Ecological Awareness Workshop for Children

This was the subject addressed by Professor Ruai Gregory of Blue Mountain College in Oregon, in a series of workshops held in Romania for teachers, volunteers and others working in education. This subject is the key to long-term survival on this planet, and it is essential that new generations develop not only respect but, even more, a sense of deep love for nature and its resources, and these are exactly the aspects that Professor Gregory conveys to the children she works with.

The first workshop took place on September 21, 2015 at the AMURTEL Bio Garden in Poieni, and the second was held at the Morningstar Center in Bucharest on September 23. Ruai Gregory described the Ecological Awareness Camp that she and her husband have organized and led for over 15 years on their beautiful property in the Oregon mountains. The children learn a set of "Ecological Awareness Techniques" that include learning to calm the body and mind in order to open their senses and to observe and experience nature fully. Another important element is cultivating a sense of connection with nature through the process of naming. The trees, the forest paths and the rocks are given names, and relationships are personalized. Ruai tells us that even years later, the children she has guided who have gone through her programs show a real and sincere interest in the plants they named. "How is Grandmother Tree doing?" they ask her when they run into each other at the store. Ruai's approach is extremely effective and full of wisdom.

At the AMURTEL Garden we have already put into practice the "naming" of trees, and recently, when we had a visitor, he was amazed to discover how big the garden seems when all the trees are introduced to you, one by one.