“We have forgotten to play,” begins Dr. Duncan Reavey with an artifact in his hand, a five-pointed star made of hazel wood from the South Downs forests, a national park in southern England.
This Professor of Environmental Education at the University of Chichester is the founder of the Forest School, a training program that takes place in a forest with a learning dynamic based “on freedom for students to explore the environment and discover themselves and others through curiosity and imagination.”
He explained it yesterday in the first part of the Interpretation Conference organized by the Timanfaya National Park, managed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands, on the occasion of the celebration of its 50th anniversary.
This activity takes place throughout the year and is especially designed for children between 4 and 5 years old. These little ones go through five phases of learning: well-being, decision-making, motivation to set their own challenges, empathy with others and development of social skills.
Statistical studies reveal that children who have participated in this program in nature improve their academic results and acquire social skills more quickly: “they are better at communication, listening, teamwork and resilience.”
Early childhood education is not the only one that replaces desks with trees; older students from the University of Chichester also participate in this Forest School, the perfect setting to learn multiple knowledge: geology, toponymy, mineral extraction, forest management, seed dispersal, invasive species, climate change and sustainable living.
The first phase of learning always involves spending time exploring nature and getting to know oneself better. This triggers other arts such as creative writing, theater or musical composition. The testimonies of young people, between 18 and 19 years old, reveal that the experience is transformative.
Hannah did not expect to get to know her classmates better in several weeks in the forest than during her entire first year of university. Saskia, who learned to cut wood, make fire and prepare ink with the acorns of an oak tree, wrote: “The power that tools give you is incredible... They make you feel like a little god.”
Three decades choosing Lanzarote as an open-air classroom
Dr. Reavey has been organizing educational trips to Lanzarote for almost thirty years so that students from the University of Chichester can exchange the forest for the volcanic and Atlantic island nature.
Making contact with such a different ecosystem and having the opportunity to talk with local people, “who feel great love and pride for their nature,” provides their students with new learning.
“To be successful in life, you have to be good at asking questions and in Lanzarote the questions arise on their own,” explained the British ecologist and writer yesterday.
Dr. Reavey's lecture is available on the Timanfaya National Park YouTube channel.
This afternoon, at 5:00 p.m., the Interpretation Conference continues at the Mancha Blanca Visitor and Interpretation Center with four presentations dedicated to the four national parks of the Canary Islands: Garajonay, Caldera de Taburiente, Teide and Timanfaya.
The interpreter guides Jacinto Leralta, Ana León, Ana Ferraz and Cristina Bernar will talk to us about the ecosystems and vegetation zones that exist in these fascinating natural spaces.
