Forest Education has been one of my strong passions since I became a herbalist.

With my education background, I felt that the nature school is perfect place to be. I taught preschool program at Saplings Outdoor Program in West Vancouver in 2022 and I am currently part of a nature program on Salt spring island. Learning and playing with my little students makes my heart sing all the time. We guide, nurture, give so much love to them as well as being a good team to take care of the Earth.

I received many questions on what we do in the forest school so I'm sharing my experience here! 

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The daily activities include:

• Land Acknowledgement

• Safety game (Going over the safety/guide)

• Learning and expressing different emotions

• Yoga and movement

• Indigenous people's stories

• Plant and tree identification and uses

• Creating natural medicine as a group

• Sit spot (medication and connecting with nature)

• Nature art - Mandala, sea glass arts, flour playdough with natural materials, etc

• Park ranger

• Gardening

• Picking garbage

• Learning seasonal cycle and rhythm

• West coast animals and birds

• Building a small shelter with a tarp

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Rain or shine, even on a snowy day, we are outside all day or most of the day except the extreme weather. They come to the program with appropriate gears and clothing. 

The children are naturally well self regulated in nature. The environment supports them to improve their

social emotional skills. They help each other and work as a team.

Their physical skills, capabilities and resilience are much higher than the students who attend indoor-based schools.

At Saplings Outdoor Program, I was so fortunate to have supportive parents. They actively engaged in our program - participating part of the day, supporting me supervise the students, helping me bring some materials...We had very strong community relationships. The fire station and golf course people gave us a tour. The neighbour would play harmonica for the children on our walk. I built a strong relationship with a speech pathologist to support a student as well.

 

With my herbal knowledge and skills, we learned about many plants in the Pacific NorthWest.

There are so many things I love to share on forest education.

 

I may consider opening a wisdom school for preschool age children one day soon.  ​

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Photos with consents from the lovely parents.