Children in Wild Nature Cover

Children in Wild Nature

A practical guide to nature-based practice

There is a growing realisation that children benefit by being involved in 'wild' spaces. They need dynamic and complex outdoor environments and opportunities for risk and challenge, to play with abandon, to have first-hand experiences - places where there is adventure, delight, laughter, daring and joy.

Children in Wild Nature:

  • provides a background to bush, forest and beach schools
  • outlines the challenges and benefits
  • explores the concept of nature-based practice
  • emphasises the importance of free play
  • includes a selection of case studies in which educators share their journeys into 'wild nature'
  • provides a starting point for giving nature-based practice a go.It assists educators to unpack their legislative requirements so they can meet all health and safety requirements while carefully weighing the risks and benefits.

It takes richly resourced, vibrant environments for learners to be all they can possibly be, and this has everything to do with connection to the natural world. It is a complex interplay between people, places and things that nurture children's capacity to learn. Teachers and educators who understand the way children are drawn into learning through dispositions such as curiosity, persisting with things that interest them and then, with effort and practice, build their knowledge and skills, and realise the emotional nature of learning.

Ages: 2-6 | Pages: 100 | Code: TS0105 | ISBN: 9781925145014

NZD
Add to cart
or more each
Book (physical) - A good old fashioned printed book, ideal if you like the feeling of holding it in your hand as you flip through the pages. We will ship your books from our warehouse within 1-3 days.
Vital Source Ebook - You can read, highlight, annotate, create flashcards, and collaborate with colleagues and instructors via any web browser, or for offline access download the Vital Source Bookshelf App (Mac, PC, iOS & Android). The ebooks are available immediately and can be accessed via your filebox. Vital Source books have limited printing functionality.

Orders are normally dispatched within 1 to 3 business days. Goods are shipped by New Zealand Post or by local courier, depending upon the location, with a delivery expectation of 1 to 3 business days. We will email dispatch confirmation and tracking details.

International Orders
We are happy to supply orders from outside Australia and New Zealand. Orders will be dispatched by International Air which has delivery expectations of 3-21 business days depending upon your location.

Returns
We offer a 14-day inspection with freepost return on all printed products.
Please be aware that we cannot offer an approval period or accept returns on digital resources, so orders for these resources are final.

Credit Card - Pay securely with Visa or Mastercard when you check out.

Invoice your school - Select your school when you check out. You will need a school order number.

Picture of Niki Buchan

Niki Buchan

Niki Buchan is senior educational consultant with Natural Learning Early Childhood Consultancy and Real World Learning Consultancy. She has lived and worked in South Africa and Scotland and has been calling Australia home since 2011. Niki has a great love for the outdoors and has been working with both adults and young children in very consultative, naturalistic and sensorial environments both indoors and outdoors for more than 35 years.

She works internationally as a conference keynote speaker, nature pedagogue, mentor and author and has been invited to work in the UK, USA, Canada, Iceland, Sweden, South Korea, Norway, Denmark and South Africa.  Niki has developed a reputation as a strong advocate for children’s right to a high-quality childhood with a deep concern about children’s mental health and trauma. She trusts children as being capable and competent, including their ability to assess and take their own risks. Niki believes children have a right to regular access to nature and to have their voices heard in matters that affect them. She is considered a leading voice in promoting nature-based practice and is the author of Children in Wild Nature: A Practical Approach to Nature-based Practice and Adventurous Play: Developing Children’s Life Skills through Rich Play Experiences, and has a STEM book in the pipeline.

Niki is the mother of four adult children, an adventurer, keen photographer, seldom seen without a camera in her hand and is usually surrounded by children.

Contents

Foreword iv
1.\tBackground to wild nature experiences1
2.\t Considerations for nature-based practice4
3.\t Journeys into nature-based practice9
4.\t Advocating for nature-based practice23
5.\t Challenges of exploring ‘beyond the fence’33
6.\t Nature-based practice50
7.\t Natural creativity75
8.\t Giving nature-based practice a go87
9.\tReferences and further reading97