Outdoor Learning Part 6: Forest Nature School and Spiritual Wellbeing

This multi-part series of blog posts on Outdoor Learning has been adapted from a Final Academic Paper for one of my Early Childhood Development courses at the University of Winnipeg.

The Medicine Wheel is a First Nations teaching that considers a person’s wellbeing to include “mental, emotional, physical and spiritual aspects of the self” (Jagger, p. 7). The next few blog posts in this series use these four domains of wellbeing to review how outdoor learning can support children’s overall wellbeing leading to positive outcomes and increased capacity to thrive. This post, Part 6, focuses on spiritual wellbeing. 

Outdoor Learning & Indigenous Pedagogies 

Spirituality can be an important part of children’s wellbeing and learning experiences. Some researchers have connected spirituality to play, stating that our concept of self is discovered through play, and is developed through our relationship to spirit, sometimes understood as our creative life force.

“Spirit is that which is within us but also transcends us: the spirit of the lived-world, the life force of the world” (Jagger, p. 21). 

Spirituality is a central practice of many Indigenous cultures, and on Turtle Island, Indigenous spiritualities are deeply connected to the land. Across Turtle Island, many Indigenous Peoples recognize land as their first teacher. This can be expressed through relating to the land as an animate and spiritual being that includes all water, earth and air. From a spiritual approach “land-based learning is not limited to the learning that occurs when connecting with nature, but encompasses all learning that takes place when one comes into connection with all that surrounds them” (Bowra et al., p. 133). 

Researchers exploring this topic have asked whether an indoor classroom can truly support holistic education where children are connected to all domains of self. This is consistent with one longitudinal mixed method study which occurred over three years, where McCree et al. observed that “children did not want to behave in the woods as they did in school” (p. 991). Rather, the woods were restorative and positively impacted the children’s behaviours.

“Simply being on the land is spiritual… spirituality refers to the fundamental ways in which we see the world, how we relate to it, and how it relates to us” (Bowra et al., p. 136). 

Instead of focusing on preparing kids for future employment, or school-readiness, the focus of land-based learning centres values of kinship, increasing children’s sense of belonging. “The natural world is the larger sacred community to which we belong” (Jagger, p. 315). Land-based learning can demonstrate how children’s self-development (their spiritual sense of self) cannot be considered as separate from the land where they live and play. Grounded in local traditional knowledges, children in FNS can develop stronger connections to Indigenous cultures, community, and in turn, with self (Bowra et al.). 

Outdoor Learning & Place

Most FNS programs encourage including “a place-based wisdom that is embedded in the particular world the children find outside their classroom” (Jagger, p. 317).  Bowra et al. instructs outdoor educators to “connect place with Indigenous history, knowledges, or stories… acknowledg[ing] that all places were once and continue to be Indigenous lands” (p. 134). When historical, spiritual and emotional connections to the land are included in outdoor learning, educators honour both the realities of colonization and the role of place in children’s spiritual and cultural development. M’Lot & Ferguson offer a further prompt, stating: “It is important for educators to address historic injustices and build meaningful connections to specific nations and territories that are centered around understanding and respect” (p. 9). 

Another important role of place is to provide a space of security for the children. The FNS model helps children build a relationship with the same place, creating a stable yet dynamic environment for learning. “This constancy provides security to children, just as does the behaviour of the teachers who remain consistent and strive to keep them safe” (Jagger, p. 314). Children can also deepen their relationship with places by naming them. These practices further support children’s development of a sense of belonging, where they are encouraged to create a long-term connection to place at FNS, becoming part of it and feeling a sense of responsibility to it. When FNS educators support this type of spiritual development for children, they also support the work of decolonization by resisting the ideology of colonialism where the “land and [children] are separate instead of understanding [children] as an extension of the land on which they live” (Bowra et al., p. 133). 

Outdoor Learning & Nature 

 As FNS learners and educators listen to what the environment has to offer each day, the natural world becomes a formative part of children’s learning experience.  This helps children develop an attachment to nature, sometimes cited as discovering nature, or even becoming enthusiastic about nature. Researchers observe that as children’s awareness and relationship with nature grows, so does their enjoyment of nature.

“Children did engage with nature (see, touch, feel, and smell) and recognise and name things, and developed a relationship with nature and attachment to the woodland site… Deeper analysis indicated… potentially… the development of an ethos of care for the environment” (Harris, p. 7).

As the children deepen their relationship with nature, new stories and opportunities for play emerge alongside their learning. “There are multiple stories to share about plants and people: why worms come out in the rain, why cedar is a powerful ally, the history of immigrants and settlers” (Jagger, p. 317). 

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