Activity 2.2 | Connections to the Land and World
Paddling Against the Wind
We are also responsible for the place in which we live, play and work. How do we take care of that place in our programs?
In a recent New York Times Climate Forward event, Robin Wall-Kimmerer had much to say about giving back to the land. Watch the YouTube recording:
How might we pay attention to earth’s messages and really listen to how we are taking from the plant and animal world. (Wall Kimmerer, 2023). Think about ways that you might encourage children to see the world and its gifts. Each bee helps by pollinating flowers, worms help the earth stay healthy, ants build communities–what can we learn from these creatures? How can we thank them?
We can increase children’s awareness of the rhythms of the year, the month or the day. We can help them see the many cycles of the world–the movement of the sun, the waning and waxing of the moon, weather patterns. With children we can learn to honour water and its importance in our lives.
Reflect on how Robin Wall Kimmerer suggest we can honour land in all its many facets? What could that look like in your program? Add your thoughts to your journal.
ReferenceNew York Times Events. (2023, September 16). Robin Wall Kimmerer on paddling against the wind [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhIoVJHycvk