top of page

Ways of Knowing

In short, we are an ignorant species, new to the Earth, still juvenile, still in the earliest stages of inquiry, bound by our very nature to discover more about ourselves and the life around us in which we are, like it or not, embedded. It is in our genes to understand the Universe if we can, to keep trying even if we cannot, and to be enchanted by the act of learning all the way.

But we have a long way to go.

Lewis Thomas

Interconnection is a term that I have been using with increased frequency. I really like the idea of thinking of ourselves as part of nature and not separate from it which was part of our chapter reading and our session with Elin Kelsey. I spent much of this week reflecting on how things are interconnected - woven together and the ways of knowing. This week, I have decided to get a bit philosophical rather than scientific and I think the videos did the same.

I am not a scientist and neither are my children and yet, we can connect with nature in both simple and powerful ways that engage and encourage us to want to protect and continue to enjoy our natural surroundings. I believe that for many people, their emotional response and sense perception to an experience in nature might have a far greater impact than language or reason. I decided to try to tie in the ways of knowing with my nature affluence activity. We have learned amazing things through the study of mainstream science as Dr. Bartlett points out but developing a strong connection with Elders in the Indigenous community to create another way of knowing offered by an Indigenous Perspective in Two-Eyed seeing offers a balanced perspective that will help to create a better world as Elder Albert Marshall said. I also appreciated that intuition and interaction or contemplation might also hold some value in how we face todays’ most challenging environmental issues.

Based on the Theory of Knowledge course (philosophy based) offered at our school and through the IB program, the 4 ways of knowing are Emotion, Language, Reason and Sense Perception. But added more recently to the curriculum were Imagination, Intuition, Memory and Faith. I decided to see how they might be explored below in connection with nature affluence.

Connecting with nature

  • Driving out to the lake we spotted a bear. My children were so excited and we recounted the story again and again.  I thought about how spotting animals that are rarely seen brings such total joy! We had an emotional response and that response will become part of memory (we talked about other bears seen on trips and our resident fox) that will hopefully instill in my kids a desire to protect the animals in their natural habitat.

  • My family along with my sister and her family cycled a trail that winds through forest, over rock and straight to a beautiful lake. It was so rewarding and my kids were so proud to have made it all the way. (One fell into the lake and really had to persevere to make it back to the cabin in wet clothes.) Having arrived back at the cabin, I thought about how we should make time every week for an activity that brings us together, outside and having fun. Our experience was very much sensory and imagination. Children use imagination all the time as they explore outdoors and I think it is an important part of their current understanding of the world. It’s amazing that their imaginative explanations of something can be amazingly close to the truth of what’s happening.

  • I had to drive to a conference this week at our largest hospital Health Sciences Centre. It was a beautiful day, blue sky and cloudless. I went outside to eat my lunch and watched 4 men on break playing ping pong with a table over garbage cans, nurses walking laps with water bottles, students studying and other personnel enjoying time to talk together. I had to drive to this event and on the way home, I stuck my hand out the window and could feel the warmth and the wind. It was lovely. These were spontaneous connections with nature that involved little thought until I sat down to document the day. I saw people happy to be outside even for a short while during a busy day. I know this because my sensory perception allowed me to see that they were happy. My intuition based on the laughter and smiles told me that this was positive. The language they were using and reason based on prior knowledge, demonstrated that this was a break from work and likely adding to their happiness and well-being.

  • Our sunflower seeds planted in egg cartons have developed into little shoots reaching for the sunlight at the window. I know that they are looking for sunlight and my knowledge claim for this simple activity is justified by all of my ways of knowing.

  • Any finally, our garden beds are ready for planting after proposals, planning, purchasing and construction. I ran a workshop outside today and took this group of students for a visit. Both myself and my students connected with nature and started thinking about what we might consider planting next week. Again, all of the ways of knowing were engaged but language and reason were more of a focus as the article on Learning Gardens had provided prior knowledge.

Some of my moments spent connecting with nature were spontaneous. You just do them and experience a lift. Like sticking your hand out the window. With other activities, one is more thoughtful. Thinking about terms like "Nature-deficit disorder" and campaigns meant to get people outside, it is obvious that we need to reconnect with nature. The best way to do this might be to grab them by the hand and just nudge them through the door. No scientific data needed to prove that it will help. Their sense perception will take over and guide them along from there.

​

bottom of page