This eyes4earth website talks a lot about the idea of meaningful nature experiences…or meaningful coincidences with wildlife. And if you are new to the concept, it might still take a little while to grasp what they are exactly …or being perceived as.
It is ready! The eyes4earth survey is now online and awaiting your input.
Wageningen (NL): Artistic results of “What did nature do for you today?” in South Africa are on show for the coming two weeks in the Forum Building at Wageningen University. In this fantastic initiative aimed at celebrating next week’s International Day of Biodiversity, former PRESENCE student Lucie Chuchmakova is presenting the results of her thesis which asked children of the Baviaanskloof about their relationship with nature…
To celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity, crew members from the Samoa Voyaging Society are currently sailing the Pacific in an effort to spread regional awareness about conserving their environment. Along the way, the crew members will also ask The Question – “What did nature do for you today?” to the (islander) people they meet during their Pacific voyage. But at the moment, nature is serving up mountainous seas…
The Healthy Parks Healthy People (HPHP) Congress came to a fitting end yesterday with an inspired wrap-up with positive and concrete steps forward.
The eyes4earth initiative was presented today at the Healthy Parks Healthy People Congress. Matthew Zylstra delivered an oral and poster presentation titled: “Meaningful nature experiences – the ultimate catalyst for reconnecting to parks and biodiversity?”
The International Healthy Parks Healthy People Congress at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre will be held April 11-16, 2010. The event will ‘explore how nature significantly contributes to our wellbeing and broader societal benefits.’
Matthew Zylstra and colleague Noël Isaacs attended four days of the Spirit of the Wild (SOTW) Course at Bergplaas Nature Reserve. It was a thoroughly enriching experience and both were left with the feeling that they had a much more complete tool-box for fulfilling their roles as aspiring environmental educators.
The eyes4earth initiative recently teamed up with TerraPi Charity to offer an environmental education weekend for 25 children from Maranatha and Protea shelters for street youth/orphans from the nearby city of Port Elizabeth. TerraPi has run a number of these courses already during the past year or so and facilitator’s Rob and Yvette’s shared enthusiasm and passion for educating about connecting to nature and environmental issues such as exotic weeds (i.e. invasive species such as black wattle – Acacia mearnsii) is impressive. The youth engaged in a range of activities which included guided nature walks (sometimes in silence), wildlife spotting, removal of black wattle seedlings, storytelling, drumming and free-time.
Wageningen (NL): Today is Earth Day for some of us (it seems that amidst the daily hustle & bustle, humanity does still require one official day a year to reflect on the planet). For eyes4earth, it is also three years exactly since we first launched ‘The Question’ – “What did nature do for you today?” Since then, we’ve received hundreds of enlightening responses (more than we have been able to post online). And these responses have given us many unexpected insights into how individuals across society perceive the benefits they receive from nature as well as their understanding of the concept of ‘ecosystem services’.
What is nature doing for you now?