Reconnecting with Nature
Learning community explores a holistic approach to education that blends science, spirituality, political activism
Lana Boles
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Features
This is the fourth year that the triad has been offered at LCC.
Since it's designed to be a cooperative experience, all three classes must be taken simultaneously, for a total of 12 credits. "It's very demanding on a student because they're basically putting their whole quarter on the line," Trolin remarked.
Reconnecting with Nature is limited to 24 students and is only offered during Spring term on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. There are also field trips on two Saturdays.
Field trips are an important part of the Reconnecting with Nature learning community. The two field trips take the classroom into nature, once to the ocean and once to the forest.
"The field trips were an integral part of the overall experience," Humphries recalled. "On one we went into the forest and stopped in an area that had previously burned, then to an area that had been thinned by logging and finally to an area of old-growth that is scheduled for logging."
The field trips are geared to reflect all the dimensions of the learning community.
"When we go to the old growth forest, we typically have a forest activist that comes with us talks about the activism that they're engaged in around the forests in the Northwest," Taylor stated.
Religion is woven into the field trips as well. "On the field trips last year at the coast Jerry [Hall] did a kind of invocation of the spirits of the four directions as we began and it had a tremendous impact on the students because they went out into the tide pools with a sense of respect for all the living creatures there and a sense of humility … it had a way of opening them to appreciation of the creatures … as living beings that have a spirit and life of their own," Trolin said
Guadagni said that the traditional Native American ceremony that Hall conducted was the most memorable part of the classes.
Guadagni went on to explain how being able to see an environment first-hand was a great educational tool. Humphries agreed.
Since it's designed to be a cooperative experience, all three classes must be taken simultaneously, for a total of 12 credits. "It's very demanding on a student because they're basically putting their whole quarter on the line," Trolin remarked.
Reconnecting with Nature is limited to 24 students and is only offered during Spring term on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. There are also field trips on two Saturdays.
Field trips are an important part of the Reconnecting with Nature learning community. The two field trips take the classroom into nature, once to the ocean and once to the forest.
"The field trips were an integral part of the overall experience," Humphries recalled. "On one we went into the forest and stopped in an area that had previously burned, then to an area that had been thinned by logging and finally to an area of old-growth that is scheduled for logging."
The field trips are geared to reflect all the dimensions of the learning community.
"When we go to the old growth forest, we typically have a forest activist that comes with us talks about the activism that they're engaged in around the forests in the Northwest," Taylor stated.
Religion is woven into the field trips as well. "On the field trips last year at the coast Jerry [Hall] did a kind of invocation of the spirits of the four directions as we began and it had a tremendous impact on the students because they went out into the tide pools with a sense of respect for all the living creatures there and a sense of humility … it had a way of opening them to appreciation of the creatures … as living beings that have a spirit and life of their own," Trolin said
Guadagni said that the traditional Native American ceremony that Hall conducted was the most memorable part of the classes.
Guadagni went on to explain how being able to see an environment first-hand was a great educational tool. Humphries agreed.
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