<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Contemplative.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 167px; float: right; " />One activity I often use when trying to convey the importance of the work we do is a guided meditation.&nbsp; I will ask the audience to close their eyes and imagine themselves someplace peaceful, a calming restful place.&nbsp; I ask them to visualize this their surroundings.&nbsp; What does it smell like?&nbsp; What sounds are present? Etc.&nbsp; As we work our way through this exercise I try not to lead the group towards any particular place, because each person is unique and will find their peace in unique ways.&nbsp; As the meditation ends I calmly ask the group to open their eyes and to raise their hands if they found themselves in natural surroundings.&nbsp; As the group looks around at their peers, they are amazed.</p>
<p>
	In my experience the vast majority of people (almost entirely) find themselves reverting to nature in their meditation. What does this mean?&nbsp; It means that aside from viewing nature as a commodity, people feel drawn to nature, not for any natural resource that it offers, but for deeper emotional connections we draw from it.&nbsp; Which brings me to the point of this blog.&nbsp; At the most basic level, the goal of Environmental Education is to connect people with the natural world.&nbsp; However, often with older students and adults the goal becomes one of reconnecting with the natural world.&nbsp; So why is this the case?&nbsp; And what does this say about the nature of our meditation as we age?</p>
<p>
	Because so much of a child&rsquo;s world is new, it requires the smallest effort to produce excitement.&nbsp; A simple walk in the woods may produce an infinite number of firsts for a child.&nbsp; The first pink flower, the first red one, the first bird or worm, the first time in the woods without Mom or Dad. All of these things may produce excitement beyond comprehension and if these experiences are left at that, this may just be the root of our problem.&nbsp; You see, when nature is experienced on such a superficial level we produce superficial results and establish a baseline of superficial expectations.&nbsp; But like anything superficial, the excitement that accompanies these experiences is short-lived.</p>
<p>
	If we do not continue to foster the outdoor learning experience, guiding students through the sticky sometimes less excitable moments, a subtle apathy can develop which often leads towards prolonged indifference.&nbsp; We end up romanticizing the nature of our childhood and neglect the nature of our time because it can&rsquo;t compare.&nbsp; Without deeper, guided explorations, a forest quickly becomes just a bunch of trees.&nbsp; A pond becomes neat but too buggy.&nbsp; For whatever reason some students will push through this boundary of boredom propelled by innate curiosity or a sense of adventure.&nbsp; But I see this as the exception to the rule.&nbsp; Not the norm.</p>
<p>
	More often a students understanding of nature is stymied because they grow tired of the landscape, or rather they grow tired of the method in which they learn about the landscape.&nbsp; How often have you heard someone say that they are bored, or that there is nothing to do when they are completely free to explore their infinitely complex and interesting natural surroundings?&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	I have.&nbsp; I&rsquo;ve even said it.&nbsp; The reasons for this can be many, however, I do think that Place-based education has a lot to do with it.&nbsp; Educating about place using hands-on experiential methods conveys a better understanding and a deeper connection that leads to increased care and positive attitudes towards our home places.</p>
<p>
	Teaching students how to explore and learn is every bit as important as the focus of their study.&nbsp; Learning how to ask questions, how to make better observations, how to drive exploration, how to set up and answer testable questions.&nbsp; This is how we teach because this is how we learn and when we meet these concepts in our backyard, the wonder associated with nature and the learning experience becomes the wonder associated with the home experience.</p>
<p>
	It is a powerful thing that many of us revert to nature in our meditations and it says a great deal about the Creator to instill in us such a deep connection.&nbsp; However, when we close our eyes and imagine a peaceful place, I do not want that place to be a romanticized escape to the nature of our childhood.&nbsp; I would be much happier if that place existed right now, right out your door, because it does.&nbsp;</p>
