1 Relationships: View of self in relationship with nature

© Beli_photos from Getty Images via Canva.com

“Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are”

-Gretel Ehrlich

Brief Overview

Relationships with nature, like any other relationship, are multi-faceted and complex. This first topic invites you to take the time to reflect on how and why your thoughts and feelings about nature have evolved into what they are today. To look inward and identify those significant memories or experiences (or lack thereof), the messages you have received, and how you feel with and about nature will not only provide you with an understanding of your own place in this subject, but also a deeper understanding of how to support the children you work with as early childhood educators in deepening and understanding their own relationships with the natural world. 

Key Takeaways

The image below represents how our relationships with the natural world grow into being.

This graphic depicts a tree with it's roots visible and four branches. On each branch there is a large leaf. Beginning with the roots, there are two text boxes overlaid on the roots. The first says 'what is your relationship with the natural world?', the second one says 'What has formed your feelings and relationships with and about nature?'. Moving up, at the base of the tree trunk there is a text box that says 'Experiences'. The first branch and leaf has text that says 'feelings', the next says 'Actions', the third says 'Reactions' and the fourth says 'Interactions'.

Our experiences with nature in the past (whether positive, negative, neutral or a mix of all) work together to form dynamic thoughts, feelings and experiences with and about nature in the present. As a result, how we act, react and interact in nature (our experiences in nature) continues to shape how we feel and how we relate. 

Additional Resource

[Blog] Making Pedagogical Choices with a Bird’s Nest

What do interactions with nature look like in the outdoor early learning environment? Robyn Ashley (recent Master of Arts in Child and Youth Study grad) reflects on her experiences working as an early childhood educator and the “divide that can be created between children and the natural world” in this post on the Canadian Association for Young Children blog.

Reflect

Making Pedagogical Choices with a Bird’s Nest- Your thoughts

  • Complete the prompts at the end of the reflective blog:
    • How do your decisions as an educator, create conditions for children’s interactions with the natural world?
    • What does a meaningful relationship between children and nature look like to you?
  • Extend on these further:
    • Describe an experience you have had where your own relationship to nature might have impacted another, positively or negatively.

      Experience

Photo Journaling

Go for a walk or spend time in an outdoor natural setting you enjoy. Document four images of nature or the outdoors that hold meaning for you.

Describe the images you have captured

  • What were you drawn to?
  • What did you notice?
  • What did they make you wonder about?
  • What do they remind you of or reveal about your relationship to nature?

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Early Childhood Education: Nature and Outdoor Play Copyright © 2023 by Taylor Hansen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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