We are all born connected to nature.

The biophilia hypothesis, popularised back in 1978 by Edward Wilson in his book ‘On Human Nature’, and expanded in 1984 in ‘Biophilia’, tells us that we possess an innate affinity for the natural world. We are drawn to diversity, beauty, purpose, and the colour green (no really, the human eye can see more shades of green than any other colour!)

As we age, and we integrate into society, we are taught that humanity and the cultures we create are separate from, or superior to nature, or maybe we see nature as more of a tool or commodity?

Nature Connectedness is about returning to our roots and understanding that there is no ‘real’ separation between us and nature. And by grasping this, all manner of positive things happen: pro-environmental behaviour rises, wellbeing metrics increase, anxiety is lower, resilience is higher, you are more agreeable, open, attractive… I could go on.

To read more about how Nature Connectedness can be measured, see here.

Seeing yourself as part of nature is research tested to be the most important factor in feeling connected to nature and growing up with pro-environmental behaviour.

Therefore, nature connection is promoted inside the classroom by using teaching techniques that help students see themselves as part of the natural world, emphasizing that humans are nature and not separate from it.

These techniques are based in an framework called eco-feminism which applies human intersectionality to the environment - to find out more about the underpinning research please read here!

Yes! The approaches are tested techniques, all based in peer-reviewed research, shown to remove barriers to nature connection in educational settings.

We are in the process of research testing the efficacy of the approaches as a holistic unit across schools in the UK. To learn more about this or get involved please see our article in ‘what’s new’.

There is currently no one centralised UK strategy for promoting environmental education. However, there are some ambitious targets that were set forth at COP26:

• To ensure every school has a sustainability lead in post (by 2025)

• For all schools to have a sustainability action plan.

• To become a world leader in climate and sustainability education (by 2030).

The parameters for these are still being fleshed out and debated in central government, but there’s lovely support and great initiatives out there to get started in your own school and community without waiting for the government directive!

Community engagement is a key pillar of intersectional education. But more than that, there’s much more that can be achieved when we work together - sharing ideas, motivation, and influencing local educational policy. It helps to know that we’re not alone.

We offer both inset training and direct consultation for sustainability coordinators and departments looking to make their curriculum delivery more impactful.

This is all completely bespoke and personalised to your requirements so please get in touch directly using our contact form.