Appreciating and interacting with the natural world was the aim of last week’s celebration, Connecting to Nature Week. The whole school participated in this new venture, which was organised by the school’s Institute of Teaching and Learning.
Our aim was to provide activities which through both physical and intellectual interaction with the natural world promote a deeper connection and understanding, ignite a sense of wonder and joy, and encourage careful stewardship of nature.
The programme was developed in response to the findings of the school’s Flourishing Research project with Research Schools International, which showed that connecting with nature helps students to flourish. Being in nature boosts physical health, reduces stress and has been shown to improve student cognition in the short term.
Activities included outdoor and wildlife-themed lessons, including nature poetry (English), The Lorax (Drama), and composition using recorded natural sounds (Music). The Art department welcomed natural history artist Carim Nahaboo to run Year 7 workshops on insect art. Along with specimens, he brought live giant crickets and giant stick insects, which students were delighted to be given the opportunity to hold.
In a special assembly, Years 10 and 11 listened to seasonal sounds with sound expert Greg Green, including deer, nightingales, bats and blue whales. The sounds continued into lunchtime, with birdsong filling the Dining Hall.
On Thursday afternoon, the whole Lower School took a wonderfully invigorating 6km walk in Knole Park, returning muddy but refreshed.
With fundraising activities including bake sales, face painting and a movie night, the week raised £950 for local charity Folly Wildlife Rescue. A special thank you to the Drama department for their fundraising and for beautifully decorating The Space with nature-inspired art.
We hope that this will inspire more opportunities to connect with nature throughout the school year.
