INCLUSION

The environment, after all, is where we all meet, where we all have a mutual interest. It is one thing that all of us share. Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.

Lady Bird Johnson

British Columbia, Canada has the Environmental School for grades primary to eight. Its focus is placed based, imaginative, and ecological education. All of its lessons for grades primary to nine are outdoors!

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Mathematics: Numbers/Patterns/Data

Inclusion is still an area of growth for me. I will continue to add to this page as I learn more. Please send an email to add any suggestions or tips on how to make the outdoors more inclusive for all students!

The Outdoor Learning Store offers valuable courses to further grow your Outdoor Education journey, including inclusion and accessibility.

Cognitive Ability

I have taken a course via on-line meetings from Giant Steps in Montreal. It is a school for autism, but they do offer training as well. In the course I learned about the 8 senses which helped me better reach all my students. In particular I learned to continue using hammocks in my outdoor education program. I learned about hammocks while visiting a forest school in Nova Scotia. There are many and varied forest school programs world wide. British Columbia's Forest School offers this promotional video.

I use hammocks as a calming and fun tool for all my students. If you are able to integrate hammocks into your outdoor education please do. The joy they will bring to your students will bring joy to you as well.

Henry Winkler's book series Hank Zipper and Here's Hank and both Detective Duck books have been published using a font designed to assist reading for those with dyslexia.

Other key chapter books have also been designed to assist reading for those with dyslexia and ADHD. These books have larger text, extra spacing, and engaging spot art. Titles can be located here..

These books might be good for quiet sit spot reading for students.

Of Interest:

Naturally Inclusive Resource Book: Engaging Children of All Abilities Outdoors

by Ruth Wilson, Ph.D.

Physical Ability

For students with physical needs going into an uneven root filled ground of nature might be a challenge. However, I would still teach outdoors, but stay on a paved area to ensure everyone is included. In the Academics tab I have included lessons that could be taught on paved surfaces or in nature hopefully inspiring ideas you could use to meet the needs of all your students when teaching outdoors.

The Nova Scotia ASK (Active Smarter Kids) program is an effective avenue for teaching outdoors while remaining on paved surfaces. The program uses bean bags with letters and numbers on them and provides training for many activities you can do with your students. Additionally if your school does not have the budget for the program or it is not available in your area you could recreate the bean bags by writing letters or numbers on bean bags. As well, I created a 100s chart out of a shower curtain to add onto the ASK's programs' games. Click the tree to the right for 100s chart lesson.

The Natural Start Alliance unites organizations and individuals working toward a future in which every young child has access to high-quality education that includes nature and the environment every day. It offers resources to assist educators in taking children with disabilities outside. Their tool kit, Say Yes to Kids with Disabilities Stories and Strategies to Include all Kids offers assistant to those including all children. It can be viewed on-line or purchased.

Click the tree for a link to a lesson using the Nova Scotia ASK material and how it can be adjusted to include all abilities.

Alternative Grounds

In one of my courses we studied alternative playgrounds around the world.

Two areas for all inclusivity were playgrounds that were designed so that its perimeter was paved and play stations were at the height of a wheelchair and designed for students with limited mobility. The second was similar to playgrounds, but also garden spaces do not have to be on the ground or built low, they too can be built at the level the students will be most comfortable participating with the other students. Please visit Nurturing Nature on this site to learn of the benefits of gardening for youth.

If you are ever in a position where you can influence the building of a new outdoor space please consider alternative grounds which speak to not only enriching mental health, but speak to including all students. Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation written by Sharon Gamson Danks, CEO of Green Schoolyards America's, could be a good starting point to revising your school grounds. Danks wrote a comprehensive book on transforming ordinary asphalt and grass schoolyards into vibrant ecosystems that promote hands-on learning, creative play and neighborhood ecology

This article explores the Granåsen Nature Playground, built in Trondheim, Norway, in the autumn of 2024. The playground was designed using research-based principles and evidence about children’s play, learning and development and is owned by the Municipality of Trondheim. Outdoor play experts were involved in every stage of the project, from the initial landscape-architecture planning, to on-site construction with the building contractor, and finally by participating in a benefit–risk assessment carried out in accordance with ISO 4980:2023 Benefit–risk assessment for sports and recreational facilities, activities and equipment.

Click pic to link to the site

LGBTQ2+

This page on the website is called Inclusion as opposed to Accessibility in order to remind teachers the positive impact they might be having on certain groups of people. Pattie Gonia, an environmentalist drag queen remembers how free they felt playing in nature as a child. However in high school when faced with homophobia their personality was squashed. It was the YMCA summer camp, Camp Kitaki, they credit with re-releasing that freedom nature provides. As an adult, they founded Brave Trials, a space for youth of the LGBTQ2+ community run by members of the LGBTQ2+ community.

CBC Listen's program What on Earth with Laura Lynch speaks to Pattie Gonia, regarding acceptance for all in regards to the climate action movement. They also speak about making mistakes and how to change to make it better next time which is an important message for many students for many avenues. This 27 minute recording could generate discussion for higher grades or used in a school's GSA student club. Please visit Nurturing Nature on this site for more resources to help teach environmental stewardship.

Gonia’s story is another inspiration to bring students outside.

When outside a teacher might never know how much allowances they are giving students to be their authentic self, but nature does.

Click pic to link to

Youth Project in Nova Scotia.

Equity Access to Nature - Something to Consider

Covid 19 was a time for isolation, with nature the only source of reprieve. However, research highlighted not all have access to nature, considering for some urbanites going into nature might require transportation. This showcased specific communities, usually minorities and immigrants do not have access to transportation thus limiting their interaction with nature.

Children & Nature Network has a literature review titled: Equitable Access to Nature's Benefits. Drawing on over 800 peer reviewed scholarly articles the review's categories and its articles make the case for decision makers in the areas of policy, programs and infrastructure to provide children equitable access to nature.

Teachers could use this knowledge as inspiration to try teaching outdoors. It provides opportunities for all students to interact with nature.

Of Interest and perhaps for older grades or a student club:

Get Hooked was born in the Covid 19 era when awareness of inequity to nature became more visible. The 6 part documentary breaks down barriers to the mental health benefits of nature and changes the narrative around queer, black, brown, indigenous, and people with disabilities in the outdoors. The site offers where to watch the series and a link to its podcast.