'Nature and Me': Educating the Heart and the Soul of Children to Build a Better World

: Written by: Kamran Mofid; Published: 11 June 2021; Hits: 1433

'A degraded habitat will produce degraded humans. If there is to be any true progress,

then the entire life community must progress.'― Thomas Berry

As our home- the planet earth- faces the most dangerous century in its 4.5bn-year history, we look to Mother Nature for her wise and passionate guidance on what the future holds for our Sacred Mother Earth and us all.

'Nature and Me: Discovering the joy of the world around us'

'Be in love with life and the living and the world will be a better place.'- Kamran Mofid

Chief Seattle.Photo:whitewolfpack.com

The Sweetness of Being Human: ‘We have all of us one human heart.’

'Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.'-

Native American Children

At the GCGI we believe every child, young person, students and their teachers should have regular opportunities and

ease of access to connect with nature, so they can learn to value it, appreciate it, enjoy it, prioritise it and take action to save it.

'Some say that my teaching is nonsense.

Others call it lofty but impractical.

But to those who have looked inside themselves,

this nonsense makes perfect sense.

And to those who put it into practice,

this loftiness has roots that go deep.

I have just three things to teach:

simplicity, patience, compassion.

These three are your greatest treasures.

Simple in actions and in thoughts,

you return to the source of being.

Patient with both friends and enemies,

you accord with the way things are.

Compassionate toward yourself,

You reconcile all beings in the world.'- Lao Tzu

The Tree of Wisdom, Old whimsical tree in the Wicklow forest, Ireland. Photo by Jenny Rainbow: fineartamerica.com

‘In all my academic life, spanning over four decades, I have been dismayed, frustrated and overwhelmed with pain to notice that our education model has not embraced the beauty and the wisdom of our mother nature and our sacred earth, corporating them into the teaching curriculum.

This, to my mind, has seriously deprived the students, our future leaders, or indeed, our current leaders, to get a wholesome, values-led education, and thus, has prevented them, to vision and implement policies to heal our world, to better our lives.’- Kamran Mofid

A Must Read Book about how nature can change your life for the better-

This is how our future leaders can make a difference and build a better world for all.

Photo: The School of Life

‘Children are used to hearing about how important it is to protect nature, but they may not fully understand how the natural world can positively impact their emotional wellbeing. With that in mind, this book shows children how nature can be fun, uplifting, consoling and even offer companionship. This is a book about how nature can touch us all and help us with our lives (especially when we might be feeling bored, sad or lonely).

'Children learn about the ways in which they can be comforted, inspired and uplifted by examples of nature such as:

- a flowing river

- a cow in a field

- clouds in the sky

- rabbits in their burrows

- stars at night

- a cuddle with a favourite puppy

'This is an inspirational book, not just educating children about the natural world, but teaching them to love and connect with it. Beautiful illustrations and a tone that is encouraging, warm and accessible makes it easy for children, and their favourite adults, to relate to.'

Read an Extract of the Book

Buy the book

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And now a selection of similar readings from our archive for your interest

'It's the mystique of the mountains and the birds, the sea -- it's what makes us sing. It's what makes our literature. Even though we have worked out a mechanics that is fairly helpful, it doesn't give us an interior world. The natural world gives us an interior world. It gives us a healing presence, a fulfilling presence. By the term `presence' I mean that indwelling quality that manifests itself throughout the natural world. We find this awesome presence in the sun and moon and stars in the heavens, in the mountains and seas of Earth, in the dawn and sunset, in the forests and meadows and wildlife. We are immersed in an ever-renewing wonder-world that evokes our music and dance, our poetry and literature as well as our philosophical reflection and our scientific inquiry. None of our industrial productions brings such inspiration as we obtain from these sources.'- Thomas Berry

Mother Nature: “Speaks not a word in any human language, and yet everything in Nature inspires humanity to seek and learn, engendering awe, mystery, and an enthusiasm for uncovering the truth behind her workings, her creations, her cycles and her balance. As such, she is the primal teacher archetype of inspirational teaching and the root of all scientific enquiry. Hence, ‘science’ has been defined as “mankind’s attempt to understand Nature”. The great scientist Albert Einstein expressed it more dramatically stating, “We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what Nature has revealed to us.”...

Envisioning the Future of our Children’s Education