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Natural Connections is an outdoor learning programme developed by the Countryside section of Community Services, Fife Council. It is designed to promote learning and achievement in the outdoors.
Natural Connections is based on the belief that the best outdoor learning combines adventure skills, personal and social development and learning about the environment. Other important aspects of outdoor learning are the benefits to health, gaining a better understanding of our rights and responsibilities and learning to understand and deal with risk.
The programme is designed to offer this balance. Natural Connections uses enjoyable and challenging outdoor experiences to progressively develop skills and understanding. Progression through the 3 levels of Natural Connections allows people to specialise and focus on areas that particularly interest them.
We believe that the best outdoor learning combines finding out about ourselves, other people and the natural world by taking part in enjoyable and challenging outdoor experiences. It should help us in our ordinary lives and connect us to the world around us.
Taking part in Natural Connections connects us to ourselves, each other, the natural world and our own communities.
Natural Connections offers this broad and balanced approach to outdoor learning through six elements:
The journey is two days with an overnight stay, camoing or bothy, or residental.
This level has three elements - adventure skills, helping the environment and journeying.
You will spend the same amount of total time as Level 2- but twice as much for each element- 20 hours. This allows you to focus and specialise on activities that interest you. By now you should be working together and finding your way naturally and will be improving your skills in planning, reviewing and recording.
The 20 hour journey will involve two overnight stays camping, bothying or other residential.
You could gain higher awards from the John Muir Award, National Navigation Award Scheme or the British Canoe Union. You could take part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.
It is recognised that many groups have special considerations which means that the best level for them does not fit this general guidance. Some Primary groups will achieve L1 quite quickly and seek to progress to L2, some older groups may find L1 challenging enough and some community groups may well have the skills and experience to progress directly to L3.
Finding out about the landscape, plants, birds, animals, insects, fish, trees. Seeing
how nature works and how humans can affect it. Exploring how we feel about the
natural world and what place it has in our lives.
Activities such as:
Looking at how to do things together, understanding what other people need,
learning to share ideas and make decisions together. Working as a team, solving
problems, learning about give and take.
Activities such as:
Developing new skills and working to improve them, challenging ourselves, finding
out what we can do, getting new perspectives and feeling the thrill of success.
Activities such as:
Understanding how we find our way around our world. Learning to interpret maps
and directions, identifying features that help us know where we are and where we
are going.
Activities such as:
Making our way together through the natural world, reaching the parts that planes,
trains and cars can’t reach. Sharing the ups and downs, the sunshine and the
showers.
Activities such as:
Acting to protect the environment by carrying out a practical conservation project,
an environmental survey or work to help an endangered biodiversity species.
Activities such as:
Looking back at your Natural Connections experiences, at what you’ve done, showing us what you felt and thought, making links between all the elements and between Natural Connection and your life.
You could make:
