The Importance Of Nature And Environmental Education

It is extremely important that students become accustomed to working in nature and learning to become part of a global community. Building a compost pile is an effective way to ensure this because it is easy to build and can serve a lasting purpose in the school or local community and promote a better community environment (Ritcher). Numerous sources corroborate the importance of children’s exposure to nature and that a group composting project or field trip will provide these unique opportunities to an elementary school classroom community.

The primary problem is simply a lack of contact with nature is the bombardment of indoor and electronic devices which permeate a child’s life. According to the article by Larson, Interest in other activities

147). Nature and environmental education especially is key in forming pro-environmental behavior as adults (Wells & Lekies, 2006) and preventing “ecophobia”, or the feeling of powerlessness in preventing cataclysmic environmental change, as adults (Sobel, 2008, p. 146). The fight against ecophobia will take place in small steps and won’t be able to be learned in just one short interactive demonstration, but the planting of these habits in the child’s mind will only serve to continue these tendencies after the demonstration is

When children are able to involve themselves in concrete learning experiences using loose parts, they are able to explore naturally and consult with their peers – opportunities that cannot be found with adult-directed play although adults do still play important roles in preparing and guiding the experiences (Mincemoyer, 2016), as is the case here. What may seem like work to an adult, is something totally different to a child; the interactive component of the composting experience will further allow children to engage with nature while having genuine fun in the