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Wilderness education implementation and application
contents
- Flow Learning
- Nature education
- Learning sustainability
- Training for teachers
- To draw interest
- wilderness education
- Prototype of primitive peoples
- therapy
- The history of nature and wilderness education
- Natural and cultural interpretation
- wilderness schools
- General focuses of further education are:
- Watch out?
For the greater part of our evolution, we lived as hunters and gatherers, as subject to the rhythms of nature as other animals. Understanding the "language of nature" was the existential challenge that humans had to master to survive.
Adventure worlds in the wilderness. Image. Monkey Business - Fotolia Many people are painfully aware today that they have lost their attachment to the wild and feel the alienation that civilization brings.
On the one hand, today we know more about biology in the sense of science than ever before. Pupils pick up insights their grandparents had no idea about - whether molecular biology, genetics, the nervous system or the senses of the animals.
On the other hand, the knowledge about the "wilderness on the doorstep" disappears. Although children are familiar with the wildlife of Africa and the Antarctic from TV dubbing and the Internet, they are barely aware of the natural environment - they lack access that was still taken for granted by rural people just a few generations ago.
Where is the yellowhammer looking for food? How does the jay call? How do you recognize the tadpole of the water frog? But also: How do I build a shelter in the forest when it rains? How do I cleanse my body when there is no water nearby? How do I make a boat out of branches? How do I make ropes? How do I make a salad of yuck, dandelion and chickweed??
Nature and wildlife education try to restore this missing link to nature. The pedagogical goal is to convey a life that reconciles the interests of humans with their natural environment through sharpened perception and understanding.
Flow Learning
Nature education is based on the concept of "flow learning" that the American Joseph Cornell developed. This lesson is based on four pillars: arouse enthusiasm, focus, immediate experience and sharing experiences.
Wilderness education in its various varieties is based on principles of Jon Young, which he uses in the Wilderness Aware School in North America. The origin lies in the Tracker School of Tom Brown, which took up the knowledge of indigenous cultures
Romantic images circulate in postmodernism about so-called primitive peoples, fictitious esoteric kitsch creates a picture of traditional cultures that have little in common with their reality, but reveal much about the longing in late capitalism.
Nevertheless, this kitsch has a true core: so-called primitive peoples were and are much closer to non-human nature than post-industrial urbanites. They see themselves as part of the eternal cycle of becoming and passing away and regard animals, plants and stones as subjects.
This respect stems from a knowledge of the natural context that has been handed down over thousands of years, and they developed their sensual capabilities in the wild to an extent that is hard to imagine for postmodernism.
Nature education
The goal of natural education is to convey the foundations for ecologically sustainable action as well as their necessity. Arousing interest in nature is therefore only the first step in raising awareness of how human interventions affect interrelations in the ecological fabric.
Children can learn in nature education what position humans have in the ecosystems and how they can actually use their intellectual and technical skills to act responsibly.
Especially with children from metropolitan areas, it is important that they recognize themselves as part of nature. Wilderness education not only takes place in the jungles of Canada, but also in the urban nature experience space - in the city park, allotments or in the cemetery.
Urban nature experience spaces are green spaces that are largely or completely left to themselves so that they naturally develop backwards. Such areas are at least one hectare in size and are integrated into residential areas so that the children can easily find access and play daily without supervision.
About half of these areas develop completely without intervention, others are kept open by extensive grazing. The everyday exploration of nature helps the children to develop mentally and physically healthy.
Learning sustainability
Today we are in one of the great extinctions in the history of the planet. Animals and plants die to an extent that makes them dizzy. Whole ecosystems are facing collapse: lowland rainforests like coral reefs, savannahs like mangrove swamps.
One goal of nature education is therefore to show children that human action must have limits. But this must not cause apocalyptic fears, especially for young people, but on the contrary they learn what they can do with small steps.
Renewing moors, carrying toads across the road to the spawning area or creating a hedge for rare bird species are such nature-adventure events that children are enthusiastic about - especially because they create something for themselves.
In a pool safari, for example, children catch aquatic animals with nets and put them in glasses to observe them - a magnifying glass helps with small creatures. Teachers can explain to learners what animals they are, how they behave and what role they play in the ecosystem.
However, this does not run as a frontal class, but all participants can contribute their knowledge. At the same time, the children learn ecologically responsible action: they are not allowed to take the animals home, injure them or even torture them, but release them as quickly as possible to freedom again.
Training for teachers
Teachers can further educate themselves at environmental academies and nature conservation associations in nature and environmental education and at the same time inform themselves about nature conservation guidelines.
In Vienna, since 2008, there is a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Education, at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Education. Modules include environment, sustainable development, pedagogy, local and regional sustainability, responsible use of natural areas, climate protection and energy efficiency. This is not the same as wilderness education.
In Berlin / Brandenburg, people in apprenticeships such as teachers, archers, social workers or educators at Blattwerk Naturpädagogik Berlin can complete an education in "Holistic Nature Education".
The methods combine the "cosmic education" of Maria Montessori with wilderness education, experiential education, art, photography, improvisational theater and narrative techniques.
To draw interest
Nature education is based on the interests of the children. Her passion for body experiences is a great way to learn from, in and with nature. For example, walking barefoot lets you experience the feel of the earth while sharpening your awareness of not stepping on sharp stones or thorns.
Children gain a sense of achievement by creating something that they watch as they grow. Planting a row of trees next to a field or creating a pond in a project week on the grounds of the school, connects students permanently with their work.
They see in the next few years how newts and insects settle, how the first birds build their nests, and how their pond, their tree, changes.
Nature education always takes place in harmony with the protection of nature and species - so boarding a jeep through the nature reserve is forbidden. Taking nature from nature is governed by the laws of nature conservation, and the observation of animals in the wild is subject to strict rules, so as not to disturb birds in breeding and all animals in rest.
Teachers should therefore coordinate actions in the wild with the competent nature conservation authority or NABU on the ground.
wilderness education
Much more than other forms of natural and environmental education, adolescent education teaches the ability to survive in the wild.
These include orienting in the field, cooking on a self-ignited fire with self-collected mushrooms and plants, reading animal tracks and trails, handcrafting materials from nature such as baskets of willow branches, or building a hut from these materials.
The learning objectives are aimed at different groups. For example, in 2016 the NABU Academy Gut Sunder near Winsen an der Aller offers:
A survival camp ladies only. It is to "awaken the natural instincts, use what's there, kindle fire, find water and make it drinkable, quickly build an emergency shelter, cross dry a river without a bridge." And further: "It's about comfortable survival even in difficult Situations that can occur in nature, in a car breakdown, hiking, power failure or on vacation, when there is no contact, no help can be called. We leave our civilian life behind in this exciting course. Improvisation is our most important tool! You learn to use everything you find. Everyone can contribute their experiences. "
Children, on the other hand, respond to "colorful nature discovery days": "We spend two exciting days out in nature. As nature detectives, we go looking for clues, discover T-shirt trees, juice jugglers and real forest experts. We have time to run around, build shacks and landing nets and, by the way, learn why wolves just howl and what ants have to do with lions. "
If you yourself want to work as a wilderness educator, Sunder offers a one-year further education Natur- u. Wilderness Education in 6 modules on weekends: "This one-year training invites you to a path that allows deep connection with nature and your own needs. The training is aimed at people in educational professions such as teachers, educators, occupational therapists, etc. In addition, it is suitable as a qualification to work freelance as a nature and wildlife educator.
The training includes: "natural handicrafts such as fire-fighting without matches, production of simple commodities and natural shelters; Find, judge and clean water; Cooking with groups; natural hazards; Perceptual Exercises and Schleich Games; Introduction to the philosophy of nature. "
The second module is about: "Birds & the language of nature, the way of life of birds; the five call types of the birds; Alarm systems in the forest; silent and unseen locomotion in the flow of natural processes; deepened perception exercises and games.
In the third module the participants learn about: "Plants & Wildlife. The essence of plants; Determining, collecting and preparing edible wild plants; Strings of vegetable fibers; Cooking without fireproof dishes; Orientation without map and compass; Camouflage, covert communication and sneaking in groups; the experience of silence; the inner voice; Nature as a mirror. "
In the fourth module, the topics are: "Trees & the Way of the Mentor. The essence of the trees; Trees as mentors; Coyote teaching and the art of questioning; the stages of creative learning; ecological perception; Methods and games to empathize with other creatures. "
The fifth module deepens the information on: "mammals & the art of tracking, life strategies of predators and plant eaters; the life of mammals in the snow; Roaming the tracks of wild animals; the trace species of the different animal families; the seven arts of tracking; Throwing wood and hunting ethics; Games to empathize with animals and drills to detect tracks. "
The sixth module is devoted to philosophy and organization: "The power of the community, promoting community among primitive peoples; Leadership, conflict management and mentoring in groups; Preparation and structure of events; Legal basis for working with groups; Presentation and celebration of practiced skills; final Coyote festival. "
The main elements of this training are experienced by participants in a "Wildlife Wildlife Weekend": "This seminar is about basic skills that help people in the wilderness to live. In doing so, we let ourselves be guided by the question of what nature offers us. "
It's not about proving how tough you are in "survival training": "We will not use modern tools. Instead, we learn from the knowledge of primitive peoples, so it's more than just survival training. We also get a sense of how natural people perceive and blend into the wild. Beyond survival, we will find out how we can feel comfortable in and with nature. Topics will be: firing without matches, making simple commodities, natural shelter, cooking without fireproof dishes, finding water, deep perception and sneaking, philosophy of nature, etc. "
If you just want to get a taste of the matter, there is an introduction: "This Taster Day gives insights into the teaching method of wilderness education. Games, questioning techniques and stories convey knowledge about nature. At the same time, the exciting and simple form of teaching, the Coyote Mentoring, is made tangible. "
Prototype of primitive peoples
Wilderness education builds on the knowledge, methods and pedagogical understanding of traditional cultures. It teaches techniques and skills to survive in nature and to feel at home in it.
Direct entry into the "wilderness" distinguishes wilderness education from other forms of environmental education and nature education.
Wilderness pedagogy reverses the pedagogical guidelines of modern Europe: its goal was and is to liberate man through education from the "shackles of nature", both Kant and Marx, Hegel and Spinoza.
It was about overcoming the wilderness through culture, controlling nature through the mind, rather than living in this wilderness. That's exactly what Wilderness Education is all about.
The pedagogical goal is to bring the integration into the natural contexts back into consciousness, and to be in harmony with nature. That in turn should lead to a sustainable way of life.
therapy
Wilderness education also serves as therapy. Experiences in nature activate a sensuality that we forget in everyday urban life, and learning in the natural environment strengthens the perception.
Studies in psychology, neurology and neurobiology show that a sensual and emotional attachment to non-human nature is essential for mental health.
Wilderness education, however, is not the same as wilderness therapy. In the wilderness therapy intensive offenders are exposed in groups of nature in order to master basic challenges in teamwork and thus to learn social behavior.
Although this suggests that learning in nature can cure even psychologically conspicuous people, the usual training by wilderness educators is aimed at "normal" children, adolescents and adults.
It includes survival techniques as well as tracking, bird song, animal and plant science, silent moving, making wood with flint or fire stone, preparing food from wild herbs, animal and plant science or nature mentoring.
In addition to the practical "subjects" but also the world view of traditional peoples belongs to the program, for example in the context of shamanism seminars. The basis for this is also the experiences of the participants in nature.
Wildlife therapy is based on experiencing community, which is also essential to wildlife education. Dissocial young people should learn so that they are strong in nature only as a community.
The history of nature and wilderness education
The founder of nature education, Joseph Cornell, recognized four levels of nature encounter in the 1970s.
1.) Create a basis of familiarity. For this purpose, the participants are introduced to the living space with sensual experiences and games and thus find each other in the new environment as a community.
2.) Discovering and getting to know nature.
3.) The deepening of the sensual experience, for example by isolating a sense: groping the forest, smell the sea, hear the steppe.
4.) The deepening through playful identification with other living beings and through meditation to experience the bond with nature and the oneness with all life.
According to Cornell, the method of nature education focuses on wholeness and enforces it by:
- perception games
- Games in and with nature
- Artistic design
- Crafting
- Experience silence and peace in nature
- Life in nature
- Research discovery
- Imparting knowledge about nature
Cornell came from Northern California and developed his nature experience program for the university, after which he worked for several years in schools and scouts.
He wanted to arouse enthusiasm, teach a concentrated perception, facilitate immediate experiences and share these suggestions.
Wilderness education in Germany was also inspired by the USA. Tom Brown founded the "Tracking, Nature and Wilderness Survival School" in the 1990s. His German pupils founded wilderness schools in Germany.
There is no official training in Germany. The wildlife educators bring their own experiences and exchanges with traditional cultures as well as educational qualifications, biological studies or related professions.
The leitmotif is the philosophy and knowledge of traditional cultures, but linked to the insights and methods of modern science.
Natural and cultural interpretation
The natural interpretation also comes from the USA, and today she practices the team in the Eifel National Park. The main aim here is to discover exciting stories of what's happening in the nature of the national park and to convey it to the visitors.
A national park is the area in nature conservation, where nature may be wild again, so as far as possible left to itself - in contrast to nature reserves, which use people to a limited extent or which exist in part only through human intervention.
They also differ from nature reserves and biosphere reserves, ie natural and traditional cultural landscapes, which are to be preserved in their entire character, but as a cultural landscape are no wilderness.
German national parks have an educational mission and carry out programs for children, adolescents and adults according to the motto "let nature be nature". In doing so, they usually orient themselves less to so-called primitive peoples, but to concepts of natural education, the interpretation of nature, eco-education and experiential education, but also flow learning and earth education.
wilderness schools
Wilderness schools are aimed at private individuals, at schools, kindergartens and extracurricular education with seminars and projects.
They teach independently of large protected areas, and see the transitions between wilderness, culture and civilization as fluent. It is about creating an awareness, recognizing and discovering the "little wilderness" - paying attention to birdsong rather than car noise, seeing the goldfinch standing on the thistle next to the garbage dump, recognizing whether a stone marten or a cat is under it Car is sitting.
This approach also has role models in the US, where American natives taught to apply the skills of scouts, rangers and warriors in the "urban jungle" as well.
Since 2000 there is a network of wildlife educators, the WIND, and since 2007 there are official forest kindergartens in Germany with wilderness education methods. Since 2009, the 8 Shields Institute has been developing an international structure for wildlife educators.
Thus, wilderness education is becoming increasingly professional.
Training is aimed at teachers, educators, biologists, foresters, naturopaths and physicians working with natural healing methods, ergo and behavioral therapists, tourist guides, people working in ecotourism and all others who want to work in this area.
General focuses of further education are:
- Foundations of the wilderness education work, possible professional fields, personal development, individual needs of the participants
- Techniques and skills for simple life with nature
- Knowledge of the natural world, animals and plants
- Survival techniques
- Influence of nutrition
- peaceful communication to enable higher forms of communication.
- Techniques to lead teams
Watch out?
Those who successfully participate in the training, although receives a certificate and can work as a wilderness educator, but wilderness education is not an official study.
If you want to attend an education or a weekend seminar, it is best to learn about the seriousness of the teachers.
1.) In what context does the seminar / course take place? National park administrations and seminar houses of the NABU like the NABU academy Sunder require professional standards for teachers.
2.) What previous experience do the teachers have? Have you completed relevant studies, such as teaching, biology, forestry, ethnology, history, archeology such as environmental education or at least a credible career? Do you have experience with indigenous cultures that go beyond a short trip to the US? Do you publish in specialist magazines? That speaks for a well-founded background.
3.) First, do you offer concrete and concrete verifiable modules in wilderness techniques? For example, detecting bird sounds, recognizing traces of mammals, various types of lighting a fire?
Secondly, are their ideological teachings associated with this, for example by showing how we can sharpen our senses through this real (!) Nature experience and relate to it? Then that testifies to seriousness.
Or can not tell a white-tailed eagle from a buzzard, but tell about feeling the Eagle's power? Tell about the "harmony with nature", but break off living branches to light a fire?
Then something is wrong - even spiritual teachers of so-called primitive peoples have an empirically saturated knowledge of the surrounding nature, from which their spirituality derives.
4.) Teachers claim to teach spiritual rituals of American Natives that these natives themselves do not pass on to outsiders - "smoking the sacred pipe", "dancing the mountain spirits", "recognizing brujos" etc., thereby promising the participants "higher wisdom "? Does the "teacher" have a dream catcher with howling wolf in front of the full moon behind the windshield?
In this case, utmost caution is required because it shows disrespect for the people who live in these spiritual systems.
5) Will wilderness education be supplemented with ingredients from the "magic bag" of postmodern esotericism such as "Celtic tree horoscope", "angelic healing", "chakras" or "healing by hand"? There are still "revival experiences", according to the motto: "At some point I broke out of my job as a banker, went to the Indian reservation, and the shaman enlightened me."
Then keep your hands off it; Traditional cultures are necessarily pragmatic, and wilderness education is diametrically opposed to postmodern escapism.
However, assuming a serious teacher, wilderness education broadens its horizons in many ways: where "only trees" were before, a separate microcosm opens up; they get to know their own body newly, which developed in adaptation to this wilderness; they learn in practice that our civilization originated from nature and can not survive without it. They develop self-confidence: When the engine strikes, the smartphone fails and there is no kiosk nearby, they can collect food, light a fire and build a shelter. Above all, they find the connection to the living world. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)
Web Links:
http://www.allgaeuscout.de/kurse,wildnispaedagogik-weiterbildung.html
http://www.kojote-akademie.de/wildnispaedagogik.html
http://www.wildniswandern.de/ausbildung/weiterbildung-natur-und-wildnispaedagogik-im-nationalpark-bayerischer-wald.html
http://www.wildnisschulen.org/info.html
http://www.natur-wildnisschule.de/kurspool/wildnis-aufbaukurse/walkabout-coyote/