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Program

Place-based Education

~Using the pond behind the school to teach ecosystems.

~Interviewing local lawmakers to understand the political process.

~Visiting a local business to facilitate an understanding of supply and demand.

Place-based is the belief that teaching happens most effectively through use of the local culture, politics, art, environment, economy, geography etc.... creating a concrete context in which students can build connections to the content being taught. It emphasizes the idea that knowledge spirals and builds upon itself to build a greater global understanding. Grounded in the philosophy is the notion that experiential learning and activating the learners' prior knowledge facilitates an optimal learning experience.

In a society globalized by the Internet, television, various print media, and trade, we often lose sight of what is immediately around us. We take our local environment for granted, allowing ourselves to be unaware of simple things that effect our everyday lives, such as where our food comes from. Fortunately many have realized this disconnect and have put forth great efforts to study and mend it at the greater social level, specifically in education. Gary Snyder the famous poet, philosopher and environmental activist has addressed this concern through volumes of work. In his book A Place in Space he suggests, “Knowing who we are and knowing where we are intimately linked.” David Orr, Gregory Smith and other educators actively promote “place-based” education, which is described as “grounding education in local phenomena and students’ lived experience.

Contact Information For This Listing

Harmony    .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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Children & Nature Movement Map listings have been contributed by network members. The Children & Nature Network reviews all submissions for relevancy but does not validate the accuracy of contributed content.

"If you go with long-term significance, my pick for the top story of not only 2009 but also of the 21st Century is the pandemic of Nature Deficit Disorder, a term so aptly coined by Richard Louv in his best-selling outdoor book, Last Child in the Woods...."
— Bill Schneider, NewWest.Net
“Concerns about long-term consequences—affecting emotional well-being, physical health, learning abilities, environmental consciousness—have spawned a national movement to ‘leave no child inside.’ In recent months, it has been the focus of Capitol Hill hearings, state legislative action, grassroots projects, a U.S. Forest Service initiative to get more children into the woods and a national effort to promote a ‘green hour’ in each day.”
— Washington Post, June 2007
“The movement to reconnect children to the natural world has arisen quickly, spontaneously, and across the usual social, political, and economic dividing lines.”
Orion magazine, March/April 2007

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Just for Parents

Resources, tools, and Inspiration for parents and caregivers. Visit Nature Rocks!

C&NN Publications

As part of our ongoing efforts to build the movement, the Children & Nature Network has published these resources for leaders, organizers, and participants at the local, national, and international levels:

2010 C&NN Report
[>] Download PDF [2MB]

Children and Nature 2009: A Report on the Movement to Reconnect Children to the Natural World
[>] Download PDF [1.1MB]

C&NN Community Action Guide: Building the Children & Nature Movement from the Ground Up
[>] Download PDF [1.4MB]
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