Join Daniel and Trudi around the campfire for their first episode of ‘Campfire Conversations’ as they delve into the world of Nature Connection.
In 2014, when we told our upper primary students that we would be setting up our own ‘Wild Space’ enterprise, one of the students asked if we would be working for ‘pinecones’ too or if we were working for real money.
Starting up a social enterprise, we often feel we are working for pinecones. We have managed to scrape enough ‘real money’ together to book our airfares and the main training course. There are a lot of amazing people we would like to visit and learn from but we are afraid that the bus drivers, hostels and supermarkets will not trade in ‘pinecones’ with us.
This is where you come in. We are asking for support to make this the richest and most educational experience possible so that we can return to Australia with the knowledge and skills to enhance the nature connection experiences for the Western Australian community.
There are numerous amazing nature connection programs in the USA and UK. We are venturing on a study tour and training mission to connect with these people in perso – learning new skills, techniques and programs to bring back to families and schools in Western Australia.
Throughout this adventure we plan to record and upload a video blog to help support the nature connection community. Here are some of the programs we intend to visit with the funds raised:
IslandWood – Outdoor Learning Centre, Bainbridge Island, Seattle
Wolf Camp and the Conservation College – Lake Sammamish, Seattle
Wilderness Awareness School – Nature Connection and Survival Skills School, Dauvall
Brightworks – Tinkering School, San Francisco
Nature’s Theatre – Outdoor storytelling, Sacramento
Nature Kids Institute – Nature Connection Advocacy and Communication, Sacramento
8 Shields – Art of Mentoring training, Camp Navarro
Ithaca Children’s Garden – Anarchy Zone Adventure Playground, Ithaca
Play:Ground and other Adventure Playgrounds – New York City
Cowgate Under Fives Early Childhood Centre – Nature Pedagogy, Edinburgh
Auchlone Nature Kindergarten – Founded by Claire Warden, Perthshire
International Association of Pedagogues Conference – Trudi speaking alongside David Sobel, Anders Farstad & Claire Warden, Scotland
This episode of Campfire Conversations is now avaliable in podcast form! Listen here or wherever you choose to listen to your podcasts.