Book Resource
The book that I have chosen is a children’s book: The Mess That We Made by Michelle Lord. This book follows along the mess that the world has made regarding the trash that ends up in the ocean affecting all marine life. The book signifies how one piece of trash can go a long way and make a large impact to the world using a repetitive strategy of writing to convey the bigger picture: “This is the net that catches the seal, that eats the fish that swim in the mess that we made” (Lord, 2020, p. 4). The second half of the book gets into how although we have made this mess, we are also the ones who can fix it and reverse the impacts on the environment. Although the whole book is powerful and impactful, I particularly like the ending that talks about ocean pollution and calls to action. These are some great ways for students to learn about how we can save our planet and learn some facts about pollution in the ocean. One activity/lesson that I could do with a grade 4 class would be to take them on a garbage clean up excursion—with proper risk management and crisis prevention strategies in place. This would match well in the science curriculum, outcome HC4.3: Assess the effects of natural and human activities on habitats and communities, and propose actions to maintain or restore habitats. I wouldn’t say this resource has any limitations, but rather the possibilities are endless; I could see this resource being used in a kindergarten up to grade 12 class. I have attached the link for the book read aloud below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR_9-iF_mYg
Online Resource
The online resource I have chosen to do is the Children and Nature Network. The purpose of this website is to connect children and families with nature through their growth and development in many different ways. Some of these include enhancing the outdoors in schools, bringing the outdoors to homes, programs and camps, and much more. The spot on this website that stood out to me was the resource page. On this page, there are many different resources that teachers can use with students and even families to connect with nature. Through this section, I had found the health and wellbeing section where I came across an infographic (https://eadn-wc04-796033.nxedge.io/wp-content/uploads/CNN20_BNHealth-and-Wellbeing_23-3-24.pdf) explaining the benefits nature has on our mental health (Children and Nature Network, 2023). I could use this resource in a grade 4 health class discussing mental health and some stress management coping strategies through outcome USC4.6: Assess healthy stress management strategies (e.g., relaxation skills, stress control skills, guided imagery, expressing feelings, exercising). Students could assess how they react when they are stressed by going out in nature, and journaling or tracking on some way how they feel compared to when they are not in nature. I was only introduced to this resource this year in class, but I can already tell it will definitely be used throughout my teaching practice and added to my toolkit. Although this resources doesn’t have everything you could possibly learn about outdoor education, there are some great insights into the resources that can connect us with nature.
References
Children and Nature Network. (2023). https://www.childrenandnature.org.
Community Resource
The community resource that I have chosen to do is Rooted in Nature Nursery based out of my hometown in Annaheim, SK. Their website can be found here. I actually used to work for this company for their prior business Campbell Greenhouses. Both of these businesses are based on the idea of growing different plants and vegetation using aquaponics, the exchange of nutrients between fish and vegetation through a circulation system. Rooted in Nature raises fish, such as Koi fish, and uses their nutrient-dense water to cycle through the roots of their plants for optimal, clean, and organic growth. In exchange, the plants send back clean oxygenated water to the fish. The outdoor education that can be used from this resource is to show students that we can bring the outdoors in and also how different ecosystems and living things interact and support each other. I think a great part of this resource would be to take my class on a field trip to Rooted in Nature Nursery to view these interactions and meet the grade 4 science outcome HC4.2: Analyze the structures and behaviours of plants and animals that enable them to exist in various habitats. This business also allows workshops where individuals can build plant terrariums. This would be a great opportunity for students to engage with plants as plants and nature as a whole have great stress-relieving factors as well which I have mentioned in online resource review. I don’t see any limitations through this resource. I know the owners and they are great people who I’m sure would love to give little hands the opportunity to connect with nature!