Reflection

How Connected to Nature Are You?

We begin the year with a simple question: How connected to nature are you?

To explore this, we use a visual metaphor shaped like Mount Everest. The mountain represents a range of ways people connect with the natural world. There is no right or wrong place to be.

At the base of the mountain is a home, representing someone who feels most comfortable indoors and prefers to keep nature at a distance. At the summit is someone who feels deeply connected to the outdoors and could happily spend long periods living outside. Together, we talk through what these extremes look like and everything in between.

As a class, students brainstorm different ways people experience nature and place them along the mountain. Activities like reading about nature or playing outside without interacting with wildlife fall lower on the scale. Camping, scouting, and outdoor hobbies often land in the middle. More immersive experiences, such as extended time outdoors or adventurous exploration, appear higher up the mountain.

After building the scale together, students place their emoji and initials where they feel they belong. They may choose where they are now or where they hope to be someday. A student might say, “I’ve never done that, but I would love to try.”

This activity creates a positive, low-pressure space for students to reflect and share honestly. Some students name that they are not “outdoor people,” and that perspective is respected. Others discover shared experiences and interests, sparking conversations like, “I like camping too!” or “I want to try that someday.”

We revisit the scale at the end of the year. Many students notice how their feelings have shifted. One student shared, “I’m not an outside person, but now I’m really interested in nature and I’ve done things I never thought I would.”

This reflection helps students see that connection to nature looks different for everyone and that growth often begins with curiosity. This activity evaluates changes in students’ self-perceived connection to nature over time, an intermediate outcome that research identifies as foundational to later engagement and stewardship.