With Monica Wiedel-Lubinski of the Eastern Region Association of Forest and Nature Schools (ERAFANS)
How can educators and guardians best guide and facilitate hands-on nature play among children? It starts with being hands-off and letting kids explore, experiment, inquire — heck, even make a few mistakes — in an unstructured outdoor environment, big or small. Nature play expert Monica Wiedel-Lubinski joined us to talk about these ideas and more, including the differences between risks and hazards, the value of loose-parts play, and her favourite activities from her new book, which she co-wrote with Karen Madigan.
Guest:
Naturalist and educator Monica Wiedel-Lubinski is the director of the Eastern Region Association of Forest and Nature Schools (ERAFANS), which builds capacity for equitable nature-based education through professional development. She co-founded the Wild Haven Forest Preschool in 2017 as well as the Notchcliff Nature Preschool at Glen Meadows Retirement Community in 2019. Monica also works as a keynote speaker and consultant for nature-based schools and natural play spaces. Her book Nature Play Workshop for Families, co-authored with Karen Madigan, was published in 2020 by Quarry Books.
Episode 62: Energy transition narratives: good-faith, bad-faith, and keeping the faith
Episode 61: A Two-Worlds Approach to nurturing empathy in young children
Episode 60: Nature’s best hope (for kids)
Episode 59: The lives of bees and pollinating wasps
Episode 58: Learning through a forest lens
Episode 57: Regenerating habitat for native pollinators
Episode 56: Having richer and more meaningful conversations with children
Episode 55: Pre-K environmental ed.
Episode 54: Engaging children in climate/waste solutions
Episode 53: The power of nature stories
Episode 52: Two-eyed seeing
Episode 51: Balancing screen time and green time
Episode 50: Navigating ecological threats with storytelling
Episode 49: Comics, cartoons, and humour for climate change ed.
Episode 48: What we can learn from trees
Episode 47: Climate literacy and resilience
Episode 46: Attention restoration theory
Episode 45: World Rivers Day
Episode 44: Phenology-based teaching
Episode 43: Regenerative education, incl. learning session
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