Have you ever been in class and thought to yourself ‘oh I wish we could be outside right now. It would help me work so much better’. Well that’s what I’m going to be talking about today. Hello, my name is Aviv, and today I’m going to be telling you about why kids should have outdoor education and why this would help a lot with our learning.

 

I believe children should not spend 8 hours of the day between 4 walls. Nature is the best classroom. The scenery always changes.  There is always something interesting and new to learn. Nature school provides opportunities for hands-on, real life learning. For example, in my nature program I made bowls and cups from clay from a river, how cool is that? We could never do things like that indoors. Did you know that it is proven that being in nature increases your creativity by 60%? Well if you didn’t, now you do and this is just one of the many reasons why outdoor learning is helpful and more effective for teaching. I found that I’m feeling more creative since I started going to my nature program. Every child learns in their own different way. Some kids struggle in the classroom, but shine when given tasks outside in nature.

 

Additionally, kids nowadays spend way too much time in front of the screens, and I’m sorry to   say that it does include me. There is no technology in nature. Instead children are more physically active throughout the day. They are stronger, calmer and more relaxed after school outdoors. Being outside, a person’’s relaxation increases by 55%! Crazy right? In addition it also reduces  cortisol levels, a hormone in your body that reflects stress, by 12%. Being outdoors brings less stress and that is something we could all use!

 

Nature has been proven time and time again to reduce anxiety, depression, stress, and anger. I can say from my own experience that nature boosts my wellbeing and the moment I go to nature I feel calmer and happier. And just as kids in regular schools are obliged to keep their classroom clean, children in  nature school become more aware of the environment around them, and take care to keep it clean and safe instead of littering like, unfortunately, lots of people often do these days. 

 

The risk of getting germs is reduced significantly by being outside. In fact, open air learning was used to prevent the spread of Tuberculosis in the early 20th century. We could have used outdoor education. We could have tried using it for covid 19  instead of using masks inside which was uncomfortable, made it hard to breath, and I’m pretty sure we’re all happy they’re gone now, I know I am! 

 

I belive that every kid should have outdoor education. Just think about what I said. Maybe  you could send your kids to learn outside. Or maybe you could change your own school into an outdoor school. This could really change the way kids look at school, instead of being stuck inside all day, it could be a wonderful outdoor experience! Consider it, and thank you for listening.