Nature Mentoring is a really amazing way to enable young people to really deepen their connection to nature in a profound life-enhancing way. It’s a relationship that is built between young people and their experienced and passionate adult mentors who over time will skillfully work to bring out the unique passions and abilities of each young person. In nature mentoring young people explore their relationship with nature, deepen their connection to themselves and each other and they learn outside in creative, inspiring and fun ways. Mentors take the role of the coyote sometimes, sometimes they are the teacher but often they are just there to draw out the inherent wisdom that is there to be gained through direct experience in nature.
So why is this important?
In modern times two major changes with regards to nature mentoring have occurred.
- The role of the community and extended family has diminished massively. Some young people are lucky to have an uncle or family friend who takes a deep interest in their upbringing but on the whole, the main or sole responsibility these days is laid at the feet of the overstretched nuclear (or not so nuclear) family and the under-resourced target driven schools. We just don’t tend to have mentors.
- The second change is how much time we spend outdoors. One report said that children spend less than half as much time outdoors as their parents did. Green spaces are just not as accessible, safety is more of a concern and being indoors with computers and TV is much more appealing to our youngsters. Our children just aren’t going outside (an average of fewer than 4 hours per week in fact).
‘At Live Wild we strongly believe all children need connection, they need mentors and they need nature’.
Research shows that time with groups in nature impacts brain development, language, social skills, creativity, coordination, happiness, physical and mental health and wellbeing…..the list goes on. And research on positive adult mentors in out of school settings, both formal and informal are shown to support young people with confidence, self-esteem, engagement in school and the ability to form positive relationships in future life and more.
The Eight Shields Institute (http://8shields.org/about/) in America has developed a model to work with young people based on experience and knowledge shared from indigenous cultures from around the world. This model has been bringing about great results.
We at Live Wild have been tracking this work for some time and in recent years have trained and worked with this model and ‘The Art of Mentoring’ (https://artofmentoring.life/aom/) in a number of projects. We know that there is now a growing body of knowledge and awareness of the benefits of long term deep nature connection mentoring and we want you to be a part of it.
With this in mind we are excited to launch the:
Monthly Nature Mentoring Programme 2018
Starting 14th January 2018 and then every second Sunday of each month.
For 5-8 year olds and 8-12 year olds
With only a few of its kind in this country and none in the north of England we are excited to offer monthly sessions in the beautiful woods near Hebden Bridge where we can really create a thriving healthy culture of nature connection with the young people we work with.
Are you interested for your child or someone you know?
Email info@livewild.org.uk
Places are limited and booking is essential so don’t miss out
For information about when and where this is happening and details about how to sign up please email and we can send more information to you with full details. Please also feel free to pass this to anyone else you think might be interested.
Call 07979 207206 to speak to Leona one of our Nature Mentors.
And if you any questions at all please contact us.