The Guelph Outdoor School with Chris Green

Teach Outdoors

Chris Green, our guest today, is the Director of The Guelph Outdoor School in Ontario, Canada.

Website: https://www.theguelphoutdoorschool.com/about

Facebook: The Guelph Outdoor School

Instagram: @TheGuelphOutdoorSchool

We begin by talking about how to make land acknowledgements more personal and authentic. Chris suggests that we can do this by thinking about our relationship to the land.

Guelph Outdoor School was inspired by the book Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature, by Jon Young. Why? Because it’s an attributes based curriculum that prepares learners with practical skills (like cardinal directions) but also ‘soft skills’ (like learning about cooperation).
Chris also talks about how we live in an era that is ‘information rich but connection poor.’ He believes that outdoor school not only helps disrupt this trend but it also helps to rebuild our connection and relationships with our land and community.
Chris describes how to use the Art of Questioning with your learners. He paints a picture of finding a balance with the different levels of questions that you ask.

Level 1: confidence building, observable, simple. E.g., “What colour is the mallards head over there?”

Level 2: digging a bit deeper, have to explore a little bit more to gather more information, expanded observation, inquisitive focus. E.g., “What direction is the worm track going? Are you sure? How do you know?”

Level 3: extension questions that sometimes can’t be answered. E.g., “How does this worm see where it’s going?”

There’s nothing wrong, however, with giving answers and information. In fact, there’s a common saying: “never throw seeds at unprepped soil…but if the soil is prepped, then give the seeds.”

Chris ends our time by talking about the importance of planning for down time – he calls it “making time for timelessness!”
Novelty Nature Note:
*you can determine the age of a sand dollar by counting the rings on it, like you do with a tree.
*a woodpecker can coil it's tongue around it's brain!