NatureLIVE

Designed to support adults and children to become authentically immersed and soaked within nature and to really understand ourselves and our relationship with nature first hand. 

Current statistics state that four out of five children are urban dwellers, most of these children living in large urban centres of 30,000 or more people. Only 16.7% lived in
communities of fewer than 1,000 people. (Statistics New Zealand, 2009).

The current statistics realistically confirm that, out of five children, four live in urban areas and out of those four children three probably attend some sort of centre based care.

How do children learn about nature… from the adults and the environment they are soaked within. Society today provides our children with parks some of which offer challenge and support gross motor skills. But hiding within cities and on the outskirts of towns are the richest environments that we all seem to take for granted.

Some of us wonder what on earth our children will do there, there is nothing to play with; parents think that they will have to pack too much stuff so that the children can play… as adults we need to truly see these environments for what they are, explore them ourselves and take ourselves back to our own childhoods.

We need to remember what we did before all this technology interfered in what is natural. It is important to create a balance using technology and nature together to explore the rich surroundings we have available to us.

There were roughly 300 ‘Forest Kindergartens’ in Germany in August 2007 a trend that has grown quickly. In an age where there are concerns about obesity, poor concentration and aggressive behaviour, German parents are eschewing computer screens and plastic toys in favor of outdoor education. (de Pommereau, 2007).

We are lucky in New Zealand to have such beautiful environments to explore and often they are just a mere 20 metres further on (into the bush or onto the beach) than staying and playing in a playground of predictability. PORSE’s Programme of Nature/Forest PlaySchools is helping adults and children to become authentically immersed and soaked within nature and to really understand ourselves and our relationships with nature first hand.

This course consists of 2 x two-hour sessions
Please contact your local area office for further information