Guest Kirsten

Today was definitely one of my favourite classes to date! Guest speaker Kirsten shared so much knowledge on the subject of outdoor learning and connecting that to technology, a subject I am passionate about. Personally, I didn’t see a place for smartphone technology in the outdoor education world before this seminar, to me they always seemed to work against each other for children. After hearing Kirten’s insights I realized how much apps can enhance student’s learning outdoors!

We took the class outside today and went to Finnerty Gardens. In teams, we ventured around, took photos, and made observations. Kirsten shared a few interesting apps but due to my phone’s very full storage, I didn’t get to use them firsthand. As we wandered and took pictures of the plants and their nameplates I thought about how fun this would be with an elementary class and how much learning could be done here. Later we even thought about adding QR codes around the paths to add info and a scavenger hunt aspect to the garden.

The topic of “place-based learning” and its significance for researching Canadian land history then came up for discussion. We talked about concrete items and theories that can be used to introduce Indigenous cultures and ways of existence into the classroom. Kirsten pointed out resources for learning about the First Peoples of our region, their treaties, and their languages, such as Native Land.ca. Unfortunately, I was disappointed at the lack of indigenous people added to that website from areas other than North America – but that just shows the work and research that still needs to be done.

One last point that really resonated with me was the gap in Environmental Science knowledge shared with younger grades; I once heard someone say, “To give up on our children is to give up on our planet”, and that could not be truer. It is so important to teach young children about land, environment, and preservation so they can make informed choices for their futures. The world is in our hands and we owe it to those younger than us to hand it over to them one day in good stead.