Overview:
Nature in the Classroom uses treetop graphics and creative techniques to create restorative, engaging learning environments that help students regulate emotions, rejuvenate, and develop focus and creativity.
Think of a student doing a challenging task. Teacher support has been provided and problem-solving strategies have been tried, but frustration is mounting. The student looks up to see the trees above, the sun rising, and takes a breath. A meaningful moment relaxes the reader and allows for a chance to redesign. The student not only recharges but uses nature, the constant, as a coping strategy. What may appear at first as a short-term fix is now a practical strategy that rewires the nervous system and opens the mind to learning.
Although we can see that scenes of green forests and the beauty of nature can provide refreshment and calmness, we often feel that we can bring nature into the school environment during special outdoor learning days, recess periods, or potted plants in our windows. Most schools and classrooms are indoor and do not allow natural light or greenery and Mr. Ernesto Rodriguez, the founder of Nature in the Classroom has created a way to bring environmental peace into our classrooms. Improvements can be made to schools with spaces for silence, classrooms that do not have a “natural” environment, and schools to simulate an environment that is inaccessible to many students.
In 2019, Rodriguez launched a non-profit organization, “Environment in the Classroom”, after studying the research and results behind the work of Dr. Ulrich and Attention Restoration Theory. The Attention Restoration position is that exposure to the natural environment can restore mental fatigue, by taking the directed attention that is often used in the classroom to create more “soft interest”. The natural environment allows the brain to relax. Rodriguez has seen the results of natural environments in the curtains of more than 3,500 hospitals in the US, Europe and Australia. After seeing the patient’s success in the hospital environment due to increased exposure to the environment, Rodriguez adapted the environment to ceiling tiles for the teachers and children in the classroom. Square tiles become a work of art, a blue sky above, and an inspiring way to bring peace to reading, every day.
At Indian Hill Elementary School we not only use our tools and resources to enrich student learning but we also use our surroundings to facilitate active engagement. Our students are enthusiastic, curious, and innovative. Their thinking has been challenged and expanded. As students work through the rigors of the curriculum, we also include strategies to promote emotional safety. When a child feels comfortable, and is able to take a meaningful moment, learning is possible. We believe that every piece is key to a child’s progress.
When learning about nature research in the classroom, we seized the opportunity to expand our two classrooms. The students were told the good news that the tree painting classes are offered free of charge by Nature in the classroom, and were shown a catalog of the tree paintings available in the classrooms. Students voted for their favorite mural and immediately became obsessed with the new addition to the ceiling. Discussions about solar gazing felt important in one of our classes as they saw this as another opportunity to directly brighten their day.
After working through transportation and installation needs, our Facilities Director and team installed the tree ceiling over Winter Break. Our students come back amazed and amazed! Students commented that their ceiling felt like a “work of art” and expressed that they “didn’t want to leave the classroom”. Tree bark paintings promote a peaceful and calming environment and serve as an effective brain health tool. Currently two of our tree-roofed classrooms are intervention classrooms. Like all classrooms, these are places to help students manage emotions and maintain learning. Teachers are encouraged to intentionally incorporate Brain Breaks into their daily schedule and the above environment. Research shows that photography can improve health, and students are taught how to use their surroundings. The presence of tree paintings serves as an opportunity to restore.
Emotional support and consideration:
- Start each new day/class session/change with one minute you remember:
- A chance to use the senses – the 5 things (colors) you see
- Visualization-Imagine the sounds you might hear, feel the wind in the trees
- Cooling tool- Point to the ceiling and trace a leaf/branch, find one tile to focus on, Take 3 deep breaths
- “Picnic” under the trees with peers (opportunity for lunch, or as study partners)
- Listen to the sounds of the forest
Throughout the day, murals also have the ability to focus on learning. They integrate and extend the existing curriculum.
Content Link:
- Describe the situation above, use your imagination to write a story about trees
- What animal lives in these trees
- What do these drugs see happening that people may miss
- How would (this character) react to this environment
- Nature, Climate, habitats
Tiles support a variety of uses and situations. The new ceiling does not act as “another” thing to add to the teacher’s plate but rather compliments what is already there. Naturally they allow the benefits of nature and learning to interact.
We continue to think about what direct contact with nature can bring to our students’ learning. In Becky Hemsley’s poem, “Breathe”, the reader feels the power of nature’s gift to us; a chance to reset, feel grounded, and breathe.
Then he found a small place surrounded by firs,
Then he stopped…and heard what the trees were saying to him,
And he sat there for hours unwilling to leave,
After all, the forest didn’t say anything, it just let him breathe.
Nature in the Classroom has created an ambiance of small clearing surrounded by firs, a feeling of “not wanting to leave”, and an opportunity for students to breathe.
