Discovering Nature As Our Greatest Teacher, Healer, and Classroom

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! Wow, fall flew by! Read on to see pictures of our flying fall.

Dear Planet Earth Family,

As we transition from fall into winter, please take a moment to envision with us. See the world you wish to pass on to the children —of this generation and the next seven to come. Hear the sounds of them playing peacefully and smell the fresh air. Feel it as if it is real, and hold that vision with us as we move into 2024. 

We know that health and education improve when we protect and respect the rights of children to clean water, air, and nurturing environments. It is time we create systems and policies that assure these fundamental rights to all children.

Ultimately, children's rights are adult's responsibility. 

In Baltimore City, InDiGO works on every level in concert with youth, teachers, school districts, government agencies, outdoor centers, and community organizations to help make the (COBOR) Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights a reality. We also remember that Nature is within us, not just outdoors. InDiGO's programs make all of the rights in the COBOR a reality for our students, using a methodology that also honors Nature within them: children's natural desire to learn, play, explore, and discover! 

Did you know about the Baltimore Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights? The first step to making these rights a reality is to spread the word. The next step is to make these rights enforceable by law. Stay tuned in 2024 for how we plan to protect children's rights. 

Please support us by forwarding this newsletter to anyone you know who may be interested in or inspired by our work. We are building a network of young people, educators, and advocates to help us discover Nature as our greatest teacher, healer, and classroom. Please find us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube @InwardDiscovery.

InDiGO, with the BCCN, applied and were accepted to become part of the national Nature Everywhere​ initiative. Baltimore is now one of the cities leading the national movement to discover Nature as our greatest teacher, healer, and classroom. 

The environmental stewards and problem-solvers of the future are in school now. Our Maryland tax dollars support the unprecedented investment of 3.8 billion dollars over 10 years through the Blueprint for Maryland's Future. It is our responsibility as adults to ensure we get a return on our investment as a state by giving all Maryland students the highest quality education.

"Prioritizing equity, the Blueprint prescribes new programs and innovative approaches to catalyze a world-renowned education system that aims to eradicate achievement gaps and ensures opportunity for every student, regardless of family income, race, ethnicity, or ability." 

InDiGO joins a growing movement of adults taking responsibility for making the Blueprint for Maryland's Future and the Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights a lived reality. InDiGO joined the design team for the Baltimore City Public Schools "Portrait of a Graduate," the new 5-year plan to ensure our schools meet our children's evolving needs. As we adjust our vision of tomorrow's graduates, what implications does this have for how we deliver instruction today? Are we ready to make necessary systemic changes to meet the needs of children in an accelerating world? 

The how is the most important yet routinely unanswered question. How we think about teaching and learning informs our policies and practices. "We join those who believe individuals learn best as they pursue solutions to problems with real and personal meaning and importance to them." Teachers, administrators, district and state officials truly want what is best for our children. We as adults can unite for the highest good of the children by answering the call for new programs and innovative approaches. 

We ask for the support of parents, teachers, administrators, and city and state leaders. We are focused on education because it is the most powerful lever of long-term change. In the words of Nelson Mandela, "Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world." Stay tuned for our upcoming books and resources for educators!

The waterways in Baltimore City have been polluted for a long time. A massive restoration effort is underway thanks to the dedicated work of individuals and organizations over the past 25 years, exponentially accelerating in the last 5 years. The Inner Harbor is almost clean enough to swim in, with swim events planned in 2024. The Trash Wheel family is dutifully capturing tons of trash before it ever enters the Bay. The headwaters of the Jones Falls and tributaries of all our reservoirs are getting cleaned up. Slowly but surely, these investments are making their way downstream to the city.

InDiGO, the BCCN, and community organizations across the city are working toward a day when children can realize their rights in their own communities. As we continue to participate in and support restoration efforts and green space equity in the city, we also organize and facilitate experiences for Baltimore youth to travel outside the city.

All children deserve access to the Great Outdoors. Experiences visiting beautiful places full of healthy waters and greenery give young people a new perspective on what is possible when we care for our environment. Moreover, children develop a sense of belonging within their regional ecology. They discover for themselves where their water and food come from. They begin to understand our interdependence with nature and what we can do to steward our environment. 

Nurturing healthy relationships with ourselves, each other, and the Earth.

Nature and outdoor education are essential components of healthy and holistic learning for children, and decades of research have firmly established the positive outcomes and benefits. Doctors have begun to prescribe nature to combat disease. "More trees = less crime" is no longer hyperbole because the correlation is so strong. "The positive impact of nature and green space on human health and well-being has been documented by over 100 studies [1,2,3]."

InDiGO's work focuses on actualizing these benefits for as many children as possible across the city. We begin by connecting students to the fact that we are all made of elements born in the stars. Students learn to regard themselves and each other as stars while they develop the SEL skills to make space for everyone to shine. Check out our summer music video project, all about this concept!

Thank you to Camp Puh'tok for your excellent hospitality during all seven of our fall field trips! Watching children's eyes light up with wonder as they explore the natural world is a great joy. Puh'tok expertly hosted the entire school, and students had so much fun!

We look forward to coming back for seven more trips in the spring and working together to give students the opportunity to attend day camp and overnight camp at Puh'Tok this summer! 

Part of the 5th-grade Social Studies curriculum includes learning about the First Nations peoples who lived across and cared for these lands before European colonization. Camp Puh'Tok provides an incredible setting for introducing children to the history, culture, and way of life of the Indigenous peoples of North America.

Students explored different styles of Native American housing and identified how the structures are engineered and adapted for the climate where each Nation lived or lives. They created paintbrushes and learned the significance of the symbols and animals as they painted. They made clay bowls and cornmeal and learned about Indigenous peoples' tools and way of life.

Of course, we sang, made s'mores, and explored the beautiful lands and waters. Puh'Tok's 86-acre campus borders the Gunpowder Falls State Park, home of the Gunpowder Falls River, a significant source of our city's water. This winter, we will build upon the learning we did on our fall field trip by introducing students to our city's restoration efforts and how they can help by becoming water protectors around their school and community. 

The 4th graders are learning what it means to become stewards of our environment. Of the many challenges we face, climate change is paramount. On our field trip, we experienced different ecosystems and learned how they are interdependent. Students explored and asked questions as they connected with the land, themselves, and each other.

"I saw the children in a whole different light. It was amazing. One child in particular, who was very quiet and reserved in the classroom, came alive. He was talking, singing, and being free in a way I had not seen him. There's something about nature that will do that to anybody. This is something that is essential to their BEING: doing what kids used to do —just playing and learning from being outside. This field trip is something they will always remember." 

-LaPonda Strickland, 4th Grade English Language-Arts Teacher

Everywhere in the forest is an opportunity to learn. As students run and play, they discover Nature's wonders. They ask questions and eagerly listen to the answers the adults and other students around them can offer. In addition to questions we may ask about ourselves, questions like, "Who am I? What am I? Where am I?"  We can also wonder about the things around us.

Some wonder questions could include the following: Form: What is it like? Function: How does it work? Causation: Why is it like this? Change: How is it changing/stable? Connection: How is it connected? Patterns: Is there a pattern here? Perspective: What are the points of view? Reflection: What is the evidence? Responsibility: What is my responsibility?

From the air we breathe to the food we eat, Nature is within and all around us. We drink the sun through our skin and use it to grow our bones. We oxygenate our blood by exchanging air with trees. Our bodies are made of mostly water. We are Nature.

Elements forged in stars are the building blocks of all life, including us. Yes, WE ARE STARS. All humans, including young people, have a unique light to shine, each with our particular path, purpose, and potential.

While children’s protections remain as of yet unenforceable, we are in the midst of a growing generation. How can we break free of the boxes of standardization and testing to ignite their genius? How can we harness K-12 education standards into deeply relevant and engaging experiences that connect Academics, the Arts, and SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) with Nature?— Nature within children’s bodies, minds, spirits, and hearts; Nature in the air, water, food, and cycles of Life?

InDiGO guides adults to...

• Utilize methodologies that activate children’s natural desire to learn.

• Cultivate learning environments that uplift children’s uniqueness and gifts.

• Teach integratively outdoors while achieving academic outcomes.

• Design and build outdoor classrooms, gardens, and nature playgrounds.

• Provide access to healing-centered experiences in the Great Outdoors.

Remembering our connection with Nature has never been more important for a generation of children—or the next seven to come. The Seventh Generation Principle is based on an ancient Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) philosophy that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future.

Thank you for being on this journey with us to return the motivation to learn to its rightful place: within the hearts and minds of young people. We look forward to sharing our winter projects with you next season!