Miles Richardson, who writes about our connections to nature, posted a recent blog on A Guide to Nature.  This explores our obsessive focus on knowledge at the expense of empathy and valuing.  The post gives the background to hie ideas for a new book.  It begins:

“Nature is in decline and there is a need to promote a new relationship with the natural world.  A closer relationship based on an emotional attachment where nature has meaning in our lives.  Where we sense and appreciate nature’s everyday beauty.  Where we develop a compassion for nature.

In Spring last year I was in a nature-based visitor center and was struck by the shelves full of guides to identifying nature.  This promotes a certain type of relationship with the natural world.  Yet, we know such knowledge of nature isn’t a pathway to connection and is a poor predictor of the pro-nature behaviours we desperately need.  However knowledge based relationships with nature are the dominant relationships we promote.  When designing a nature engagement experience (especially for children), many will ask about the learning outcomes.  Why not learn to develop a closer bond with nature?

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