Webinar (FI): 3 environmental education/nature interpretation exercises/examples. Part 2. Nature excursion machine

Nordic EE and IN

Saari-Vesterinen Sanna

Sanna Saari-Vesterinen explained the background and functioning of the Nature Excursion Machine in her presentation. Biodiversity loss and climate change are hard to tackle, because they are caused by the way we are living and have built our society (with cheap fossil energy). The tentacles of problems are everywhere in the system. System-level understanding is needed to build a sustainable future. Let’s help teachers and students on the way to systemic thinking! The presentation shows an idea how to get from species observation to system-level understanding.

Students have the right to learn how human activity affects other species and how everything is interconnected. The Nature excursion machine has information on 52 bird species, all of which are messengers of a certain environmental change or ecological phenomenon. The excursion machine was built together with the Finnish biodiversity info facility, and the material is dynamic. A teacher or anyone can get a selection of birds that can be seen in his/her own area today. If the teacher prints the qr code, and puts it on the classroom wall, the students get an always updated selection of birds with the same qr code.

With this excursion machine, we aim to make it easier for teachers to take their class outside to observe birds and signs of environmental change, and to help teachers and students move from observation to system-level understanding. In this fast-changing world, you need up-to-date information and fast information flow. With this excursion machine, information goes directly from researchers to students and teachers. The machine is later supplemented with pollinators and their food plants. The contents will also be translated into Swedish in the future.

• Diaserie

• engelska