A Nature Practice to Explore Different Paradigms

Invite students outside (preferably on a nice day).  Ask them to just walk or move around a field as they would normally move.  They can also reflect by sitting still, if that feels more available. Invite them to notice whatever they notice.

(I preface this practice by letting them know it may seem weird at first but invite them to practice some curiosity. Otherwise, I don’t tell them much more).

Then I invite them to pause. Consider the Earth as a living being, one who supports our very existence. Consider the trees and plants as living, breathing organisms, with as much right to live as us. What if Nature is a being in and of herself, the Earth as our mother.

You could read a poem or a passage from a relevant essay or book.

Then invite them to move around the field or sit and reflect.  Notice whatever arises.

Afterwards, reflect on what they noticed. Were there any differences in how they oriented to the space? What they paid attention to? What is (and isn’t possible) in the two paradigms?

I used this practice in an Environmental Justice unit when we were reading Indigenous and other writers talking about the paradigm shift needed to combat climate change.