Letter 3, Part 4: Maslow to Pyramid

Sorry Outdoor Ed and Environmental Ed! It's more about dose.

Dear you,

How are you? I have been writing more frequently lately – trying to make it so you don’t have to clear your schedule to read one of my missives anymore! Still, I’m trying to hold my voice (I swear this is me – not ChatGPT – except in my Tl;dr sections!). 

How’s it going? Can you still hear me?

And, I also have a confession: I have been seeing other people…and even want to see more…

It has been fun exploring this stuff with lots of folks. I hope you don’t mind. You see, writing-in-public just produced a revolutionary reframing of my thinking…

I’ve updated “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Nature-connected Learning” based on feedback from @Justin Rufa and @Katie Navin. Huge gratitude to these two thoughtful readers for helping me see where the older version of the pyramid was on shaky ground.

Katie highlighted: 

EE happens sometimes in just minutes and sometimes longer experiences. I think about all the amazing environmental education that happens at a table with skins and skulls, where people are stopping by for just a minute or 2. 

She’s right. So I’ve updated “Maslow’s” to The Pyramid of Nature-Connected Learning. 

Side-by-side with the old one:

Here are the key changes and why:

By itself, the new pyramid looks like this:

This pyramid feels better. It:

1. 💊🌿 Focuses on just one variable: Dose (dose being a function of duration and location)

2. Still aligns with these metaphors: 

   1. 🧊 Iceberg: Nature-based learning is just below the waterline of our focus for nature-connection in schools; we need to mainstream it

   2. 🏔️ Mountain: Nature-based learning is accessible, culturally relevant, and sustaining

   3. *Coming soon* - 🍎🍞 Food-nature pyramid: Nature-based learning is both a “daily bread” and “apple-a-day” way to bring nature’s benefits to students and educators in schools

3. 🚌 🚌 Can be used to illustrate our need to back up the bus to focus on routine, low-dose nature connection in schools.

It also feels better because I don’t have to contrast nature-based learning with my other loves: ❤️Outdoor Education and ❤️Environmental Education as I did in a tortured and convoluted way here. In this new image, nature-based learning is positioned as a set of tools that helps with the low-dose ways to have nature-connection be part of schools – indoors or outdoors. It’s a set of tools that can be (and is!) wielded by Outdoor Ed and Environmental Ed. What’s more, it can and must be wielded in LOTS more disciplines, places, applications. 

Like.All.Of.Them. 

Our working definition of nature-based learning as “learning outdoors or bringing elements of nature indoors for learning, in any content area and any grade level” is bolstered by this redesigned pyramid. 

I’ll add…nature-based learning is a set of tools practices for learning outdoors or bringing elements of nature indoors for learning, that can be used in any content area and any grade level…

🌈 by ANYONE

🗺️ ANYWHERE

🔬📚 in ANY FIELD

🌻 and ANY CURRICULUM/SCHOOL DESIGN MODEL 

And, for you radical ed reformers out there, I’ll also add:

🦋 for EVOLUTION and REVOLUTION. More on that soon. 

Be well,

Becca

PS. Have you subscribed yet?

PPS - In order for more learning to happen in nearby nature (the 2nd tier of the pyramid), schools need nearby nature! Endorse the Living Schoolyards Act! Organizations can join the coalition by filling out this form. Individuals can write a letter (find templates here where it says “Write a letter to Congress!”). Woot!