Our Mission
We are changing the world for the better by facilitating the process of deep nature connection.
How We Achieve Our Mission:
Who: Nature Learning Community includes many skilled and knowledgeable people: Naturalists, crafters, storytellers, educators, outdoor explorers, lovers of camping and wanders, community builders and biologists provide students (of all ages) and one another with instruction, support, and community.
What: The gathering theme is nature connection. Our classes and events provide diverse experiences (learning outdoor skills, exploring nature, sharing community, experiencing camp life), which support participants in deepening their connection to the natural world.
How: Nature connection is enhanced through our classes and events as participants explore the natural world with all of their senses and learn new skills and understandings enabling them to live and care for themselves and others in wilderness and camp spaces.
When: Nature Learning Community classes and events are offered year round.
Where: Classes are offered primarily in Washtenaw County, but sometimes take place in other locations around the state of Michigan and the Great Lakes region, including parks, schools, nature centers and community centers.
Why: Nature connection is different from nature knowledge. Often we learn about nature through the mind alone, absorbing facts and ideas, sometimes about creatures, plants, or natural spaces far away from the places we live. We can be knowledgeable about nature without experiencing it directly with our bodies and our senses, and even though we know much, we may feel a sense of separation from the natural world - as though we don’t belong. People who feel separate from nature are missing out on a birthright!
The many benefits to our physical, mental, and emotional health are increasingly documented in films, such as Where do the Children Play?, and books, such as Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods, and Selhub and Logan’s Your Brain on Nature. People who feel connected with nature will increasingly access these benefits. Further, nature-connected people are strong advocates for the natural world. Whether they commit themselves to advocacy as naturalists, or as decision-makers in other professions or capacities, their felt connection to their own local ecosystems will support healthier environments and lifestyles for everyone.
June 4, 2014
How We Achieve Our Mission:
Who: Nature Learning Community includes many skilled and knowledgeable people: Naturalists, crafters, storytellers, educators, outdoor explorers, lovers of camping and wanders, community builders and biologists provide students (of all ages) and one another with instruction, support, and community.
What: The gathering theme is nature connection. Our classes and events provide diverse experiences (learning outdoor skills, exploring nature, sharing community, experiencing camp life), which support participants in deepening their connection to the natural world.
How: Nature connection is enhanced through our classes and events as participants explore the natural world with all of their senses and learn new skills and understandings enabling them to live and care for themselves and others in wilderness and camp spaces.
When: Nature Learning Community classes and events are offered year round.
Where: Classes are offered primarily in Washtenaw County, but sometimes take place in other locations around the state of Michigan and the Great Lakes region, including parks, schools, nature centers and community centers.
Why: Nature connection is different from nature knowledge. Often we learn about nature through the mind alone, absorbing facts and ideas, sometimes about creatures, plants, or natural spaces far away from the places we live. We can be knowledgeable about nature without experiencing it directly with our bodies and our senses, and even though we know much, we may feel a sense of separation from the natural world - as though we don’t belong. People who feel separate from nature are missing out on a birthright!
The many benefits to our physical, mental, and emotional health are increasingly documented in films, such as Where do the Children Play?, and books, such as Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods, and Selhub and Logan’s Your Brain on Nature. People who feel connected with nature will increasingly access these benefits. Further, nature-connected people are strong advocates for the natural world. Whether they commit themselves to advocacy as naturalists, or as decision-makers in other professions or capacities, their felt connection to their own local ecosystems will support healthier environments and lifestyles for everyone.
June 4, 2014