Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Learning in Nature: Perspective from
Behavioral Biology
Chiemi Saito*
Summary:Children can enjoy and get adapted to harsh environment much more easily than adults. Then, throughthe experience, they learn how to deal with nature, and then would in turn really understand the power of thenature. Thus, to develop the attachment to the nature in children’s mind, what we need to give children is notknowledge, but real experience in the nature.
This is the biggest goal of environmental education for school age children.
In this lecture, I would like to emphasize only a fact that “we are a part of the evolution system”.
Everybody is a part of a species named Homo sapiens, which is a mammalian species that evolved from moreprimitive living creatures taking billions of years. It is important to be conscious about it when we thinkof the development of children. Just imagine a man who has been grown up in a green house, under somemoderate temperature and humidity for 24 hours a day. Suppose that he has been fed the same food everyday,
which is very soft, tasty, and made of perfect nutrients he needs. Suppose that he has been spoiled as muchpossible, having no objection from others in any case. This man won’t be able to survive in the real life: hemay not be able to handle with social problems, he may get flue very easily, may complain all the time about
the climate. If not, at least he will suffer pyorrhea. This example sounds extreme, but we have known many
examples in which children under extreme environment show abnormal behaviors or health problems when
they get grown up. Many diseases like bad teeth, diabetes, high blood pressure, fatness, lack of vitamin-C,
constipation, or other psychological problems are partly derived from the diet of developed countries, which
is very much different from the food to which the body of human being is adapted.

Even if we can enjoy

highly technological life without moving a finger, the fact that you are still an animal, that need particularenvironment for your survival and reproduction, will never change.
As Human being, we need clean air, variety of plant and animal food, sunshine, water, proper
temperature, other people who can cooperate with us, and so on. In other words, we need particularenvironment for our lives. But the environment in nature is never stable. To adapt to the dynamics of ourenvironment, e have abilities to be adaptable to different environmental factors, and that ability is acquiredby the complicate interaction of genetic elements and developmental process. We should not neglect thenecessity of proper development in proper environment for our healthy and sound lives.
Then, what is the proper environment we are supposed to be in? The only answer is “the life like peoplebefore agriculture”, which is about ten thousands years ago. Remember that we human being evolved taking
more than four million years, but most of the time-until the beginning of the agriculture-our lives were rather* Associate Professor, Environmental Education Center, Miyagi University of Education, JAPAN－39 －stable. We were living in the nature, coordinating with the nature perfectly. Our body and brain had been
designed for the life in the nature, and we still have the same design.
We feel comfortable in the forest when it is very hot, or we feel safe when we are with family or friends.
This is the real environmental problem for children. In the developed countries, or even in developing
countries in many cases, children are deprived of many opportunities to learn from nature. It if not essential
at all to teach children how human being are stupid to pollute and overexploited natural resources. This issomething anybody can learn anytime of one’s life. What we need it not to stop the children to experience asmuch possible in the nature, so that children, who have the mechanism to learn and develop their skill mucheffective than adult people, can have their chances to be wiser than us.
I have not dicussed about sustainable development so far. If children can have sound body and brain,
does it have nothing to do with the sustainable development of the earth? Yes, it has. If we need sustainable
world, we must solve many problems, and also we know instinctively that we need deep respect and love fornature that we have lost.
People tend to feel uncomfortable when it is too hot or too cold, when there are insects surrounding them,when it is dark, or when the sunshine is too strong. People tend to feel comfortable when they do not needenergy to move to different places. People prefer soft and highly nutritional foods than fibrous food. The
preference is mostly made up through the developmental course. We have to admit that it is easier to spoil
children than to put them into the environment that is severe for grownups. But children can get adapted toharsh environment much more easily than adults. Then, through the experience, they learn how to deal withnature, and then would in turn really understand the power of the nature. Thus, to develop the attachment
to the nature in children's mind, what we need to give children is not knowledge, but real experience in thenature.
This is the biggest goal of environmental education for school age children.
We staffs of the Environmental Education Center, Miyagi University of Education, have launched the“friendship project” since 1996. In the project, we train university students in the natural field, and after
enough experience, we let them to lead children in wild. We do not plan detailed schedules, as we believe thatchildren should not have the idea that they have to do something there. We just release them in the nature
to help them learn by themselves. At the beginning, it is very hard to teach university students not to say“No!” or “Don’t do it!” to children, as they are the easiest way to control children’s behavior. The almost only
thing leader should do is to do something that can inspire children’s voluntary experience. When children
start make questions, leaders must be able to answer properly, but leaders should not force children to askquestions. It may not sound like school education, but we believe that children need to feel more in natureand interact with each other in wild. They need to love the experience in nature much more, so that they will
think about nature and grow interest in natural systems.

－40 －