WINNER OF THE 2018 NURSERY WORLD STAFF RESOURCES AWARD There is a growing realisation that children in the Early Years benefit from being involved in wild spaces. They need dynamic and complex outdoor environments and opportunities for risk and challenge, to play with abandon, have first-hand experiences – places where there is adventure, delight, daring and joy! In this exciting book, outdoor education guru Niki Buchan offers ideas for natural learning in the Early Years. She provides a background to forest school and its relevance to Early Years settings, outlines the challenges and benefits of free play and a risk-taking disposition in children, and uses case studies from educators to explore the concept of nature-based practice. A Practical Guide to Nature-Based Practice presents ideas for outdoor learning that can be used all year round, whatever the season. This full-colour book will help adults and children alike to reconnect with their local environment making it a must-have for any Early Years setting!

There is a growing realisation that children benefit from being involved in wild spaces. They need dynamic and complex outdoor environments and opportunities for risk and challenge, to play with abandon, have first-hand experiences - places where there is adventure, delight, daring and joy! This book: o Provides a background to forest school and its relevance to Early Years settingso Outlines the challenges and benefits of outdoor learningo Explores the concept of nature-based practiceo Emphasises the importance of free playo Includes case studies in which educators share their journeys into 'wild nature' This book will help adults and children alike to reconnect with their local environment - a must-have for any early years setting!

A Practical Guide to Play Therapy in the Outdoors responds to the significant and growing interest in the play therapy community of working in nature. Alison Chown provides practical ideas about why we might decide to take play therapy practice into outdoor settings and how we might do this safely and ethically. This book discusses how nature provides a second intermediate playground and can be seen as a co-therapist in play therapy. It explores the relevance of different environments to the play therapy process by considering the elements of earth, air, fire, water and wood. It looks at the way we can connect with nature to find a sense of place and details some activities to do with children in play therapy to get started. The book provides an important guide for the practitioner and talks them through the crucial guidelines that are necessary for outdoor play therapy and gives a philosophical perspective to working in nature. It will be engaging and essential reading for play therapists in training and practice.

The Buddha said that "everything we need to know about life can be found inside this fathom-long body." Then why is most people's spirituality--whether Buddhist, Christian, or Jewish--completely cut off from their body? In this provocative and groundbreaking book, you'll discover that enlightenment comes not from "out there," but from a deep understanding of our own personal biology. Using the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, a traditional Buddhist meditation, Nisker shows how cutting-edge science is proving the tenets first offered by the Buddha. And he provides a practical program, complete with meditations and exercises, that enables readers to become mindful of the origins of emotions, desires, and thoughts. One of the great synthesizers of East and West, Nisker shows how to incorporate the traditional understanding of the Buddha with the latest scientific discoveries while on our spiritual journey. He shows that we are not separate from nature and the evolving universe. The way to enlightenment lies within our very biology. Most important, Nisker offers a practical program--complete with meditations and exercises--so readers can take their own evolutionary journey into their bodies to find the origins of emotions, desires, and thoughts. Nisker provides a liberating way for each of us to incorporate into our lives the understanding, proven by the latest scientific evidence and foretold in the great traditional teachings of the Buddha, that we are not separate from nature and the evolving universe. Our biology is not our destiny, but our way to enlightenment. -->

Take advantage of nature’s therapeutic benefits with this guide for counselors, therapists, and educators who work with children, youth, and families. The number of people seeking help for a wide range of mental health concerns is growing at an alarming rate. Unplugging from technology and reconnecting with the web of life is a powerful antidote to the anxiety and stress that tend to exacerbate so many of our mental health struggles. Nature-Based Therapy addresses the underlying disconnection between humans and their ecological home, exploring theories and therapeutic practices designed for children, youth, and families, including:Developing sensory awareness of outer and inner landscapesNavigating risk in playCase examples with a diverse range of settings, intentions, and interventions

In this modern age of technology, children need nature play more than ever before in human history. Pediatric therapy practitioners around the world are reading current research and realizing the benefits of nature for children with developmental challenges. Evidence suggests nature-based therapy is a powerful way to help children make rapid gains in sensory processing, mental health, motor coordination, and social play skills.Just like any real adventure, nature-based therapy is exciting and fun...but getting started as a nature-based therapist can feel overwhelming and scary due to all the logistics and unknowns. Most of us are used to working indoors and nature-based therapy is an emerging practice area with not much out there to guide us.Therapy in the Great Outdoors will help you start providing nature-based therapy immediately with confidence and ease! In this book, occupational therapist Laura Park Figueroa shares lessons learned during the start-up and growth of Outdoor Kids Occupational Therapy, a nature-based pediatric practice. In this book, you will learn:¿ Expert tips for managing logistics and planning nature-based therapy sessions.¿ Specific supplies you need to get started without spending a ton of money.¿ Must-have outdoor skills: hanging swings, building fires, tying the one knot you must know, and more!¿ And best of all: 44 easy-to-do kid-tested therapy activities requiring minimal supplies that you can carry in a large backpack for mobile therapy sessions in nature! With proven ideas for Crafts & Building, Group Movement Games, Social Skills & Self-Regulation, Snack Time, & Swings, you'll have an entire school year's worth of activities to help you effortlessly plan your nature-based therapy sessions. You will be inspired and equipped to adventure into nature-based therapy and transform children's lives!

Recent decades have seen an increasing interest in the healing and therapeutic potential of nature and interest in the potential of greencare interventions for the benefit of mental health. The field of nature based therapies is expanding in line with this interest. Nature and Therapy offers a unique contribution by outlining the specific processes involved in conducting counselling and psychotherapy sessions in outdoor natural environments. Central areas covered in the book include: A thorough exploration of the evidence for the psychological and healing potential of natural spaces; Developing a therapeutic rationale for nature based therapeutic work; Understanding the therapeutic relationship and the unique therapeutic processes that come into play in outdoor natural spaces; Translating indoor therapeutic work to outdoor contexts; The practicalities of setting up and running a therapy session outside of a room environment; Experiential exercises to explore the therapeutic potential of nature. Martin Jordan offers a clear outline of how to set up and hold a therapeutic session outdoors. Using case examples Nature and Therapy explores both the practicalities and the therapeutic processes that come into play in an outdoor natural setting. The book will be of use to counsellors, psychotherapists, arts therapists, psychologists and health professionals who are interested in taking their therapeutic work into natural environments and outdoor spaces.