Episode 3
In Episode 3 of The Seed Pod. Ella shares stories from her freshwater and marine environmental education work, adventures out in nature, and a little bug found in the river that "looks like a person in a sleeping bag with just their head and arms sticking out".
We are going to dive deeper into one of her stories in this Learning Pod using a Play - Observe - Discover - Share structure.
Observe
Ella is passionate about getting out into nature through adventure. Adventures for her might include mountain biking, nature walks, skiing, climbing, snorkelling, kayaking, and adventure racing.
We want you to get out into a nature space with your whānau/family, or classmates. This could be your school field, a local gully, wetland, beach, park, or similar. Preferably this is a place that people visit often. Observe how people use this space. Are people stopping to look at things? How do they rest in this space? What sports/recreation do they take part in here? Do they play, create, walk, bike, scooter, cartwheel, run, jump, climb, or use this space in other ways?
People aren’t alone in this space… how do the wildlife use this area too?
If you were planning to restore this area all of this information would be helpful when choosing where to plant certain types of trees and where not to plant too (in the middle of common pathways that people take when using that space).
You could do this several times over the same day, or on different days to see whether the way this space is used changes over time.
Map out how this space is used and the pathways people/wildlife take doing different activities.
Discover
Ella has had some amazing nature connection experiences on her adventures! She has seen the tiniest of birds, and the most glorious landscapes, she has jumped in puddles, admired waterfalls, visited local rivers with school groups, swam with dolphins, gotten to know the trees and their names, and has taken a closer look at the fungi too!
Discover what you love to do in nature, and ask others around you what they enjoy too! You never know what cool experiences the people around you might have had out in nature! Try to record the location in the story so that you can see whether there has been any change over time in this place too!
Capture some adventure stories using our template HERE.
Share
Share your stories with us at: theseedpod@outlook.com
This is a place for sharing stories and contributions from our community.
Ella’s Story:
"My brother and I took our cousins on their first tramping trip to a hut. They both jumped in the river and popped out of the water so shocked it was freezing cold!”
- Ella Walmsley
We hope you enjoyed this Learning Pod!
If you have any feedback or photos/stories/art to share please get in touch!
