Friday, September 30, 2011

Too much, too soon?


A letter written to the Telegraph by more than 200 academics, teachers, authors and charity leaders stress that children's wellbeing and mental health is being undermined by modern life.

Aside from completely agreeing with everything said, this particular comment struck home.

“We call on all organisations and individuals concerned about the erosion of childhood to come together to achieve the following: public information campaigns about children’s developmental needs, what constitutes "quality childcare", and the dangers of a consumerist screen-based life-style; the establishment of a genuinely play-based curriculum in nurseries and primary schools up to the age of six, free from the downward pressure of formal learning, tests and targets; community-based initiatives to ensure that children’s outdoor play and connection to nature are encouraged, supported and resourced within every local neighbourhood, and the banning of all forms of marketing directed at children up to at least age seven.”

The article about the letter is here.

Studio School


LOVE IT!

Kids Closer to Nature iPhone App


Following on from their campaign to get kids outside, the folks at Arla have launched an app..... to help you find your closest green space. Only in the UK, I think. Still, it's a start.

Incredible Edible Todmorden


Here's a fantastic example to us all. The town of Todmorden has, in their own words,

".............taken to planting and growing veggies and trees round town, we’ve planted several orchards and there are more to come, and we’re working with public bodies round town to use their land – like the fire station and the railway station – or to work with them on their own Incredible ideas – like social landlord Pennine Housing.
Every school in the town is now involved in growing with us and we promote food-based learning for the community as a whole.

We’re reaching back into local memories and knowledge with our history project."

Every town needs this.... puts me to shame that I don't do more.

(Photo of food show at local school, courtesy of Todmorden.)

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Kacper Kowalski


The most amazing aerial photographs I've ever seen. Some of them definitely have an Andy Goldsworthy element to them.

Check out his website.

Wangari Maathai


A day late with this, but Wangari Maathai, Nobel peace prize winner, died yesterday. She was a Kenyan social activist and environmental crusader who founded the Green Belt Movement.

As written in the Guardian, the Green Belt Movement is described below,

"
What began as a few women planting trees became a network of 600 community groups that cared for 6,000 tree nurseries, which were often supervised by disabled and mentally ill people in the villages. By 2004, more than 30m trees had been planted, and the movement had branches in 30 countries. In Kenya, it has become an unofficial agricultural advice service, a community regeneration project and a job-creation plan all in one."

Friday, September 9, 2011

KaBoom


I have a feeling I posted about this organization before, or at least hope so seeing as they are celebrating their 15 th birthday.....

They are a non-profit in America dedicated to saving play for children. Aside from the projects and opportunities to get involved, their website also has a lot of resources about play, interesting articles, links etc. Really great.

Link.

Aidan and the secret of the Fibonnaci sequence in trees


A 13 year old, called Aidan, to be inspired by..... (not a photo of him above, that's Fibonnaci)

Just won Naturalist of the Year award with a project where he investigated the patterning of trees and then applied the results to solar power.

"My investigation asked the question of whether there is a secret formula in tree design and whether the purpose of the spiral pattern is to collect sunlight better. After doing research, I put together test tools, experiments and design models to investigate how trees collect sunlight. At the end of my research project, I put the pieces of this natural puzzle together, and I discovered the answer. But the best part was that I discovered a new way to increase the efficiency of solar panels at collecting sunlight!"

Monday, September 5, 2011

Play For Life


If you happen to be in Minneapolis on the 22 of September, try and make it to the two day Play For Life symposium. Maybe one day they will figure out how to host these kinds of things through skype so we can all watch and listen in.

Oh well.

Andrew Revkin: Dot Earth


Andrew Revkin hosts the Dot Earth blog over at the New York Times and wrote a really interesting post about outdoor experiences and environmental values. He quoted part of one of Richard Louv's latest blog post, which was really insightful.

While struggling with the idea of sustainability and how it suggests that things stay the same, a friend of Richard Louv's came up with an

"..........alternative to the word sustainability: “‘Thriveability’ is much more powerful, and helps elevate the focus and actions on higher principles….With children, do we just want them to survive or do we want them to thrive — the answer becomes obvious when you focus on the right question.”

Let's all thrive together.

(Thrive is also a charity in the UK "using gardens to change lives".)

Andrew Revkin: Dot Earth

Andrew Revkin hosts the Dot Earth blog over at the New York Times and wrote a really interesting post about outdoor experiences and environmental values. He quoted Richard Louv's latest blog post, which was really insightful.

While struggling with the word sustainability, a friend of Richard Louv's came up with the word an alternative to the word sustainability: “‘Thriveability’ is much more powerful, and helps elevate the focus and actions on higher principles….With children, do we just want them to survive or do we want them to thrive — the answer becomes obvious when you focus on the right question.”

Friday, September 2, 2011

RSA: Education for uncertain futures



Take the time to watch this really interesting talk from the RSA website.

One of the speakers is Keri Facer and I recently read her new book called "Learning Futures: Education, Technology and Social Change" which I would highly recommend.

Also check out The School of Everything, found via this talk.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

This is fantastic



Got a lump in my throat watching this. Good on the folks at Chipotle and I'm in awe of Johnny Kelly. Very talented indeed.

Found via Fast Co Design.