NNDSB’s Youngest Learners Connect With Nature Thanks To Unique Forest Practitioner Course

Over the course of the last two years, 19 kindergarten teachers and early childhood educators from the Near North District School Board (NNDSB) have participated in a forest practitioner course provided by the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada (CNAC) held at the Canadian Ecology Centre and supported by the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit.

South Shore Education Centre kindergarten teacher Rhonda Hyatt said that many of the principles of the forest and nature school are incorporated in the kindergarten program.

“Early in the spring, when a few dandelions are popping up, we talk about one of our harvesting rules, are there a few or many? Some creatures depend on food from these plants early in the spring. Once there are many, many more dandelions in the yard, it’s a better time for us to pick some for bouquets or dandelion chains,” Hyatt said. “We chat about plants and berries that some people gather for food and other reasons.”

While engaged in outdoor learning, students are making decisions, pursuing their interests, learning from and connecting with the land, developing respect, and exploring relationships. Time spent in nature encourages children’s curiosity, and nurtures connectedness with the land and each other.

Educators learn about the principles of the Forest and Nature School through CNAC’s Practitioners Course. CNAC is committed to truth-telling and reconciliation. Connecting with Indigenous Peoples locally, building relationships, and co-creating programming with Indigenous partners are among CNAC’s commitments to responsibilities on this land. These understandings guide the learning and experiences of the practitioner’s course.

Aspects of the course focus on recognizing risk as an important part of play, reflecting on our own relationship with the land and engaging with local Indigenous Peoples.

Hyatt said that important lessons for these youngest learners are drawn from providing regular and repeated access to nature, offering time and space for children to dive deeply into play, and from teachers learning alongside children in play-based and inquiry-driven experiences. Importance is placed on always recognizing children as competent, capable, and curious.

“We walk gently in the bush, being careful not to damage young or fragile plants, or other living things. If we come across an animal such as a grouse or a bee, we give them space so that they don’t feel threatened by us,” Hyatt said. “The children are also reminded to give others space when they want time on their own, sometimes friends want a quiet spot, or some space to themselves.”

Hyatt said students’ observational skills are encouraged while engaging in outdoor learning with a philosophy of “look up, look down, look all around.

“When we do this, we might be looking to notice changes in plants, or we might be focusing on risks to be aware of. This can include checking the underside of the leaves on milkweed plants for monarch butterfly larvae, looking at leaves on the trees and on the ground, noticing low branches and thorn bushes and deciding together that it is not an area for running.” Hyatt said.

When gathered together to talk about their outdoor time together students discuss what they did that day such as following deer tracks, making a home for an animal, or climbing a log for a lookout point. They also talk about what they want to do and learn the next time, like, playing in puddles, investigating a hole in a tree or why there is a trail of tiny fluffy webs on the grass.

As the school year ends these young students can take their learning and appreciation of nature with them on their summer adventures and continue to connect with the land with their families.