“I like to sit in my backyard. I go out and sit in silence and meditate. Nature is calming and I like to go out there and clear my head” ~Devon Werkheiser
Place-based learning is an important pedagogical practice educators may consciously and unconsciously consider. Place-based learning is present in the importance of our learning environments. When educators plan and build learning environments with the goal of allowing children to experience a sense of belonging and comfort, they consider place-based learning. When educators consider the teaching power of the environment, they support place-based learning. When educators set up invitations for learning and consider the environment as the third teacher, they apply place-based learning.
Place-based learning is when children have an emotional connection to an area and experience a sense of belonging, safety and well-being that encourages them to discover and explore their surroundings.
According to Dietze & Kashin (2014) ecological identities are born in place. When we return to an area over and over again and witness the magic of changing environments, as well as build a connection to the materials and beings that exist there, our ecological identities strengthen. The area becomes “our spot.” When we have a spot in nature, we experience how it feels to be part of nature and recognize our place in the environment as a contributor to the world.
To help children and ourselves construct an ecological identity and environmental stewardship through place-based education, consider introducing a sit spot. The practice of sit spots has been mentioned in a previous blog post. Sit spots, in their simplest form, are places to go to connect with nature. Sit spots are a place to close your eyes and focus on the sounds and smells around you and a place to self-regulate and feel totally calm. Having a place in nature that dissolves any stress we may have gives us a time to connect to the larger environmental system and the feeling we experience guides us to return to the area over and over again, witness how it changes, and inquire about the world around us.
When children experience a sense of place where they feel calm, comfortable, and part of their surroundings, they are encouraged to witness changes in their “spot” and inquire about them. They test, explore, construct their understanding, and build their ecological identities.
To support the pedagogy of place in practice, consider providing individual areas in outdoor environments dedicated as sit spots for children to close their eyes, look closely, recognize changes in their environment and reflect on their surroundings. If possible, take children outside of your typical outdoor environment on a walk to a park or forest once a week and allow children to revisit, explore, and connect to places in the community. Sharing parks and forests that you explore with families also supports children and families to develop their ecological identities together and feel like a part of places in nature.
Considering the pedagogy of place-based learning when supporting nature-based early learning allows educators to reflect on how to support a sense of belonging in nature and experience a sense of belonging for themselves to support children’s ecological identities as well as their own.
Watch the following video to expand your knowledge on place-based education and reflect on how it can be incorporated to support nature-based learning and children’s development of an ecological identity.
To see place-based education in practice, watch the following video:
References
Dietze, B., & Kashin, D. (2018). Outdoor and nature play in early childhood education.
North York: Pearson
Rebuilding Our Connections with the Natural World 
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