Ecology is such a great deal in today’s culture. The topic seems to relate with the word “green” and a wide range of topics like: School, Economy, Environment, Planet and more…
But what exactly is ecology and how implementing it in the school program, may benefit your pupils?
Ecology is known as “the relation between living beings and their environment.”
So, us humans, as living beings, strongly depend on our interaction with the environment we live in!
Studying our interaction with the world we live in, helps us in the understanding of our part in it, what have we changed, how to eventually change it back, how to adapt and find critical new solutions to rising problems.
Our interaction with the environment has produced so many emergencies, like Co2 emissions, climate change, air pollution, soil and water contamination, biohazards…
We live in a globalized world, which means, our ecological system is not limited to the local level, but extends to a planetary ecological matrix. Implementing discussions and research about local geography, flora, fauna, ecological footprint: - it helps pupils to broaden their personal world view and motivates them toward critical thinking and a scientific mindset;
- it makes pupils aware of the problems and stimulates the process to work toward solutions.
Bringing such topic outside in the form of outdoor education, it fosters the creation of community, interactions and active citizenship.
Because in the end, your students will understand that the environment they live in belongs to them as much as they belong to it.
Practices to introduce ecology are:
Eco-schooling
Outdoor education
Adventure education
Science projects
Combining such practices with Critical thinking methodology will guarantee your pupils, not only a great deal of knowledge about the reality they live in, but an amazing set of life skills. By Eco-schooling, they will learn how to face world problems as illustrated by SDGs (Sustainable Developmental Goals.) In Outdoor Education, they will find themselves immersed in the “real” world, outside of class. Deeply involved in an active learning process where exploration and curiosity will be the main drives.
Through Adventure Education, challenges will expand your student’s comfort zone making them more self-aware, resilient and conscientious. Carrying out science projects has the great benefit of teaching a scientific process of discovery, through the formulation of hypothesis, observation, data collection, interpretation and conclusions. Thus, learning how knowledge is created and relative scientific truths are formulated. They won’t just learn, but become active producers of knowledge themselves, with the ability to shape the world.
Author: Giuseppe Perrotti, JUMP Trainer
