Class Objectives:
The course supports you in developing a deep relationship with the natural world that serves as the bedrock for leading nature connection initiatives in your community. Specifically, you will:
Deepen your relationship with nature and share intentional nature connection practices and activities with others to promote human and planetary health.
Develop expertise with the five nature connection program areas, core community engagement practices, and facilitation skills that are foundational for nature connection leadership.
Work collaboratively to improve spaces for nature connection and to empower others to make nature engagement part of their lives.
(Scroll down for class schedule and class locations)
Assignments and Grading:
There are four assignments that should take no more than 60-90 minutes each week to complete. The coursework is heaviest in the first week and gets lighter as the semester winds down. Printing off the articles will give you a record of materials to look back on in the future and create an opportunity to complete assignments screen-free. Consider creating a binder of the foundational knowledge articles. Take notes on your readings in your notebook. You will share them with me during an office hour meeting before the final retreat. We will look over the sections and discuss your experience with the course.
1) The Daily Good in Nature Exercise: At any point during the course, spend a minimum of ten minutes a day for 14 days straight to experience "the good" in nature, however you define it, and record your experiences in your notebook provided at the opening retreat. Briefly document feelings, observations, and creative inspirations with sketches, poems, narrative descriptions, self-reflections, or nature metaphors. Add the date and location. You will only need a few minutes to record the experience. You may have more than one entry per page to leave room for reading and class notes.
Before you begin the exercise, read the assigned Washington Post article that explains the research backing this practice. You might consider focusing on one element of nature, such as watching the moon every night to experience lunar mentorship, or visiting the same spot daily to immerse yourself in a specific area of our local ecosystem.
2) Cultivating Awe: Monitor your decomposition jar (created during the opening retreat) daily. Practice cultivating awe as you observe the changes. Optional: Read this article about awe to support your process. It is written by Dacher Keltner, a prominent researcher on awe. Based on your notes and observations, prepare a two-paragraph explanation of what you experienced while attending to this small ecosystem. Bring the jar and your written explanation to the last class for an informal show-and-tell.
3) For the entire length of the class, take on weekly experiments that help you overcome habits that you think interfere with your relationship with the Earth. These experiments focus on mindsets, behaviors, and perspectives. They are woven into your life, so you should not take extra time. You will pick the week's experiment at the end of each class. When we return to class, we will discuss the experiment conducted the week before, what we learned from it, and how we will apply the learning going forward.
Possible experiments:
Putting screens out of reach while outside. Getting sunlight within the first hour of waking and turning off screens an hour before bed to support your circadian rhythms and improve sleep.
Talking about nature in relational terms. Exploring how language shapes your perceptions and relationships with the natural world.
Inviting friends to share nature connection activities to increase social support for valuing and engaging with nature.
Readings:
3) Before class on March 20th, read the following foundational knowledge articles and two program area articles.
Article on kinship worldview: Speaking of Nature, Robin Wall Kimmerer
Article on benefits of nature connection: Washington Post
Skim article on socio-culture rupture with nature: Conceptualizing Human-Nature Relationships
PDF on evidence-based pathways to nature connection: The Nature Connection Handbook
Program Areas:
Skim article on savoring program area: Savoring mediates the effect of nature on positive affect, Izuru Sato, Paul Jose, and Tamlin Conner
Article on belonging program area: Dosing nature for mental health Optional: Nature Contact Counseling
Take notes on the readings, considering what you want to remember to become a nature connection leader serving your peer group. Answer the second set of foundational knowledge questions in your notebook in preparation for your mission statement due on the last day of class. You will hand in your foundational knowledge questions with your mission statement.
4) Before class on March 27th, finish reading the foundational articles and the Nature Connection Leadership Guidebook. Begin to craft responses to the third set of foundational knowledge questions in your notebook in preparation for your mission statement. Invite friends to the closing retreat at Morven.
Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change, Sherri Mitchell
Optional readings: How to Connect with Nature in Cities: A Forest Bathing Approach, Reading on Park Prescriptions.
4) Before class on April 17th, read the facilitation section of the Nature Connection Guidebook related to nature connection skills. Begin crafting a response to the last set of foundational knowledge questions.
Office hour appointment for 30 minutes with Carolyn.
5) Before the April 24th retreat, create your mission statement (see below) based on your reading notes, class notes, and "taking in the good" journal entries. Your mission statement is to be handwritten unless you strongly prefer printing it. It may be artistically presented as a scroll, a letter, or a piece of art. Aim for approximately 1000 words. In addition, complete a two-paragraph statement to share about your experience connecting with the decomposition jar.
Create a statement that affirms your core values as a nature connection leader
(these questions are a guide only)
What are your core beliefs about why nature connectedness is vitally important for our times? Why is it important in your own life?
What barriers to nature connection will you work to overcome?
What will you do to continue to grow in your own nature connection? What practice will you focus on to deepen your embodied connection?
What communities will you focus on to share nature connection experiences and what engagement principles will be of highest priority to you?
What knowledge do you most want to you actively share with others?
What sources of support will you seek to encourage your growth?
What vision do you have for a more nature-connected society?
Class Schedule
Mandatory field trips at Morven:
Friday, March 13, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM & Friday, April 24, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Class times and locations:
Friday, March 20 1 PM to 3 PM, Contemplative Science Center courtyard facing the pond
Friday, March 27 1 PM to 3 PM, Garden VII behind the Colonnade Club
Friday, April 17 1 PM - 3 PM , Garden VII behind the Colonnade Club
Office hours: By appointment via Google Meet or in person in Garden VII. Email Carolyn at carolyn@natureconnectionlab.com to request a meeting. Requests are warmly welcomed!