This observation activity uses a mindfulness exercise to help participants become tuned into patterns in nature and uses sensory activities to represent and share their observations.
Objectives
- Learn to look for patterns in nature.
- Learn the value of mindfulness to allow more focused observations.
Finding patterns in nature is a way of noticing survival strategies that are repeated among organisms. The patterns that are found most frequently in nature tend to represent particularly successful strategies. Examples of common patterns include spirals (e.g., shells, sunflower heads), branching (e.g., leaf veins, our circulatory system), and star bursts (e.g., dandelion seeds). The act of finding patterns encourages paying more attention when exploring in nature. Therefore, this is a good activity to use in early stages of learning about .
The purpose of this 2-hour exercise is for participants to become mindful of patterns inherent in nature. It requires an outdoors setting, preferably in a natural landscape. It starts with a mindfulness activity. Starting from that mindful state, participants look for biological patterns either at a landscape scale or closer up. They then represent their observed patterns in 2- and/or 3-dimensional ways as prompts for conversation. This is followed by sharing and personal reflection.