To mark the 70th anniversary of the Field Studies Council, the RSA convened a panel to look 70 years into the future, and predict the emerging drivers which might most affect people's physical connections with the outdoor environment. This the panel mostly failed to do, but between them, Maggie Atkinson, Jonathon Porritt, and Jo Twist did provoke a lively discussion which can be found here.
Jo Twist enthused about games (of all kinds), and said they can be good at helping people learn about systems; for example, looking at consequences of actions. Maggie Atkinson’s talk reminded me of the wild and free childhood I had. Jonathon Porritt said a focus on climate change is increasingly normalised in schools leading to a predisposition for students to understand how climate will affect their lives, to get involved, and to understand that they will have to cope with change. He also provided a neat explanation about why certain politicians find issues around climate so hard to come to terms with. Inexplicably, the RSA spelt JP’s name wrongly, and forgot he had a knighthood. Still, all that’s better than being called Dr Parrott which he once was by a confused Secretary of State at a policy l(a)unch.
The chair, Matthew Taylor asked the panel (and then the audience) to choose between three priorities for outdoor experience:
- Physicality – exercise, fitness, etc
- Understanding – of nature / environment / systems / interconnections
- Spiritual – all that awe, wonder & transcendence
For me, this was not only a false trichotomy, it also omitted the most important aspect: that of becoming; about learning about being you. This is certainly something the redoubtable Maggie Atkinson understood.
All in all, well worth a watch.
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