“The fresh air, sounds, and sunshine [are] peaceful.”
“I can sit differently, and that helps me focus.”
“We can see what we are learning about.”
“[It’s] easier to reset with nature sounds.”
Since we began teaching our Diversity Education in Nature (DEIN) workshops, we have often been asked, “Why are you going outside to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion?” These quotes from young participants help explain why. So does an anecdote from a recent workshop we taught. After a walk with students through a local nature preserve, we sat down to review the ecological interrelationships we had just seen. One student brought up how animals, even in the most remote part of the world, still feel the impacts of human actions. Another connected this to a war’s impact on all people, even if far away, which led to a conversation on how to help refugees. Then, another student stopped to ask, “How did we get from talking about nature to people fighting in a war?”, at which point a peer chimed in to explain, “We are just following the interrelationships like a food chain.”
What is DEIN?
DEIN began in the schoolyard of Friends Academy, a Quaker independent school on Long Island, New York, in the spring of 2021. At the time, I was looking for a way to integrate my curriculum as the school’s science teacher with our diversity initiatives. As I thought about the many possibilities of doing so, I met with Camille Simone Edwards, our Director of DEI. One idea led to another as we spoke, and from this partnership, DEIN has grown out of that schoolyard into an initiative that now reaches other schools, nature centers, and adult groups.
DEIN uses outdoor education as a classroom for teaching people how to build more equitable and inclusive human ecosystems through the design principle of biomimicry. The program begins with the practice of nature awareness skills: attentiveness, wonderfulling, pattern-seeking, and creativity. Next, using hands-on activities that can be conducted in almost any outdoor setting, it teaches the ecological concepts of biodiversity, mutualism, and ecological interrelationships. These activities are followed by collaborative group activities, discussions, and individual reflection exercises that generate ideas and points of inspiration that can be applied to becoming more diverse, inclusive, and belonging communities. The workshops also help participants gain experiences and access to being outdoors.
The program is inspired by “Ten Love Letters to the Earth,” an essay written by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, which considers how we can use the earth as a role model to build community and belonging. Hanh’s thesis, which we aim to impart in the programs, is that the interrelationships that make an ecosystem stable and productive can teach us to embrace human diversity and build a more resilient, equitable, and inclusive human community. As he describes it, the earth is a model of inclusivity. Every living being matters and has a role to play. The sun, soil, air, and water are for all; the earth does not hold these gifts back based on gender, race, religion, economic status, or even species. It succeeds because of interconnections, and the beauty of this is that we are more than a part of the earth; we are the earth, and the earth is us. Likewise, we are not part of the community—we are the community. Giving to the earth is giving to ourselves. Giving to our community is giving to ourselves.
In teaching the programs, we’ve learned that outdoor education is a powerful tool for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) efforts. Simply by being outside, we gain many social, physical, and emotional benefits. Being outdoors breaks down barriers that exist when lessons are done indoors. Participants are more likely to get involved because the activities are hands-on and cooperative. The involvement generated by being outdoors is exciting and prompts conversation. The time outdoors is fun, and challenges preconceived ideas of what DEIB learning entails. There is not the “here we go again” refrain that can happen in many similar workshops indoors.
How Do You Facilitate a DEIN Workshop?
We begin the workshops with simple instructions. “Build a bird nest; for an added challenge, use a clothespin as if it is your beak.” Off fly the participants with different ideas to try and design debates to have. Sometimes, students will be reluctant to get involved at first because they don’t want to get dirty, until they see what fun it is to collect and build, even if the nests are imperfect. Watching the creativity and enthusiasm grow as everyone gets increasingly involved in being a bird is always exciting. After this hands-on experience, we discuss how they gained an understanding of a bird’s life, which leads to a conversation that bridges empathy for birds to empathy for people. Our goal is to impart more than an understanding of each other, but a drive to take action to help each other. This is called radical empathy.
To practice radical empathy, we have to know what others need. This is where our exercise to develop nature awareness skills comes in. As we embark on a guided walk, we first encourage our participants to practice attentiveness, seeing the patterns in the world that explain why things are the way they are. Next, we direct them towards wonderfulling, in which we realize the world is full of wonder and questions. Finally, we encourage them to consider nature’s creativity, which is readily apparent when we notice what is happening around us. Imagine the power of practicing these skills with people in our community. What if we were all more attentive to each other, saw the wonder in each other, used pattern-seeking to understand the present, and took advantage of nature’s creativity to solve problems? When we see how nature awareness skills build belonging in wild nature, imagining how well it would work in our human communities is easy. The next step is for the participants to put the skills into action.
Skip over related stories to continue reading article“This is how we use the insect nets,” we explain to participants as we begin our next exercise. “Sweep the nets through the grasses, grab the top of the net, and turn it inside out over the tray. Then we will see what we find.” After a slow start, the screeches and squeals suddenly begin, followed by “What’s that? What is it doing? What are they called? How come?” Through this exercise, participants can understand biodiversity and its power of resilience for an ecosystem firsthand, leading to a discussion about how this power of diversity is also true in human ecosystems.
Next, to show the connections of ecological interrelationships, we create a web of life model that uses a rope to connect the animals and plants of an ecosystem. Participants can see how an ecosystem is a connection of many parts. Nothing is not connected, which means all the parts matter. They impact others and are impacted by others. When the participants reflect on their interrelationships, it quickly becomes apparent: Each of us matters—our choices matter and can make a difference. The question is, what choice do we make?
Life solves the challenge of survival in many creative, amazing ways. There are many examples of two living beings with a mutually beneficial relationship. To illustrate this, we play a version of tag that even adults find fun, which, along with sharing examples of mutualism, inspires participants to think about how their gifts, talents, and passions can be used to foster a community with more DEIB.
Why Should You Go Outside?
It can be a challenge and, for many, a cause of anxiety to have conversations with young people about DEIB. There is a fear of doing more harm than good when, in reality, more harm comes from not doing. To overcome these anxieties, there are a few guidelines we keep in mind. First, not every DEIB conversation needs to explicitly focus on challenging identity topics like race or gender. For instance, DEIN programs begin with low-stakes conversations inspired by the outdoor activities that equip participants to celebrate diversity, understand impact, and find ways to create a sense of belonging. This can be in their friend group, classroom, sports team, or any community in their lives. Second, we always remember that as educators, we don’t have to be perfect; we can make mistakes too, and when we do, we can acknowledge, take responsibility, and learn how to do better. Ultimately, simply being outdoors and interacting with the more-than-human world builds connections, breaks down barriers, and grows a sense of belonging to each other and wild nature. Plus, it is fun. DEIB education will grow naturally.
We believe outdoor education programs like DEIN are well-suited to museum settings. Museums with ample grounds and gardens would be wonderful places for these activities, but even a tiny patch of grass works for outdoor learning. For that matter, indoor exhibits also have plenty of opportunities to practice nature awareness skills and spot examples of biodiversity, ecological interrelationships, and mutualism. That’s why we encourage all museum educators to try going outside, whether figuratively or literally.
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