Monday thought of the week: learning from the outdoors

A thought:

I’m not suggesting that everyone need spend 738 days hugging a tree like Julia Hill or Miranda Gibson. There are a host of mainstream opportunities for our children to learn about, and from, the outdoors. There’s school endorsed outdoor education experiences, or Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden programs as currently embraced by 267 Australian primary schools. From horticultural therapy to care farming. Or Scouts and Guides. And let’s not forget family weekends camping in the bush; or simply get down and dirty, rolling in the grass and watching bees in the backyard or nearby park, with Mum and Dad.

– Warren McLaren, “Without nature, the little children suffer,” ABC.net (November 15, 2012)