Early Childhood Education (ECE) students at St Clair College are getting back to nature.
An ECE outdoor lab at the Mary Uniac building in Chatham includes a lush green space with mature trees and natural stumps for seating areas, and an open environment for learning.
Brenda Huff, ECE Professor and Program Coordinator at St Clair College says the program is part of a national research project on outdoor teaching and learning.
“Our students were able to make that reconnection back to the land through this land-based type education,” Huff explains. “They anecdotally reported a lot of health benefits, like reduced stress and better sleeping from the days that we had classes outdoors.”
The current class of ECE students have been working with kindergarten classes from St Angela Merici Catholic School, giving the college students hands-on experience.
“Compared to a traditional classroom indoors, where we’re doing a lot of instructional teaching, we’re out in a space where we can actually do experiential learning. So if we’re talking about how to set up an outdoor space or how to create invitations for children to get engaged, then we’re able to do that in this experiential space.”
Regional Manager at YMCA of Southwestern Ontario Cynthia Frizelle says the sector is struggling to keep up with the need for more childcare spaces.
“To have quality outdoor pedagogy, we need highly qualified educators that lead outdoor play through mentorship and partnerships with children, the materials available, and a beautiful outdoor space,” Frizelle says. “Recruitment in sustaining early learning professionals, it is even more evident that a highly qualified early childhood workforce is critical to the healthy developement and education of young children.”
The outdoor learning space also offers opportunities to explore Indigenous land-based teachings and Truth and Reconciliations responsibilities.
The ECE outdoor lab was made possible through funding from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, Chatham-Kent YMCA Foundation, and the St Clair College Alumni Association.
