Connecting the curriculum to nature can deepen learning

In recent times, nature has become the focus of many people's attention, not least of our young people. The climate crisis and destruction of the planet due to human activity is, regrettably, familiar headline news. At the same time, particularly because of the lockdowns, we have become increasingly appreciative of the solace, reassurance, beauty and healing-power afforded by being in nature; we may even feel a sense of harmony. It is clear that each person has a life-time relationship to nature. Indeed, we are part of nature - it is not something 'out there'; consequently, we affect the rest of nature by our behaviour. There is an interconnectedness (Lumber et al., 2017). Bloom, a nature-based community interest company that develops educational resources, aims to expand subject-specific curriculum material by exploring this interconnectedness, deepening understanding of curricular content as well as benefitting pupils more broadly - research suggests that feeling connected to nature