Observer Activity: Finding your place

Age groups: 8 and up

Keywords: Outdoors; Natural area needed; In-school activity; At-home activity; Individual activity; Pen and paper needed; Sense of place; Bioregion awareness; Observation; Reflection

One-sentence summary of activity: Each student spends time observing a nearby outdoor landscape with all of their senses and then reflects on the experience through drawings and written reflections. 

Diagram of activity: Example of drawing and reflections.

Learning Goals for activity:

  • Skill: Observational, Reflection
  • Value: Relational
  • Information: Local environment, Human interactions with nature
  • Action: N/A

Step-by-step instructions for activity:

  1. Each student finds a nearby outdoor landscape that they enjoy. Students are encouraged to bring other family members to participate in this activity.
  2. For at least 5 minutes, students will be still and present with the natural world (no moving, talking, etc.) and just observing their surroundings. 
  3. To the best of their ability, students will draw the landscape or take a picture.
  4. Engaging all of their senses, students will reflect on what they are experiencing in the environment: what can they touch, hear, see, and smell, and how does being with this outdoor landscape make them feel?

Ecological concepts involved

  • Local environment – students foster a sense of place within their local environment
  • Human interactions with nature – students take time to observe and reflect on their relationship with their local environment

 

Educational Activities developed by the University of Vermont’s Environmental Education course, Fall 2020

 

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