Ecological Awareness Workshop for Children

This was the topic 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 the field of education. This topic is the key to long-term survival on this planet, and it is essential that the 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 Organic 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 run for over 15 years on their beautiful property in the mountains of Oregon. 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 as a whole. Another important element is cultivating a sense of connection with nature through the process of naming. The trees, the forest paths and the stones are named, and relationships are personalized. Ruai tells us that, even years later, the children she has guided who went through her programs show a real and sincere interest in the plants they named. “How is Grandmother Tree doing?” they ask her when they meet at the store. Ruai’s approach is extremely effective and full of wisdom.

At the AMURTEL Garden we have already implemented the practice of “naming” the 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 him, one by one.