Nature and environmental education

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Nature and environmental education imparts knowledge about nature and ecological relationships based on practical experience .

aims

The aim is to lay a foundation for ecologically sensible actions, behavior and decisions among the population. The aim is not only to arouse interest and enjoyment in nature, but also to show the limits and the resulting necessities of human intervention in the interaction structure.

Children and young people could use their experiences of nature to grasp their position as humans in nature's ecosystems . Through environmental education, they could learn that intellectual and technical capabilities require responsible behavior. Character traits, values ​​and norms are shaped in childhood. The fun of experiencing nature can bring young people, especially from heavily populated areas, to recognize themselves as an important part of nature. Children and young people could not only experience nature as the outer living environment of humans with direct educational guidance, but also explore their environment independently and experience it playfully. This is what the “ urban nature experience spaces ” are for.

An urban nature experience space (NERaum) is an urban green space that is largely or completely left to its natural development, so that it can undergo a quasi-natural regression (e.g. by means of renaturation ). This at least one hectare area is integrated into a residential area or located on its edge, i.e. easily accessible for the everyday stay of children and young people who can play here without educational supervision and without equipment. At least half of the NE area develops without human intervention, the other sub-areas can be kept open through extensive maintenance or grazing. With the provision of NE rooms, the aim is to overcome the already advanced alienation of adolescents from nature and to enable the children to have an everyday encounter with nature that is important for their physically and psychologically healthy development.

background

Neither the urban living space nor the press, radio and television enable learning from direct contact with nature. As a result, many people often have very little knowledge of their biological habitat. Environmental education wants to fill this gap with consciously designed activities. Children of preschool and elementary school age in particular are very enthusiastic about any kind of nature experience.

One possibility is learning on farms. Mostly on school and learning farms , children can gain practical experience with their heads, hearts and hands under expert guidance. For some years now, there have also been so-called nature experience rooms in cities , in which children can play freely and unsupervised. A special form of nature education is realized in the idea of ​​the forest kindergarten .

In addition, nature and environmental education is also an important concern of adult education .

Since human societies oppose nature with economic interests, it is also very important to point out reasonable limits to human activity. It must therefore be a matter of course to comply with and also to explain the legal requirements for species protection during nature experience campaigns. Every participant can understand why individuals of protected species should not be taken from nature.

However, especially in children and adolescents, you shouldn't arouse existential fears, but you can convince them that even small steps are useful and effective: for example a small pond in the school biotope or an action in which amphibians are carried across the street and saved from traffic death become. In addition, this common pursuit of a nature-related goal can make a good contribution to promoting social behavior.

Intensive perception of nature has always been the engine of scientific progress. Whether Newton saw the apple fall from the tree, Konrad Lorenz went swimming with his geese or Erwin Schrödinger tried his cat (and put his life in danger in a thought experiment) to explain the paradox of quantum mechanics - curiosity about nature has always been the engine of progress. Nature and environmental education is therefore not just an environmental measure, but can also fulfill a very broad educational mandate. This includes, for example, biotechnology , which analyzes astonishing technical solutions produced by nature and has always spurred the technical progress of mankind. But pedagogically good work must also counterbalance it - and in this case that is an environmental awareness that must protect humanity from crossing dangerous limits.

qualification

It is generally recommended that teachers and educators get to know the possibilities of nature and environmental education through courses from environmental academies or events from nature conservation associations, but also know about nature conservation rules.

Since October 2008 there has been the option of a bachelor's degree in "Environmental Education". This is offered at the University of Agricultural and Environmental Education Vienna and trains environmental educators who can work in the above-mentioned areas. The focus of the course is on the environment , sustainable development , pedagogy , local and regional sustainability , the responsible use of natural spaces , climate protection , energy efficiency , general educational sciences , personal development and process management .

Nature experience in the barefoot park

In Germany there are numerous training opportunities at various institutions.

Tasks of teachers and educators

It is important to start from the children's interests. With suggestions for nature experiences you can arouse the curiosity of the children and carry out activities that are also fun for them. The children's spontaneous interest in body experience is very helpful here, e.g. B. the fun of going barefoot, which makes the relationship with nature tangible and also sharpens the powers of observation of other senses. A trip to a barefoot park , the creation of a barefoot path with the children, foot gymnastics games or well-prepared barefoot hikes, during which time should be allowed to observe nature, can be a good start .

Another very well-suited adventure offer is a "pond safari", in which aquatic animals are caught with aquarium nets or tea strainers and placed in observation glasses. You can take a closer look at them with a magnifying glass or possibly a microscope. Usually you want to learn more about the properties and way of life of animals. Maybe you can get an expert to explain things. But even if each participant contributes their knowledge, a detailed picture can be created. From the perspective of the community experience, this may even be a better approach. It is of course very important to demand responsible behavior in such an action: The animals must not be damaged or tortured and must regain their freedom as soon as possible.

When looking at the animals, the group's wealth of knowledge can be brought to light through specific questions: What kind of animal is it? What does it live on? Where are the eyes Does it swim up or down in the observation glass? Using these questions, children can observe, take different perspectives and draw conclusions. This has a positive effect on cognitive development and lays the foundation for scientific learning.

Creating a pond on the site of a school, daycare center, etc. is a beautiful but time-consuming project that requires planning and work, but is undoubtedly a good building block for educating children about nature.

Legal

The removal of living beings from nature can quickly affect nature conservation issues (cf. intervention regulation , species protection , Natura 2000 ). The same applies to observations in the wild (under species protection law, in case of doubt, this also includes urban biotopes), whereby the sensitivity of the species to the approach of humans varies greatly. It is therefore advisable to regularly coordinate activities in the great outdoors and the management of inner-city biotopes with the closest nature conservation authority (especially district administrations, administrations of larger cities).

See also

literature

  • Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.) (2008): Children and nature in the city. Spielraum Natur: A handbook for local politicians, planners as well as parents and Agenda 21 initiatives. BfN scripts 230, Bonn. Reference (PDF; 121 kB).  Document available online .
  • Cornell, Joseph (2006): Sharing Nature with Children: The Classic Parents '& Teachers' Nature Awareness Guidebook , Dawn Pubn, ISBN 978-3834600769
  • Göpfert, Hans (1994): Nature-related education. Beltz Verlag, Weinheim. ISBN 978-3892710325
  • Herbert Österreicher: Praxis der Umweltbildung, in: Norbert Kühne (Hrsg.): Praxisbuch Sozialpädagogik , Volume 7, Bildungsverlag EINS, Troisdorf 2009, ISBN 978-3-427-75415-2
  • Reidl, K .; Stool, HJ; Blinkert, B. (2005): Spaces to experience nature in populated areas - results of an interdisciplinary research project. Nürtinger Hochschulschriften Nr. 24, Nürtingen-Geislingen University of Economics and Environment
  • Schemel, H.-J. (1998): Spaces of Nature Experience. A human-ecological approach for natural recreation in town and country. - Applied Landscape Ecology, Issue 19. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn-Bad Godesberg

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