Ngā mihi o te wā
The days are getting longer and warmer - so let's get out into nature! This edition of Pitopito Kōrero highlights all the resources available to you and your students for getting outdoors in term 4.
Here's the low down to getting outdoors in Term 4:
Check out the resources and get involved with Get Outdoors Week and Outdoor Classroom Day.
Check out the *New* 'nature taster' activities aimed at getting you and your students into your local nature.
Plan a Kiwi Guardians adventure for your class.
Plan your next nature based inquiry by using the DOC Protecting your Environment and/or Protecting our Marine World education resources.
Check out the Pūtātara resource from the Ministry of Education and plan your next inquiry topic around sustainability.
As always, please don't hesitate to contact us if you require any advice, or have any feedback about this newsletter or our resources. We would love to hear from you!
Ngā manaakitanga,
DOC Outreach and Education team
The benefits of teaching and learning in nature
Research has shown that:
- Meaningful, positive experiences in nature guide children, young people and adults towards caring for nature.
- Time in nature during childhood and role models who care for nature are the two biggest factors that contribute to environmental stewardship in adulthood.
- Learning in nature can enhance creativity, critical thinking and problem solving.
- Contact with nature is essential for improving emotional, physical and spiritual health and wellbeing.
Get Outdoors Week | 16-24 November 2019
Get Outdoors Week is about safely and easily exploring New Zealand's great outdoors. With a focus on kids and their families, there will be many events and opportunities for schools and families to get out and experience the outdoors. Schools are encouraged to provide opportunities for students to discover, explore and learn about what nature can teach us.
What schools can do to get involved and promote GOWeek:
- Add the Get Outdoors Week poster or activity flyer to your school newsletter
- Encourage everyone to get involved by spreading the word about goweek.org.nz
- Enter the competitions on facebook and instagram
Outdoor Classroom Day | 7 November 2019
Outdoor Classroom Day is a global campaign to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play. On the day, thousands of schools around the world take lessons outdoors and prioritise playtime. In 2018, over 3.5 million children in over 100 countries took part.
Sign up to put your school on the 2019 map and join the global movement!
*NEW* Nature Taster Activities
A brand new set of 6 nature taster activities have been launched for term 4. These activities are based on international pathways to nature connection research and aim to build a meaningful relationship with nature for you and your students.
Designed to pick up and go (like a recipe card), it's never been easier to get outdoors and use nature as your context for teaching and learning.
Plan your next nature inquiry
Protecting your Environment
Inquiry unit | Levels: 1-4: Use these resources to encourage students to go outdoors, explore and connect to a local green space
Protecting our Marine World
Inquiry unit | Levels: 1-4: Use this resource to encourage students to go outdoors and learn how to protect our unique marine environment.
Protecting our Estuaries
Inquiry unit | Levels: 1-4: Use this resource to encourage students to go outdoors and learn how to protect our unique estuarine environments.
DOC integrated inquiry learning cycle
The DOC integrated inquiry learning cycle comes in both a planning format for teachers and a student friendly format for your whole class to use. You can use it to plan any nature inquiry and alongside all the DOC education resources.
Want a poster copy? Email conserved@doc.govt.nz to request one.
Kiwi Guardians Adventures & Activities
Teachers and leaders of groups with more than five children doing a Kiwi Guardians adventure or action can get involved through the group redemption process!
You will receive a double-sided certificate for each child in the group, and the group will receive one wooden medal along with information on how to receive their own.
How do you approach environmental education for sustainability?
A couple of years ago DOC collaborated with Ministry for the Environment and Ministry of Education to produce the across agency strategy Mātauranga Whakauka Taiao – Environmental Education for Sustainability. The vision is that all New Zealanders value a connection to our environment by actively working together for a sustainable future.
We want to make sure that more people are empowered and enabled to learn about and in the outdoors, but first we want to find out what’s happening at the moment.
We have developed a short poll for teachers to get an idea of your knowledge and confidence around environmental education. It should take around a minute or 2.
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