During this week's lecture we received a visit from Gyles Morris, the man behind Naturesbase, to give us further information about the task and explain a little more about himself and his project. He started by talking about his background and how he came to work on outdoor childrens' projects, from designing school grounds and making them more inspiring and places to want to learn.
His policy for teaching children is that play should be less sanitised, and that there should be no yes or no, just encouragement. He feels that society doesn't allow free play due to fears such as stranger danger, which has led to nature deficit disorder, and the fact that more children can recognise a dalek than an owl.
Exposing children to stimulating outdoor experiences at a young age allows development of cognitive skills, better concentration, better communication, improved listening, development of accessing risk, self confidence and self esteem, teamwork, motivation, pride and understanding the environment.
Gyles then asked us a few questions to quiz us on how well we understand our environment, such as where our food actually comes from and the shape of the moon the previous night. It showed how out of touch we can be with features of the environment which we should never lose contact with.
He also took us out into the grounds where he showcased some of the activities that he leads with children, such as using natural materials for colours and creating pictures from grass and sticks. It was very enjoyable and made me more excited about the project, and I agreed with a lot of what he was saying. I have begun to have more concrete ideas of what I would like to create for the brief, and I am definitely gravitating towards the picture book.
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