Sitting in a windowless office, the fluorescent light glares down, competing only with the glowing pixels of the computer screen.
Spending some winter days arriving and leaving the office in the dark, other times not knowing what the weather is like outside. Emerging from the building, blinking like a mole in the too bright sunlight.
Sometimes realizing after your work day that the closest you got to fresh air and the natural world was the beach-scene screen saver on your computer.
And at the same time, trying to be creative, energized and engaged with the community.
I thought about this as I listened to Geoff Styles and Ceren Caner speak at last week’s school board meeting about their outdoor education initiatives.
“You know you’ll feel better if you go for a walk outside,” Caner told the assembled crowd, which advantageously for him included more than 80 people in attendance largely due to the proposed changes to the district’s schools.
The pair quoted research and anecdotal observations of how outdoor learning enhances education for all students, although the calming and focusing effects can be particularly dramatic in students like those with ADHD or other special needs.
“You get these kids outside and your see them calm down, you can see how it helps make learning happen.
The pair were not talking about P/E class, where the kids just get a chance to play, but in using the outdoors to teach curriculum-based learning topics like math, science, art or writing.
I’ve seen what they mean in my own children. If I want to discuss a difficult subject with my daughter, the best place to do it is while walking on the trails at Little Mountain Park. She’s calmer, I’m calmer and the forest seems to give us both a greater sense of perspective.
We are both more open to listening and learning from one another.
Caner and Styles have been involved in the creation of the Shuswap Outdoor Learning Foundation, whose mission is creating meaningful outdoor experiences for all ages that enable personal growth, while inspiring wonder and a deeper connection to the natural world.
This connection, of course, is critical for instilling a desire to protect our natural world, rather than degrade it. If we learn to love our area and its natural beauty, we are going to be a lot less likely to want to witness its destruction or deterioration.
Clarity, creativity, perspective – things that seems to be a lot easier to lose when trapped in desk in a cubicle or a stuffy room with artificial light.
Sometimes I do feel like I suffer from a nature deficit. And I know I’m not alone. We could all do with a little more of the outdoors in our daily lives –even if it is just over the lunch hour.
So excuse me, I’ve got to go take a walk around McGuire Lake.
