The School of Biophilia seeks to foster a deeper connection between people and the natural environment through a comprehensive and innovative educational approach. By creating accessible, curriculum-aligned teaching resources that seamlessly integrate biophilic principles across different subjects, they aim to make nature education engaging and meaningful for children of all backgrounds. The founders of The School of Biophilia, Ann Vanner and Amelia Chasey, envision a future where biophilic principles are fundamental to education, design, and personal lifestyle choices.
Their approach goes beyond traditional nature activities by developing interactive experiences that encourage children to explore and interact with their environment, even in urban settings. Through methods like nature scavenger hunts, storytelling, and carefully designed workshops, they help children understand not just the what, but the why of their connection to nature.
A key aspect of their mission is making biophilic education inclusive and available to all children, regardless of their school's resources. By providing digital downloads, lesson plans, and workshops that can be easily implemented, they ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn about and appreciate the natural world.
They want to make biophilic principles accessible to all children, not just those in privileged schools. They highlighted a shocking statistic that current UK children spend less time outdoors than prisoners, which they see as a critical issue to address. Teaching children that humans are part of nature, not separate from it is a vital key to encouraging awareness and respect of our natural world (and each other). By breaking down educational silos and encouraging collective, community-based learning, The School of Biophilia aims to help children understand our interconnectedness with natural systems.
The School of Biophilia also teaches children to understand why connecting with nature is beneficial - not just how to do it. They want to cultivate a generation that questions current practices and understands the deeper ecological relationships. They believe children can become mini warriors who take environmental knowledge home, influencing their families and communities. Similar to how children drove recycling awareness, they see kids as potential change agents who can shift societal attitudes towards nature.
Ultimately, children are our future leaders, policymakers, designers, and community builders and we hope that those who engage in teaching like this from The School of Biophilia will embed a sense of reciprocity and care for the natural environment in their professional and personal lives. Empowering children to become nature advocates and teaching them to observe, appreciate, and understand their environment, they are cultivating a generation of future leaders who will prioritise environmental stewardship.
Read their article in The Biophilic Design and Light edition, Issue 15 of The Journal of Biophilic Design herehttps://journalofbiophilicdesign.com/shop/journal-of-biophilic-design-issue-15-light-ebook-version
To find out more, join up, download resources from The School of Biophilia visit:
Website https://biophiliaschool.create.net/
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Read their article in The Biophilic Design and Light edition, Issue 15 of The Journal of Biophilic Design here
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