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It is not always easy to get out and unplug ourselves from our digital lives. Being outside and interacting with our environment is much more than “hippie talk” and that of the stone ages but it’s vital to our health and the progression of the environment.
Outdoor education or garden education is a great way to start getting people off their comfy couches and out the door. It is the perfect way to combine learning and being active.
At the farm we encourage people of all ages to get their hands dirty. Our gardens and fields are not just for young children but also for adults. It is a place where families come and bond with their little ones, as they learn about the seasons harvest.
Outdoor education pushes participants to develop a deeper relationship with nature, enhance personal and social development, and learn how to overcome adversity and increase resilience.
When you’re learning outdoors you really get to use all your senses- audio, visual, taste, touch, and smell. Like our Middle Schoolers from the Children’s Discovery Museum whom visited the farm on Tuesday, they got to touch, smell, see, and even taste the kale that they picked out for their berry kale smoothies. The importance of this was that they got to learn about a new vegetable, that many hadn’t tried before, while holding it in their hands at the same place where it was harvest. For children the importance of being outdoors is not only to learn about what is around them but it is a way for them to also work and interact with their peers or family.
La Mesa Verde a Sacred Heart community service program came to work on the farm on Thursday to volunteer and prepare for their workshop on Saturday. The program gives participants soil, seeds, and raised garden beds, then work with mentors to raise their first bountiful harvest. While they were taking a break from collecting manure, I asked them their thoughts on the importance of outdoor education for adults and families. Some said that too many kids have no concept of veggies, because they’re only eating junk food. One member said, “it is healthy to be outdoors.” One member was sharing a story showing his friend daughter how to maintain a garden bed and how into it she got, “at the end the mom came out and was like wow…” All of them came to an agreement that it is important to get kids out there and for them to see the fruit of their labor.
Outdoor education is not only for young adults or children. Many adults get caught up in their daily tasks and forget to stop and admirer what is around them. Not setting outside time to relax and be active can be consequential for the health, “with the advent of computers, and the desk job, were sitting down more than ever before in history…” This can cause people with sitting jobs to get twice the rate of cardiovascular disease as people who have standing jobs. Outdoor education can be a good outlet for working adults to get active while learning something.
Outdoor education is a good destress from work,school, and life. It is a way to take a break from your life and the digital world, for a few hours. In most cases outdoor education works as a way to give back to an organization while gaining some knowledge.
Written by Brenda Romero, Veggielution Storytelling Intern
