In which contexts is nature-based therapy most effective? What does it have to do with attachment theory, stress reduction theory, and attention restoration theory? How can nature help both children and adults (therapists included) stay regulated? Nevin also discusses outdoor risky play, when social-emotional learning is developmentally appropriate, and the limits of some contemporary approaches to assessing and treating mental health challenges. Also, what’s the deal with negative ionization and waterfalls?

Guest: Nevin Harper

Adapted from the Kids These Days website:

Nevin Harper identifies first and foremost as a practitioner of nature-based therapy, wherein he conducts outdoor counselling sessions around his home of Vancouver Island, Canada. As a research professor at the University of Victoria’s School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education, Nevin focuses on active engagement of people-in-environments, specifically outdoor, experiential, and nature-based activities. Nevin is also a sought-after speaker, trainer, and consultant around the world.

References:

• Nature-based Therapy
• Embracing Risky Play at School
• Kids These Days
• MINT Lab at UBC
• Bowlby and Ainsworth’s attachment theory
• Universal interventions on mental health: https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/camh.12572
• Imaginative Ecological Education
• CASEL framework
• Psychiatry for Kids (children’s book)
• Plastic Surgery for Kids (children’s book)
• Data on GAD & PHQ9 surveys and medication use are detailed in James Davies’ book Sedated.
• Insights about kids and rough-and-tumble play: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-04408-022
• Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter: https://ellenbeatehansensandseter.com/
• Therapeutic outcomes over the past 50 years: https://www.madinamerica.com/2018/06/psychotherapists-reflect-lack-improvement-psychotherapy/

Have you thought about starting a garden to use in your teaching? What if you’re in an urban area? Perhaps you’re working on a shoe-string budget. How can you get started and, most importantly, keep a garden going once the initial excitement fades? These are some of the questions and challenges that Noel Cibulka and the team at KidsGardening tackle on a daily basis. Noel joined us to talk all things school gardening, including specific tips on how to integrate math into garden-based education.

Guest: Noel Cibulka

Adapted from the Kids Gardening website:

Noel Cibulka started with KidsGardening in the summer of 2022. As Educational Content Manager she helps develop KG’s annual garden-based educational content strategy, co-developing original educational materials, overseeing the editorial calendar and supporting the content marketing plan. She also supports the KidsGardening Community with resource vetting and engagement.

Growing up in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, Noel developed a deep appreciation for the natural world while swimming, hiking, gardening, and foraging for fruit with family and friends. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from University of Southern California, where she developed a passion for informal education, teaching poetry workshops at 32nd Street School/USC Magnet.

Mentioned in episode:

• KidsGardening
• Math in the Garden (book)
• Math in the Garden e-Course

Related resources:

• The Everyday School Garden
• Sowing the Seeds of Wonder
• Jardiner à l’école

Jade is our resident chionophile (look it up), so she popped over to the other side of the mic for this episode about outdoor learning in places where winter is cold and snowy. There’s talk of winter mystery bags, using snowflakes as lessons prompts, connections to literacy, and the importance of movement. We also get into the nitty gritty of clothing and ways of ensuring that everyone has access to the right gear when temperatures drop below freezing. Also, how do chickadees’ brains change in the winter?

Mentioned in episode:

• Dressing for the Weather diagram from Christina Pickles
• A Walking Curriculum

Related resources:

• The Big Book of Nature Activities
• Sitting with Nature: An Educator’s Guide to Sit Spots
• Dirty Teaching: A Beginner’s Guide to Learning Outdoors

Prepositions matter in this episode, specifically that three-letter word ‘for.’ What is outdoor learning ‘for’ assessment? How can we facilitate outdoor learning ‘for’ social-emotional learning (SEL)? Teacher, writer, podcaster, and regular sit-spot practitioner Lauren MacLean of Teach Outdoors joined us to talk assessment and SEL in the context of learning outdoors. We also got into the weeds regarding British Columbia’s competency-based assessment framework as well as documenting learners’ progress on a continuum.

Guest: Lauren MacLean

From the Teach Outdoors website

“I was born and raised in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada by my two amazing parents. My brother, sister, and I grew up playing in the ditches and wetlands in the summer and exploring the snowy mountains in the winter.

I now live in Port Moody, BC. It’s still on the West Coast of Canada, just a bit further up the Burrard Inlet. My family lives at the top of Heritage Mountain where we enjoy taking our two young toddlers and energetic dog on forest hikes.

I am very grateful to be living and learning on these lands which lie on the traditional, unceded territory of the Coast Salish people since time immemorial.”

Mentioned in episode:

• Teach Outdoors
• Teach Outdoors Podcast
• CASEL
• Wild Learning (Rachel Tidd)

Related resources:

• Sitting with Nature: An Educator’s Guide to Sit Spots
• Me and My Sit Spot
• Me and My Sit Spot for Early Learners
• Embracing Risky Play at School

There has been a sharp increase over the past decade in educational resources from Indigenous perspectives. What can we look for when selecting such resources? Which gaps remain, and how do we address them? Launa Payne and Sherrelle Anderson of Rise Up Indigenous Wellness joined us to discuss these questions and offer their insights about learning Indigenous languages, paths to reconciliation, and the power of shared laughter.

Guests:

From the Rise Up Indigenous Wellness website

Launa Payne is a member of Xa'xtsa First Nation. She is an Indigenous Educator with a focus on outdoor education. Launa teaches yoga and mindfulness in addition to Indigenous outdoor camps. Launa is the proud mother of two adult children. She has published two books on Indigenous teachings and connection to the land.

Sherrelle Anderson is a member of the Saddle Lake First Nation. She is a Social Worker with a focus on Indigenous wellness. Sherrelle is an Indigenous outreach worker who also teaches a number of Indigenous programs throughout BC. Sherrelle is the proud mother of three school-aged daughters.

Mentioned in episode:

• Health benefits of time in nature
• Information on integrating Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
• Heartbeat of the Earth: Connecting Children to Nature through Indigenous Teachings by Launa Purcell
• A Walking Curriculum: Evoking Wonder and Developing a Sense of Place by Gillian Judson
• 4 Seasons of Indigenous Learning

Resources for Indigenous Learning:

• Indigenous Language Learning courses
• 52 Ways to Reconcile: How to Walk with Indigenous Peoples on the Path to Healing by David A. Robertson
• Teacher Set: Speaking Our Truth — A Journey of Reconciliation

With Parker McMullen Bushman of the National Association of Interpretation and Ecoinclusive

How has the field of interpretation changed in recent decades? What opportunities do digital tools open up for interpreters? Where can we look for guidance in telling uncomfortable stories and reconciling with difficult truths? NAI Board President Parker McMullen Bushman covers all of these questions and reminds us why nature and heritage interpreters can have such a major influence on individuals and the public at large.

Guest:

Parker McMullen Bushman is the Chief Operating Officer of Inclusive Guide and founder of Ecoinclusive Strategies. She is also the Board President for the National Association for interpretation. Listed by Outside Magazine in 2022 as one of the 20 Most Influential People in the Outdoor Industry, Parker is a dynamic speaker and facilitator who engages audiences in new thinking around what it means to be a diversity change-agent and create dynamic organizational change. Parker’s background in the non-profit leadership, conservation, environmental education, and outdoor recreation fields spans over 24+ years. Parker has a passion for equity and inclusion in outdoor spaces. Her interest in justice, accessibility, and equity issues developed from her personal experiences facing the unequal representation of people of color in environmental organizations and green spaces. Parker tackles these complex issues by addressing them through head-on activism and education.

Websites and Projects

Inclusive Guide: https://www.inclusiveguide.com/

Personal: https://cparkermcmullenbushman.com/

Ecoinclusive: https://www.ecoinclusive.org/

Summit for Action: https://www.summitforaction.org/

Kweenwerk: https://www.kweenwerk.com

Mentioned in episode:

• NAI’s Legacy magazine: https://nai-us.org/nai/_resources/publications/Legacy_Magazine.aspx
• Story about “Stone Lagoon” on Yurok Tribe lands: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30898#:~:text=On%20April%207th%2C%202022%2C%20the,within%20the%20State%20Park%20system

Resources for nature and heritage interpretation:

• The National Park Classroom: A Guide to Designing Project-Based Learning Adventures
• The Big Book of Nature Activities — A Year-Round Guide to Outdoor Learning
• Heartbeat of the Earth: Connecting Children to Nature through Indigenous Teachings
• Animal Track Pack: Coyote, Deer, Squirrel, Hare, Owl, Crow (replicas)
• Enhanced Educator Outdoor Learning Kit
• Various nature guides
• … and many more

*Episode edited by M. Angel Goñi Avila

*Episode originally recorded in Summer 2023

In our first fireside-chat episode, we hear from multiple voices to unpack different aspects of Truth and Reconciliation. The idea here is to invite curiosity, reflection, and discussion. We’ve heard from many folks over the years that they’d like to learn more but aren’t quite sure where to start. We hope that this episode serves as an invitation to get started, no matter what your starting point is.

Resources for Indigenous Learning:

• 4 Seasons of Indigenous Learning (virtual course)
• Indigenous Language Learning (virtual courses)
• Braiding Sweetgrass
• Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults
• Natural Curiosity, 2nd ed.
• Unreconciled
• Heartbeat of the Earth
• Sila and the Land
• Walking Together
• … and many more

Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action here.

Related episodes of Earthy Chats:

• Episode 3: Braiding Ktunaxa knowledge into learning
• Episode 6: Reconnecting with the Land through a child’s eyes
• Episode 12: Natural Curiosity through an Indigenous lens
• Episode 14: Awakening to the lessons of the Land

Ian and Jade are back for this two-part episode!

In Part 1, the co-hosts begin to unpack the use of watersheds as an integrating context for learning (AKA, watershed education).

In Part 2 starting at the 12:45 mark, we return to an episode of the Talking with Green Teachers podcast from the spring of 2022 wherein Ian and guest David Ramsay discussed these questions:

What is watershed education? Why is it a critical component of place-based learning? How can we engage students of all ages in learning through a watershed lens?

Water is a remarkable storyteller. All we have to do is listen to what it has to tell us.