Why this Conference?
Spending time in Nature and understanding her ways, actually help children nourish their minds and bodies, become smarter, more competent and wiser citizens. Today, this is not just truth, it has become an imperative for our civilisation.
It has never been more important to bring together concerned voices of scientists, thinkers and doers who have been committed to highlight this imperative – and that is the purpose of this conference.
Today, children get more screen time than outdoors time or green time
There is increasing stress amongst children and adults – and increasing suicides
We have more unexpected health issues at a young age
More and more wars and fight for resources
Never ending ‘development’ and conflicts over international trade in our ‘globalised’ world.
‘Everything is connected’ is an ecological dictum for our planet - our only home. So, if we
connect the dots, what are all these phenomena indicative of?
- A civilisation disconnected with Nature - its roots and source?
Yet another purpose of this conference is to spread awareness about how much children benefit from connecting with and understanding Nature. Children learn values like sharing, exploring possibilities, risk taking, questioning, empathy, adaptability, managing their emotions, accepting diversity, and much more by playing in Nature and even more by spending time in wilderness areas.
Most of us have forgotten how to help our children engage with Nature. So, this conference will also provide opportunities to interact with and learn from Naturalists and Nature educators.
Why Schools and Parents need to be involved as part of the solution?
As parents and schools, we do wish to care for our children – yet many modern compulsions have made us forget to value Nature and the immense but subtle benefits that connecting with Nature can bring to our children and ourselves.
Short term goals and an over focus on marks and money as the only indicator of growth has made us forget fundamental issues of humankind and hence we don’t easily think of being part of the solution. In the long run, our children, our future generations will suffer more from various crises on Earth – and they will also need to clear the mess and find solutions.
So, isn’t it essential that we support children to connect with Nature during their early years and when they are older, to learn about realities of Climate Change and living sustainably on Earth?
What will this Conference offer you?
- Through inspiring talks, collaborative activities, workshops, thought provoking panel discussions, activities in Nature, theatre and sharing by Nature educators and writers this conference offers a space to interact, learn, collaborate and share many things – from lesson plans to seeing the bigger picture.
- Youngsters interested in Nature and sustainable living can network with young authors, activists, members of NGOs and others who have carved out careers with their passion for Nature.
- This conference will also be meaningful to educators and school administrators who wish to make their schools progressive and more meaningful to children and align with the United Nations SDGs and the NEP recommendation to integrate environmental education into school curricula.
Themes at the conference include:
- How can we make our schools more effective by including Nature based activities?
- How can we create spaces where ‘education’ happens in tune with the child’s inherent nature?
- How can we foster a concern for the Earth and climate action in children?
