I have always questioned why teachers look down on having class outside on beautiful days. Students often express that they would rather be in the fresh air and warm sun rather than an old stuffy classroom. I was one of those students in school begging to sing or read on the grass. Nowadays I don’t spend as much time outside as I would like too, but I recall a time where the outdoors was where I spent the majority of my formative years. I feel as if I lost that connection to the environment as I have grown up. I choose to attend class, study at the library, complete my homework, work a few jobs, and in doing so I neglected to make the time to spend outdoors. I did not consider this to be a negative thing but rather a product of prioritizing my time at this point in my life. I still feel throughout my undergraduate degree I cared for the environment in the ways I could; I made efforts to lessen my waste and I protested against the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion. However after my experiences in EDUC 400 I am plagued with the feeling that I am not doing enough for the environment. I had to seriously reflect on my efforts and priorities. In my second reflection of this semester, I was ruminating over whether I was doing enough and what “doing enough” even meant. What is “enough” for me as an individual, and is that the same standard for governments and corporations? This outlook has made me feel small and useless. I know that environmental activism is extremely important in our current climate crisis, but after talking with colleagues about the many issues that we have discussed it became clear to me that not every issue can be a priority. My priorities can also change over time and are not fixed. I must let go of feeling guilty for not being able to do more or else I will be frozen to the point of doing nothing. I still keep tabs on important climate issues, try to lessen my waste, and think about our ways of life critically in regards to the climate crisis. What I did discover during this time was a new way of thinking about the land we live on. I now consider the land as a sacred teacher.

Reading Simpson’s Land as Pedagogy guided my experience at the Surrey Nature Centre and shaped my way of thinking about land based learning. I discussed my learnings and questions from this reading in depth in Outcome One. Like Binoojiinh, I felt a great sense of self-led discovery, trust and deep joy in my exploration. During our activity to walk for 20 minutes and ‘notice’ I came across many small details that I may not have noticed if I was just taking a stroll through the park. Taking a walk is beneficial for your physical and mental health, but what if the act of ‘noticing’ was seen as a spiritual health practice? I began to take noticing more seriously during the activities. I found hidden litter, so I picked it up. I heard more noises from different birds and creatures, so I followed them. I saw strange fungi and mouldy patches on a damp log, so I climbed it. I typically wouldn’t have climbed it in fear of slipping or falling, but that day I stuck to my challenge. I climbed the fallen tree. A colleague walked by me and made sure I got a few pictures of this. I felt pride and accomplishment deep within over a tiny feat. I learned from and with the land in a small way, something that I had done but never thought about consciously before.

Carrots

While at an inner city elementary school in my GO2, I noticed many children were getting sent out into the halls or a separate room to encourage quiet self regulation time. I wanted to observe how the students were self-regulating in different environments. One school in particular had a large garden space in the centre of their school. I noticed a colleague and a child out in the garden so I joined them. Upon meeting this child, it seemed that his teacher sent him to the garden multiple times in a day. Using the DAE method, I observed this child and the teacher, recognized the behaviours, and deduced that this teacher was sending this child to the garden as a punishment for his hyper activity and impulsiveness. This space could have easily become a place associated with negativity for this child, but it was the opposite. This child couldn’t stop exploring and teaching me all they knew about the garden. They showed me different plants, soil, watering cans, and would . be constantly reaching their hands into the dirt. The child reached deep into one bed of vegetables and pulled out some baby carrots. The child seemed confident and hopefully felt like they were contributing to their school by tending to the garden every day. Spending time in the garden with this child made me incredibly happy, but it also made me critically analyze how teachers treat their students with “difficult behaviours.” I began to consider why children with designations but no EA’s are tossed out of class or written off and how that may impact their schooling? Does the child have talents and interests that have not been discovered yet by their teacher? What if this child went to a school that did not have a garden? Would their experience be different? I would think so, and I can guess that there are many students who would find wonderful benefits from access to a garden or green space in their school.

This interaction was very special to me. It firstly reminded me about the value of gardening and sustainability, especially in communities that may be struggling economically. The principal explained that many kids plant their own veggies and take them home when the vegetables are ripe. This interaction also showed me the garden was acting as a teacher for the child, perhaps even more impactful than their own classroom teacher. The taught the child patience, responsibility, and caring. The student also took on the role of teacher in the garden, showing me all the plants the planted, what their names were, when they might be ready, etc. For a student who seemed to be written off as disruptive and difficult, they sure knew a lot about the earth and cared for it deeply. The garden was their teacher, their friend, and their sustainer.

Global Climate Strike

I believe attending the Global Climate Strike was an important event to partake in, as it is not only an important issue that all citizens are facing, but it also shows that teachers are hearing their student concerns. This global strike was created by students with the intention to have adults turn their heads and question why the kids are not in school. If teachers give their time and attention to the causes their students are involved with, it communicates that the teachers are listening to their students and that they support their students. I think it is important to support our younger generations, especially when it comes to climate justice. Teachers being present at the march shows solidarity with their students and ultimately builds a stronger relationship. This semester, I relearned the value of being outdoors in nature. It is one thing to appreciate and protect it from afar, but it is equally as important to be a part of it. To touch, to smell, to listen, to feel. I considered spending time outside as fun when I was a child, but I did not comprehend the great learning that can happen outside, and I think many educators overlook this too. I am now more cognizant of the importance of being on and with the land and will make greater efforts to give my students experiences that foster learning from the land.

References

Simpson, L. B. (2017). Land as pedagogy. In As we have always done: Indigenous freedom through radical resistance (pp. 145-173). U of Minnesota Press.