Episode 147 - Forest Educator Spotlight: Can Nature Education be Scaled to Reach 60 Million Children?
Forest Educator with Ricardo Sierra | A Podcast for Revolutionary Conversations about Nature-Based EducationShow Notes
This episode explores a vision of nature education that sees millions of children across the US and the world, in a meaningful and effective way. The barriers that we face loom tall, but they are not insurmountable. We need certain things in place to actually scale our best working models, like funding, resources, advocacy and training/mentoring, and achieving this takes a considerable amount of time and expertise and experience that we are currently missing in our nature educator community.
I discuss the pros and cons of a spectrum of franchises and a few ideas for expanding our goals and beginning to manifest this visionary journey that could transform our world.
Please note: This is part one of a three part series.
Forest Educator Bonus Content Page: http://foresteducator.com/bonuscontent
Join the Forest Educator Patreon! https://patreon.com/ForestEducatorPodcast
Connect with Ricardo: https://www.foresteducator.com/ https://www.theforestboxforkids.com/ https://www.hawkcircle.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardo-sierra-5980931/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_forest_educator_podcast/
More from Forest Educator with Ricardo Sierra | A Podcast for Revolutionary Conversations about Nature-Based Education
Today's Forest Educator Spotlight is all about the best-kept secret for Forest Educators: the Natural Advantage. When we implement this three-part framework in our programs, we can have the biggest impact.
Some of my favorite ages to work with are middle schoolers, anywhere from 10-14 years old. Some may say those ages are some of the most challenging, but I really like that age group for so many reasons. I love to help them find their passion and excitement, and to watch them build an inner foundation for themselves and a personal belief that they know who they are, and begin to believe that they can do hard things. In this episode, I'm exploring the different developmental ages and stages during this period of kids' lives and some of my best tips and strategies for working with them effectively. From emotional development, friendship, trust, and self-reflection to skill-building, I hope this episode will help you feel excited about working with this age group, too.
The first rule about 'bonding' is like Fight Club:
The paths we take in our journey as educators are incredibly diverse and unique to each of us. We all have different origins, with mentors, teachers, opportunities and our communities all influencing how we do what we do.
An aspect of nature education that I believe is greatly overlooked is the ability and benefit it gives young people to 'Do Hard Things'. This happens when we learn to climb a steep hill, climb a tree, master carving knife safety or learn to think of others in our groups! It happens when we learn to be safe and respectful about campfires. It happens when we begin our studies in wild foods, birds, animal tracks, trees or bushcraft skills. (This list could be very, very substantial!)