Roman Shapla, from Nature School Startup, joins me to discuss Nature Schools – where the outdoors is the classroom.
Roman recently shared on Twitter how he has taught tracking class: showing kids animal tracks in the dirt teaches kids about pattern recognition, thinking through timelines, as well as problem solving in their surroundings (“if this track is here, where did it come from, where is it going, and what is the animal doing?”). Definitely worth a Follow.
He teaches homeschooling parents and co-ops how to start their own weekend nature school or to help those looking to bring the outdoors into a traditional classroom.
Some of the benefits of outdoor schooling that we discuss:
- Engaging teenagers by giving them responsibility on tasks and even including them in mentoring younger children.
- Breaking the cycle of screen addiction and reawakening wonder through teaching outdoors.
- Teaching skills like pattern recognition, timelines, seasonality, and sense of place.
- Including marginalized or difficult children in a school outdoors significantly counteracts boredom, anxiety, and even ADHD.
He has more tips in his excellent Substack article on Valuing the Marginal – Designing for Children and Elders.
Listen on your fave Podcast app:
Roman was on Ep. 80 – Empowering Children to Navigate Climate Anxiety with Roman.
Thriving Food Forest Design: Let us create an edible foodscape, perennial paradise for you so you can grow more food and be more self sufficient. Schedule a free consult session with me at:
Buy my chestnuts, hazelnuts, elderberry, and comfrey that are adapted to the Midwest.
GrowNutTrees.com
Raised beds that I am building to test Perennial Kitchen Garden layouts:
Vego Garden Modular Metal Raised Bed (which I will make 5′ x 3.5′, 17″ tall).
I use this for a perennial kitchen garden – growing herbs to use daily in the kitchen. Just come along and pick what you need for tonight’s dinner.
Meadow Creature Broadfork is my favorite tool for starting new garden beds. I turn over the sod, add a layer of compost, then Milpa, and cover with woodchips.
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