Mentoring Nature Connections Podcast

This is a guest post by Lauren MacLean, creator of Mentoring Nature Connections Podcast.

Hi, I’m Lauren MacLean and I work as a Mentoring Support Teacher for the Coquitlam district in the areas of mathematics and outdoor learning. If memory serves me correctly, I’ve always had an affinity for spending time in nature. One of my most memorable experiences as a child was having a field of ferns close to our house and I would spend countless hours lying there, staring up at the drooping cedar trees and reading my comic books. I think my outdoor learning journey was reignited after reading Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. It sparked so many positive memories from my own childhood and I was inspired and motivated to provide the same range of outdoor learning opportunities for my own learners and colleagues.

Last spring, when we first went into lockdown because of the pandemic, I started creating nature videos that I titled Mentoring Nature Connections. They were short videos on how to introduce and maintain a variety of nature routines to use with your learners, ranging from the sit spot to mapping and even one on bird language. These videos were a wonderful and simple way that I could connect with educators across the lower mainland, however, I began to notice how it was only a one-way discussion. It was just my voice talking and only provided one perspective. I was missing a major piece of what mentoring really is — collaboration! I was craving to have my thinking provoked and so I began searching for a way to have virtual and collegial discussions. I also wanted a different avenue to highlight and share stories from my incredibly talented colleagues. So, I decided to begin a Mentoring Nature Connections Podcast. With this new platform, I would be able to share the challenges and success stories of outdoor learning which would hopefully spark new ideas for the listeners to implement and adapt into their own practice.

The meaning behind the name, Mentoring Nature Connections, is to two-fold. First, I wanted to convey the belief that we can all find a connection to nature somehow, somewhere. All our journeys are different, and all our comfort levels are different and that’s the beauty of meeting learners where they are. Second, I wanted to pay tribute to anyone that I’ve crossed paths with because I always seem to take bits and pieces of their amazingness with me. Most notably, Janice Novakowski, April Pikkarainen, Carly Eirikson, Kelly Shuto, Megan Zeni and everyone at Soaring Eagle Nature School. I appreciate all that you have given me and to others. Thank you.

Check out the podcast here: https://sites.google.com/view/outdooreducationcollective/podcasts