Outdoor Learning
Outdoor Learning at JIS
JIS has an extensive outdoor education programme. Its primary focus is to foster an appreciation, enjoyment, and empathy for our local environment, as well as an understanding of the critical issues facing our planet and the role that we, as individuals, can play in making a positive difference.
Opportunities are continuously provided for students to learn and grow through immersion in the natural world. By engaging with the outdoors, our students develop a deeper connection to their surroundings, an enhanced awareness of environmental challenges, and a sense of personal responsibility for sustainable solutions. This holistic approach to learning is essential for preparing the next generation of informed, environmentally-conscious global citizens.
"If we want children to florish, to become truly empowered, then let us allow them to love the Earth before we ask them to save it." - David Sobel
There are numerous important benefits for student learning when they actively engage with their environment.
- Providing regular opportunities for students to learn outside the classroom, in the forests and beaches of Hong Kong, will help foster a deep love and appreciation for nature. This is vital for the future well-being of our planet.
- While students are immersed in the natural world, they develop vital social skills, physical dexterity, learn to take appropriate risks, and experience positive impacts on mental health.
- Children's natural curiosity about the natural world and their unique ways of understanding it requires inquiry-based and exploratory learning approaches. Here at JIS, we believe that all children should have the right to opportunities to play and freely explore their environment.
- By becoming familiar with the local forests, species, sights, and sounds of the outdoors, our students cultivate a genuine love of nature. Research has shown that "the extent to which an individual believes s/he is a part of nature, their connectedness to nature, has been shown to be correlated with positive environmental attitudes" (Randy White).
- Learning in the outdoors also develops critical skills such as creativity, problem-solving, independence, and confidence—benefits that extend far beyond the immediate educational experience. Providing these opportunities is invaluable for the holistic development of our students.
Our proximity to these outdoor opportunities has been a key part of the development of the programmes we have planned.
Our outdoor education programme is also closely linked to the U.N. Global Goals for the Planet. These goals are incorporated into lines of inquiry within our main Programme of Inquiry (POI) throughout the school. We believe in making the students aware of both the global and local significance of our environmental programme in order to inspire commitment and significance well beyond their time with us at JIS.