“It is not half so important to know as to feel. If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow. … Once the emotions have been aroused — a sense of the beautiful, the excitement of the new and the unknown, a feeling of sympathy, pity, admiration, or love — then we wish for knowledge about the object of our emotional response.” Rachel Carson
As an outdoor and environmental educator, these words resonate with me. I “know” this deeply — from taking my charges into the midst of nature for more than four decades. Having them directly experience its intricate beauty and interconnections.
Consider the following:
- The fascination of finding life in a pond or stream. Learning that dragonflies spend most of their lives underwater as nymphs. It’s not only the flying insects that eat mosquitoes and black flies. The nymph version has an amazing and lightning-fast retractable lower jaw (I show this to the students) that springs out to capture a nearby floating mosquito or blackfly larva.
- Coming upon a baby deer mouse (eyes unopen): carefully picking it up so everyone can see. Mother returns, scurrying about; I put baby down … mom retrieves it from my outstretched hand.
- All-season hikes with clear lessons in mind, but also open to unexpected opportunities and chance encounters. I hear a ruckus of crows. I react with, “there goes a Great Horned Owl.” The students look at me quizzically. Then, an owl flies right by us, trying to escape noisy crows in hot pursuit.
- Taking three students on a midnight hike: we were out for 90 minutes, blown away by a peaceful enveloping stillness broken only by the calls of an owl. One of these students wrote me for five years. Another became a teacher and showed up 15 years later at a teacher professional development session I was running on nature connection … stories were told.
- Taking teens out in canoes in the middle of a clear and still night. PFDs, flashlights, and other safety precautions in place such as buddy canoes and staying together. We watch the progression from total darkness to first light to dawn. Our silence is not broken until the sun fully rises. Then, an outdoor breakfast is shared on a point facing the east.
- Having a bird bander demonstrate her craft in front of students. Wide-open mouths as the birder expertly bands what she caught in a mist net, all the while explaining the importance of this activity.
- Encounters with orphaned baby raccoons under the care of a veterinarian. Students are delighted by their curious explorations. Feeling their fur and the bottom of their soft feet. Empathy in abundance.
Memorable moments. Powerful, lasting connections. Experiential encounters that, as research overwhelmingly shows, convert such encounters into lifelong proenvironmental behaviours. If you directly connect, you care. You feel empathy and responsibility. You are driven to act on behalf of our amazing natural world. You want to address the big issues like climate change.
We are undergoing an extinction of experience. This threatens all life on earth. As parents and grandparents, we must take our kids outdoors … not just send them outside. As taxpayers, we must vigorously support outdoor and environmental education in our schools. As individuals, we should also “get out.” A necessity, not a frill.
Grant Linney is a retired outdoor and environmental educator. Over the past 12 years, he has delivered more than 800 presentations on climate change. climategrant@gmail.com