{"id":70368,"date":"2023-10-23T00:14:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T04:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=70368"},"modified":"2023-10-23T00:14:02","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T04:14:02","slug":"incorporating-nature-into-education-can-build-skills-and-improve-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/incorporating-nature-into-education-can-build-skills-and-improve-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Incorporating nature into education can build skills and improve mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Could carving a wooden spoon by a lake be the answer to the mental health crisis in Canadian universities and also global sustainability?<\/p>\n

Clearly, no.<\/p>\n

However, our research has shown that shifts in our attention using Nature-based crafts and skills may just be the key to addressing the developing crises of mental health on campus as our world struggles with sustainability.<\/p>\n

Nature-based education<\/strong><\/h4>\n

At the University of Waterloo we are running a series of workshops for staff and students\u00a0as part of our new initiative called Land Skills for Wellness and Sustainability<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The University of Waterloo is often known for its science, engineering and tech expertise, but this initiative aims at supporting well-being and fostering discussions around sustainable behaviour through the re-connection of participants to land and nature. Workshops led by local craft practitioners focus on spoon carving, basket weaving, nature weaving, herbal tea preparation, nature connection walks and scything.<\/p>\n

The emphasis with each of these activities is sensory connection, relationship building with natural \u201cmaterials\u201d and the power of crafting with hands and simple tools, engaging in skills that have connected humans to land and place, sometimes for thousands of years. Participants formed new relationships with maple and willow wood, birch bark, tulsi and chamomile herbs, a Canada goose skull or a field of milky oats.<\/p>\n

The workshops focus on the role that connecting with nature and practising skills play in widening and shifting our attention, perception and relationship with the natural world.<\/p>\n

In doing so we explore how our connection to nature and a sensory appreciation of the world\u00a0increases our sense of well-being<\/a>\u00a0and is a\u00a0prerequisite for sustainable behaviour<\/a>. These observations also mean we are laying foundations to examine and further understand sustainability as what author Fritjof Capra has called\u00a0\u201ca crisis of perception\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A crisis of perception<\/strong><\/h4>\n

We live in a time of\u00a0social and environmental breakdown which has been called The Great Unravelling<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0unprecedented and globally significant impacts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While global health has mainly improved during this period,\u00a0serious health implications are expected in this age of crisis<\/a>.\u00a0One out of two people are predicted to experience a mental health disorder in their lifetime<\/a>\u00a0which is likely to be\u00a0exacerbated by climate breakdown impacts<\/a>. In Canada there is a noted\u00a0mental health crises at Canadian universities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There is a sense of urgency for solutions to the sustainability crisis and a dominant response to this is\u00a0technological solutions such as electric vehicles, solar panels, carbon offsetting and green energy<\/a>. While not without merit, these technologies do little to address the deeper, more complex, causes of our current sustainability crisis. As such, transformations towards sustainability must involve\u00a0deep shifts in the patterns our inner mind<\/a>, including shifts in attention and a renewed relationship with nature.<\/p>\n

Neurologist Iain McGilchrist\u00a0sees a central role for attention in creating our world<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cthe kind of attention we bring to bear on the world changes the nature of the world we attend to<\/em>\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

As we participate with the world, we create stories that tell us how the world is, creates strategies for action, and moral and ethical standards to live by. The\u00a0Philosopher Alasdair Macintyre<\/a>\u00a0acknowledges the importance of the question \u201cWhat am I to do?\u201d But first, he argues, we must consider: What story or stories do I find myself a part of?<\/p>\n

Our work aims to re-centre the planet and our environmental community within our collective stories.<\/p>\n

Reconnecting human nature<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Throughout most of evolutionary history, humans, like other animals have been in direct participation with the natural world. This shaped our behaviour and provides\u00a0explanations for the benefits of reconnecting with the natural world<\/a>\u00a0including\u00a0increased mental and physical health<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0sustainable behaviours<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arts and craft-based activities were\u00a0once a core part<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0occupational therapy<\/a>, and with reported benefits of increased sense of pride, purpose, identity and hope. Crafting and skills practice also have\u00a0widely reported physical and mental-health benefits<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0support resilience<\/a>. Skills in \u201cmaking\u201d have been identified as important components in sustainability education and practice focusing on, for instance, embodied cognition,\u00a0flow activity<\/a>\u00a0and anti-consumerism.<\/p>\n

We acknowledge that teaching land skills on the stolen Indigenous land of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples is complicated. The loss of life-ways, crafts and skills of peoples from Turtle Island (North America) and elsewhere through centuries of colonialism needs to be addressed and we aim to ensure that efforts to connect to the land do not perpetuate harm.<\/p>\n

Our initiative has been designed as a \u201csafe to fail<\/a>\u201d experiment to explore possibilities for change in academic culture and to support the well-being of all those present on campus. With over 61 participants engaged so far planning is underway to continue the workshops as part of a formal research program. We hope that in time these practices can become standard across universities and Canada as a whole as part of wider efforts to address dual mental health and sustainability crises.<\/p>\n

Author Bios:<\/strong> James T Jones is a PhD Candidate, Faculty of Environment and Steffanie Scott is a Professor of Geography & Environmental Management both at the University of Waterloo<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Could carving a wooden spoon by a lake be the answer to the mental health crisis in Canadian universities and also global sustainability? Clearly, no. However, our research has shown that shifts in our attention using Nature-based crafts and skills may just be the key to addressing the developing crises of mental health on campus […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[434679],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-70368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-nature-based-education"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIncorporating nature into education can build skills and improve mental health - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/incorporating-nature-into-education-can-build-skills-and-improve-mental-health\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Incorporating nature into education can build skills and improve mental health - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Could carving a wooden spoon by a lake be the answer to the mental health crisis in Canadian universities and also global sustainability? 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