The environmental education is a holistic approach which covers the global development of human beings Normal 0 21 – to be open for communication, to be creative and unique, to cooperate, to express opinions and, of course, to learn about and understand environmental topics.

In many cases this objective is fulfilled before children start to be educated. It is to some extend natural for humans to have that behaviour. Children are usually spontaneous and have the ability to enjoy life. But many social factors influence very soon even small children and lead them to stereotypes, prejudices and psychological blocks for developing themselves.

Ruth Brocklehurst, from the Forest School Ysgol Goedwig in Wales, introduced to us, participants of the Training Course ‘Education for Sustainability' in Autumn 2009, ways on how to reflect the process of children's or other participants' (adults included) development at educational programmes (in this case in the Forest School).

What we experienced was a half day in the local forest where we had a brief introduction to the area and its composition. Then we spent some time lighting fire using natural or primitive tools, cooking, manufacturing felted stones, charcoal, birch besoms and gypsy flowers.

Few words about the Forest School

The concept of the Forest School was develop from the outdoor kindergartens education which was spread in Scandinavia during the 1940s and 50s. This education is based on the philosophy of natural health in the natural environment. In the UK there are now hundreds of accredited trainers running Forests Schools with the support from the governmental Forestry Commission.

Ruth Brocklehurst names the following key components of Forest School:

• Understanding, learning and development at Forest School - this comprises the elements of holistic education, emotional intelligence, the importance of play, the importance of achievements, theories of learning and the development of relationships.

• Woodland ecology and appropriate use of environment and its resources - identifying flora and fauna, mapping, management of woods, how to use in a sustainable way sites and resources, how to safely use hand tools and make objects from forest resources, how to safely work with fire, etc.

Back to the human energy system

The Forest School itself is a fascinating world, which I recommend everyone to study deeply and put into practice if possible. What I want to highlight is the pedagogical approach of ‘learning through the body' which combines human energy centres with educational methods.

Click on the picture to download diagram

Ruth has developed the methodology based on eight energy centres - Chakras. According to an old Indian philosophy we all have eight principal centres of life that connect us from our physical body to our Infinite-Self. In the chakra system each energy centre stores a particular power and chakras can be described as doors. Gates that we should be able to open or close...

Ruth decided to consciously work with the energy system and design programmes and projects according to it. From her experience understanding chakras it can be useful to understand the state of participants and their potential: "The first three sessions were about building confidence in the group and within the woodland environment: the certainty that their children's physiological needs were met, the confidence about group dynamics like responsibility, trust and power, and the conviction that they matter as an individual. By the fourth session, which concerns to the heart chakra, everything became much more led by students. The feel of our space in the woods as a group changed. People's creativity came to the fore."

So the human energy system might be a base for the programme flow and group dynamics work, for its better control and smoother running.

You can see the original diagram made by Ruth and think about its utility for you and your activities. I wanted to show you that there are always more ways to approach environmental education...

Michal Ruman
Konopa