover how a year of learning outdoors can be successful and enriching, no matter the challenges or limitations faced by students.
Participants will have the opportunity to gain practical ...
miskasowin askihk – finding oneself on the land
We are co-teachers of a high school land-based education program in Regina, SK called miskasowin askihk - finding oneself on the land. We have students for 4 hours a day, and teach them 5 credits including Cree, Indigenous Studies, Environmental Science, Wildlife and Habitat Studies, and Physical Education. We take students on one overnight trip each month and many day trips. The program focuses on two-eyed seeing - integrating Indigenous worldviews with western science. We have taught the program for 1.5 years and have learned many lessons. We will take you through an interactive experience about how we design our curriculum to learn from the land. ...
