List of articles:
1. Developing love and concern for the natural world through storytelling.
2. Storytelling for Environmental Education.
3. Environmental Storytelling: a brief history
2. Storytelling for Environmental Education.
3. Environmental Storytelling: a brief history
1. Developing love and concern for the natural world through storytelling
To develop a sense of wonder for the natural world around us is the first step in Environment Education. If we want future generations to preserve nature, we need to give them the chance to appreciate it first. True caring for the environment will come when people love the world as their own-self. Love and empathic feelings are the greatest stimulant to the will, not knowledge. Feelings are more important than facts when talking about saving the Earth, preserving the environment and ecology. Interestingly, researches have shown that environmental knowledge (knowing the theoretical side of the ecological problems with loads of figures and logic…) is not vital for inculcating a sense of respect and responsibility towards the environment. People don’t need to know more, they need to feel more!
If we want children to develop love and concern for the environment, we need to invigorate ecology with emotions because only emotions that affect the heart can bring a change of attitudes. Children with emotional attachments to the natural environment are likely to become environment-friendly in adulthood. Creating opportunities for children to develop such attachments is the true purpose of Environment Education.
One of the best ways to create these attachments and instill ecological values and ethics is to tell stories that impart pro-environmental emotions.
Storytelling has received a lot of attention from educational theorists because it has the capacity to impart knowledge while entertaining and involving the listener. Storytelling gives children a chance to learn in an interesting way about the world around them. Stories can help introduce kids to new concepts, add depth to a lesson, and enliven any topic. For those willing to incorporate the joy of storytelling into their Environment Education lessons, there is a great variety of folktales about the natural word, the sun, the moon, the universe, the trees, the rivers…. Many tales are about animals for which children have a natural fascination and empathy. Many fables invite children to explore new cultural horizons and learn many facts about other people’s relationship with the environment. Folktales from indigenous people tell about beliefs, values and ways of life that have evolved from living close to nature.
Storytelling also gives an opportunity for emotional transformation as every story is designed to provide a moral message, which children take to heart.
If we want children to develop love and concern for the environment, we need to invigorate ecology with emotions because only emotions that affect the heart can bring a change of attitudes. Children with emotional attachments to the natural environment are likely to become environment-friendly in adulthood. Creating opportunities for children to develop such attachments is the true purpose of Environment Education.
One of the best ways to create these attachments and instill ecological values and ethics is to tell stories that impart pro-environmental emotions.
Storytelling has received a lot of attention from educational theorists because it has the capacity to impart knowledge while entertaining and involving the listener. Storytelling gives children a chance to learn in an interesting way about the world around them. Stories can help introduce kids to new concepts, add depth to a lesson, and enliven any topic. For those willing to incorporate the joy of storytelling into their Environment Education lessons, there is a great variety of folktales about the natural word, the sun, the moon, the universe, the trees, the rivers…. Many tales are about animals for which children have a natural fascination and empathy. Many fables invite children to explore new cultural horizons and learn many facts about other people’s relationship with the environment. Folktales from indigenous people tell about beliefs, values and ways of life that have evolved from living close to nature.
Storytelling also gives an opportunity for emotional transformation as every story is designed to provide a moral message, which children take to heart.
2. Storytelling for Environmental Education.
Environment education is a lifelong process with the objective of inculcating among children a sense of respect and responsibility towards the environment. This education has to start as early as possible.If we want children to develop love and concern for the environment, we need to invigorate ecology with emotions because only emotions that affect the heart can bring a change of attitudes. One of the best ways to create these attachments and instill ecological values and ethics is to tell stories that impart pro-environmental emotions.
Here are 5 great reasons to use storytelling:
Here are 5 great reasons to use environmental storytelling:
Here are 5 great reasons to use the Ecological Tales from India series:
Here are 5 great reasons to use storytelling:
- Impart knowledge while entertaining and involving the listener.
- Give children a chance to learn in an interesting way about the world around them.
- Introduce kids to new concepts.
- Enliven any topic and add depth to a lesson.
- Give an opportunity for emotional transformation as every story is designed to provide a moral message.
- Promote an understanding of the relationship between man and the environment.
- Develop awareness and the knowledge necessary for children to become stewards of the earth.
- Promote environmental education in school and community.
- Bring environmental education to life.
- Encourage children to become role models for environmental change.
Here are 5 great reasons to use the Ecological Tales from India series:
- Help children reconnect with the land: ecology is about going local, eating local grains, planting local fruit trees, dressing with local fabrics, using local resources…
- Revive Indian traditional knowledge systems: India is one of the last big repositories of ecological traditions and has plenty of local skills and expertise in the fields of medicine, water harvesting, forest management, agriculture, animal care, textile, architecture… to share with the world.
- Experience the wisdom of India's traditional people who have always lived in harmony with nature.
- Discover India's biodiversity: wildlife, endemic plants, natural forests…
- Introduce environment education with a new and positive approach: there is more to environment education than tragic apocalyptic figures that leave kids helpless.
3. Environmental Storytelling: a brief history.
People have always been telling stories. The art of storytelling might be humanity's most ancient performing art form. Prehistoric man's rudimentary drawings scratched on the walls of caves might have been made to illustrate stories and help the storyteller with the narration. Caves' walls would have been then kids' first illustrated story books!
If storytelling is as old as humanity, environmental storytelling or the art of using narration to teach people to care about the environment is very recent: not more than 20 years old. It started in the 90s when educators felt the need to enliven their Environmental Education programs in schools, and nature centers with storytelling.The first stories to be considered environmental were stories that talked about animals. But soon it was realized that environmental education went beyond talking about animals. That is when environmental storytellers started researching Native American folklore for stories with an environmental message.
American people like all indigenous people around the world live close to nature and care for the natural world. They have lots of animal stories that help children connect with the natural world. Their creation myths help children share indigenous people's awe for the universe and its wonders.But there again came limitations. Most Native American stories, though coming from people who have a close relationship with nature, are not always relevant in environmental education, many of the stories having been created to transmit cultural values to children of the tribe. Nevertheless, if adapted, some of the myths and tales of the Native Americans have a lot of scope and can be used to promote the environmental education of our children.
Recently a new wave of environmental storytellers has appeared. Some are naturalists who want to use the power of a good story to tell about the wonders of the natural world; others are environmentalists who use the medium of stories to impart conservation messages or to teach an ecological concept like diversity, adaptation, sustainability, interdependence, the effect of pollution on the environment…
Here are tales that, unlike indigenous tales, give scientific information. But here also there are a few drawbacks as fact tales often run the risk of being too factual and fail to capture kids' vibrant imagination and spirit.For a more detailed history of Environmental Storytelling, I recommend you to read:Tales with tails: storytelling the wonders of the natural world by Kevin Strauss.Storytelling and Ecology: Reconnecting People and Nature through Oral Narrative by Anthony Nanson.
