Nature…what is it, and what do we mean when we use the term nature or natural environment? The context and meaning of these words is no doubt different to each person you meet and each country you visit.
My mind automatically invisages a natural environment as being expansive, wild and practically untouched – nature in it’s rawest form – of which I am so used to back home within Australia. Prior to coming to Singapore, despite having done some research, and chatting with folks who had been to Singapore before, it had never crossed my mind how such a small and urban country would be able to incorporate and value the minimal nature that they had.
We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understanding and our hearts N. Jbvjbvufuftucugvufuvufuyhfvubig ~ William Hazlitt ~
I found this quote at the Raffle Leadership Institute and found it to be in line with what I have discovered while here in Singapore. I feel that Hazlitt’s quote highlights the most important fact that I have learnt about nature through this Singapore trip – what and how we understand and feel about the nature around us is much more important than how it is viewed by outsiders.
Towards the start of the journey I found myself walking around some of the natural places within Singapore, thinking that they were not comparable to what we have back at home. Yet the more and more that I was exposed to these natural places and the more that I interacted with the locals, I found my views, values and understanding about nature shifting closer to being in line with the Singaporean views.
I am amazed at how my views of nature, and the way that I value different forms on nature, have changed in just two short weeks. Our journeys throughout and across Singapore have opened my eyes and exposed me to so many different ways in which Singapore has allowed nature to still stay as a major part of the people’s lives, as well as a feature point within society and their schools.
Gallery: Nature Within Singapore
Taking part in this Singapore adventure has shown me that everyone has a different value and understanding of the nature that is around them as well as highlighting just how important it is for students to learn about and be able to empathise with these differing understandings and values. Understanding what we mean by nature in OE is important, but really understanding and seeing nature through the eyes of others is much more powerful.
Great learning, great post. Another element is that what we can actually ‘see’ in terms of understand or comprehend about a place in nature is fundamentally linked to our knowledge and experience base. As a climber when I look at a cliff I see things others cant – holds, natural features, ledges etc etc. A bird watcher can see things in trees that others miss. Indigenous people are the best illustrations of this aspect of how knowledge actually influences seeing. In OE we are teaching people how to see nature with renewed clarify.
Jacinta,
Awesome post! I felt like I was on the learning journey with you whilst reading it! The photo gallery was an engaging addition also.
Fantastic work! Ty