News from Nepal
NACC Leadership Team Member Bishnu Bhatta presents the December edition of the monthly e-newsletter published by the Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD).
The PSD Connect is a quarterly e-newsletter published by the Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD) Nepal to inform all their partners, ex-volunteers and supporters, about our activities and news. PSD Nepal is a not-for-profit social development organization dedicated to the alleviation of poverty of Children and youth of rural Nepal.
Click here to download the newsletter or visit www.psdnepal.org.
NACC in Mumbai, India
The Asia chapter of the Nature Action Collaborative for Children (NACC) proudly announced the first regional conference in Mumbai, India from 11th to 13th of November 2011 organized by Early Childhood Association (India) in association with Nature Action Collaborative for Children and World Forum Foundation.
Learning in Nature is Excellent… It’s Official!!!
HM Inspectorate of Education has given the highest accolade to Auchlone Nature Kindergarten in Perthshire, Scotland.UK. The inspection was rigorous and has confirmed that children thrive in a naturalistic environment. It is clear from the glowing report that Auchlone has brought together a number of elements defined by the vision of Claire Warden. To create a learning environment which fully meets children’s needs is a challenging process. What appears to be a simple natural space belays the complexity of adult interaction, risk taking, consultation and the fascinations of children that inspire and motivate children to learn across three environments. The centre provides a model that can be transferred across the globe to give children the opportunity for healthy, active environmentally friendly childhoods to build emotional resilience and develop confidence and self esteem.
Nature Summit 2012 in Manitoba
The Nature Summit is an opportunity for educators to develop concrete skills that will assist in creating a vibrant nature education curriculum. When you are at the Nature Summit it will seem like summer camp for adults.
First Regional Conference in Mumbai
The Asia Chapter of the Nature Action Collaborative for Children is proud to announce the First Regional Conference in Mumbai, India November 12-13, 2011.
1st Annual International Conference Engaging Boys and Men in Education June 7th and 8th 2011: Workshops June 9th 2011
An international conference with motivational speakers, Academic research seminars and poster sessions.
This conference is designed to raise awareness of some of the issues that face men and boys in a variety of care and educational environments both indoors and outdoors. An investigation into the research linked to boy’s attainment and a celebration of approaches effective in raising emotional wellbeing and involvement of boys.
Led by Claire Warden and invited speakers Anders Farstad, Troels Romby Larsen from a leading university in Denmark providing the academic perspective, Professor Leif Christensen, Outdoor Education for Pre-School children Department of Social Education, Denmark and Christopher Campion, Deputy Head from Cruckton Hall School, an independent residential school for boys who have experienced various difficulties at school, home and in the wider social community.
Learn more about this conference!
2nd European Meeting on Early Child Care and Nature Education: The Netherlands, 25- 28 September 2011
In September 2011 the second European conference on early childcare and nature education will be organised by Veldwerk Nederland, the Dutch partner in the world wide Nature Action Collaborative for young Children (Nacc). In participation with the European leaders from Scotland (Claire Warden,) Denmark (Helle Nebelong) and The Netherlands (Marc Veekamp), a very interesting program will inspire you to contact young children with nature. Lectures from speakers from different European countries will provide you with interesting views. Site visits in the Netherlands give inspiration to act in your practice. The program will give you plenty of time to discuss, reflect and connect with 70 people from all over Europe. The conference will be located in a beautiful, forested location in the central part of The Netherlands.
The optional excursion heads for Berlin, Germany. In Germany, and especially in Berlin, there is a long tradition of forest groups (day care, schools and after school). Visiting several different locations gives an inspiring overview of the current situation in Berlin. We can host about 30 people to Berlin.
Learn more about this conference!
News from Nepal
NACC Leadership Team Member Bishnu Bhatta presents the March 2010 issue of the monthly e-newsletter published by the Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD).
The PSD Connect is a quarterly e-newsletter published by the Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD) Nepal to inform all their partners, ex-volunteers and supporters, about our activities and news. PSD Nepal is a not-for-profit social development organization dedicated to the alleviation of poverty of Children and youth of rural Nepal.
Click here to download the newsletter or visit www.psdnepal.org.
Wild Play in West Australia
NACC Leadership Team Member Gillian McAuliffe had a vision to construct a child’s dream outdoor playground.
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Read the entire Wild Play article. |
Mindstretchers Hosts Nature Conference in Scotland
NACC Leadership Team Member from Scotland, Claire Warden, and the Mindstretchers team are once again hosting an international conference on Nature and Young Children. This will be hosted in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland at the Crieff Hydro Hotel, on the 8th and 9th June 2010.
The Conference is a very special and unique meeting; naturally it will share a variety of established and emerging consultative strategies and documentation from around the world, but equally important are the social functions and tours. They are designed so people from all over the world, who share the same interest can meet and exchange ideas and knowledge to the benefit of all, in particular, a child’s right to learn in an outdoor environment, which in turn encourages healthy and harmonious children.
To book and for further information please contact sabine@mindstretchers.co.uk.
Click here for more information.
World Forum Advocate Anne Sivanathan Works to Bring Families Outdoors
Nature’s Mood Boosters: Anne Sivanathan, Global Leader Alumna from Malaysia, shares some photos of her center that serves young children in Malaysia. Anne led the children and their families outside to have some fun and promote better health. Here’s what Anne has to report: “Exposing oneself to sunlight can help to raise your level of serotonin. Children were enjoying the trees, water, and fish in the stream. Leaves which we take for granted were picked and admired. It was lovely to see fathers bonding with their child, grandma pushing the pram, and children enjoying the quality time with their families in the outdoors.”
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Three NACC Leadership Team Members to present at Kidsafe Playground Conference, April 19-20, 2010
Helle Nebelong, a keynote speaker for this upcoming conference in Perth, Australia, is a landscape architect from Denmark who specializes in the design of natural spaces and sensory gardens for children, young people with disabilities and seniors. Joining Helle, Gillian McAuliffe will be presenting on “Creating a Wild Space”, and Fiona Robbe will speak on “designing opportunities to play in a natural setting.” All three leadership members will team up to host a workshop on the World Forum’s Nature Action Collaborative for Children (NACC). For more information about the event, visit www.kidsafewa.com.au/playgroundconference.
Wil Maheia visits Liberty Children’s Home in Belize
Wil Maheia and Delfena Mitchell met through the World Forum. Wil Maheia, NACC Leadership Team member, regularly visits Delfena’s center that cares for abandoned, abused or orphaned children. During his visits, he usually brightens their day with bananas and oranges, but this recent time, he brought them Morenga trees, a very healthy tree food. The children can eat the leaves as a green and will get most of the vitamins they would need for a day. Wil doesn’t hesitate to mention that the leaves are very tasty, as well!
News from Nepal
NACC Leadership Team Member Bishnu Bhatta presents the December edition of the monthly e-newsletter published by the Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD).
The PSD Connect is a quarterly e-newsletter published by the Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD) Nepal to inform all their partners, ex-volunteers and supporters, about our activities and news. PSD Nepal is a not-for-profit social development organization dedicated to the alleviation of poverty of Children and youth of rural Nepal.
Click here to download the newsletter or visit www.psdnepal.org.
A walk through Nairobi’s Arboretum
2008 Working Forum on Nature attendees Hellen Kimathi and Lydia Nzomo take a group of nursery school children on a tour of the Nairobi Arboretum, just two kilometers from the City Center.
Despite the nursery school’s proximity to the arboretum, this was the children’s first visit. The teachers were amazed that children actually enjoyed walking in the woods and interacting with animals, flowers, and plants.
Hellen and Lydia are planning with the Ministry of Forests to have a few natural play materials and equipments so that children could relax and enjoy themselves after their walk.
Elizabeth and Sebastian Chuwa from ABCP in Tanzania comment on experience in Belfast
This year’s World Forum conference was held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a site chosen because of the many innovative educational programs that emerged there related to conflict resolution and peace building during that troubled area’s long history of conflict.
The conference was attended by 600 delegates from 78 countries and topics presented included Education for Sustainable Development, Diversity, Childrens’ Rights, Peace Building with Children, Gender Issues, Children Affected by HIV/AIDS, and Learning Through Nature.
Sebastian moderated a forum entitled, “Bringing Nature into Indoor Classrooms.” One project demonstrated was the gathering and analysis of woodland mushrooms, teaching students to distinguish between edible and inedible types.
Elizabeth commented that one thing that was most noticeable to her in attending the conference was the lack of educational materials in the schools where she teaches in Africa, as compared to those in more developed countries. She directly attributes this lack as a primary factor in the slow educational advancement of poorer countries, along with teacher shortages and overcrowded classrooms.
To view entire report and newsletter, visit:
www.blackwoodconservation.org/09report.html.
Transforming Trees into Preschool Tables: inside a classroom in Belize
A Mahogany tree that was planted 28 years ago, on the day Belize got its independence, was transformed into two tables at a local preschool. Since Mahogany is the National Tree of Belize, many schools all over the country had planted trees to celebrate Independence day.
When the tree got sick, we decided to turn it into something that would be lasting, so we made two tables for this preschool. The kids love their tables and we are all celebrating 28 years of Independence together.
- Wil Maheia, NACC Leadership Team Member, Belize
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NACC Member Fiona Robbe reports from Sydney, Australia
At Arcadia Public School, we created a “Secret Garden” with the local kids. Each child painted a plank, any way they liked. We then made a “cubby” (called utopia) from the planks with the kids, and surrounded the cubby with an ever evolving natural garden space, all done by the kids. The space continues to have additions, for example mosaic artworks.
We made this space in an area where a demountable classroom was removed, and the space looked awful. It is now a natural play area and is very beautiful.
Lakeshore’s “Nature Explore Classroom” Earns Certification
One of Lakeshore’s most exciting projects in a long time is our new outdoor Nature Explore Classroom at Kids & Company, our on-site preschool for employees’ children. It is the third California classroom and the 25th in the nation to be fully certified by the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) and Dimensions Foundation…
NACC at the 2009 World Forum
Bishnu Bhatta, NACC Leadership Team Member and Director of the Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD) in Nepal, writes about his experience at the 2009 World Forum on Early Care and Education in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
“PSD-Nepal’s Director, Bishnu Hari Bhatta, had the opportunity to visit the United Kingdom from June 7th to the 25th. He is extremely grateful to World Forum Foundation who gave him the opportunity to attend the conference by providing support for his trip to UK and also many thanks to all the others who helped him to make this trip possible. It was undoubtedly a productive and worthwhile trip. Bishnu first attended a two day meeting of Nature Action Collaborative for Children in Belfast followed by a World Forum on Early Care and Education Conference. This conference had over 600 participants from 70 countries which provided a great opportunity for him to network and make contacts on behalf of PSD-Nepal.
In Scotland, he was fortunate enough to participate in a three day tour around the Crieff Hydro sponsored by Mind Stretcher, an organization focusing on providing outdoor learning opportunities for children. Aside from the conference, he able to use his time wisely to network within the PSD network also. He met with trustees, current and past volunteers from Oxford, Bristol, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. Through these meetings he was able to strengthen the partnerships between PSD and its partner universities organizations and to discuss improvements that could be made to the volunteer program. Bishnu also met with the chairman and trustees from the UK-based charity JustAid, that partner with PSD to fund many small scale projects in Nepal each year.”
Enthusiasm for Nature Conference
Following the 2009 World Forum, 65 delegates from 12 countries across the world assembled at the Enthusiasm for Nature Conference, sponsored by Mindstretchers in Crieff, Scotland. Attendees visited the Famous Grouse Experience distillery to listen to speakers whose work provided insights and inspiration into naturalistic play and learning environments and practices in Scotland and Europe.
2009 Arbor Day Awards
Bonnie and Roger Neugebauer, on behalf of the World Forum Foundation, were presented with the Rachel Carson Award at the 2009 National Arbor Day Award Ceremony. The World Forum Foundation was recognized for its work on Nature Education.
Read the article and learn more about the recipients of the Arbor Day awards.
NACC Call to Action
The Call To Action beckons families, educators, and community leaders worldwide to take action, to strengthen children’s connection to nature – making developmentally appropriate nature education a sustaining and enriching, fully integrated part of the daily lives and education of the world’s children.
Read/Print the Call to Action
Note: This PDF document is 5MB large and may take a few minutes to download.
Learn how to endorse the Call to Action.
Videos on Nature Education
School Sunflowers by Judy Brown
In the fall of 2008, the faculty of Newbern Grammar School adopted a beautification plan for our school in rural, west Tennessee. Suggestions were made to spruce up our campus, inside and out. With this goal in mind, I wanted to find a way for the children of my pre-K class to contribute in a visible, meaningful way. Inspired by Rusty Keeler’s suggestions in Natural Playscapes, Creating Outdoor Environments for the Soul, and with the help of students, parents, and support staff, we created the beginnings of a sunflower house in the spring of 2009. Our “house” grew throughout the summer; and by the start of the next school year, it became a truly grand structure in the eyes of the children.
Although our “building,” (only 16 feet in diameter) required a lot of time, effort, and care throughout its duration, it ultimately provided us with a multitude of opportunities. We were able to dig and explore and plant and water. We watched and discussed and questioned and compared.
We measured and recorded and painted and printed. We wondered and smiled and marveled; and, most of all, we shared our delight with others. Next spring, my class will once again plant a circle of hopeful beauty on our potential-filled campus; and, once again, this group of children, a group of children yet to come, and the entire school community will reap its rewards.
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World Forum 2007 Nature Video
At the 2007 World Forum on Early Care and Education in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the NACC presented the following PowerPoint presentation which was prepared by the Dimensions Educational Research Foundation: