Wellbeing with/out noticing: Developing an Outdoor Community and Learning Space on a University Campus
Elliot, Jenny; Dixon, Kerryn; Wood, Elena
Authors
Dr JENNY ELLIOTT jenny.elliott@nottingham.ac.uk
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Dr KERRYN DIXON KERRYN.DIXON@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Mrs ELENA WOOD Elena.Wood1@nottingham.ac.uk
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN SCIENCE EDUCATION
Abstract
There is very little literature on the use of outdoor spaces in higher education despite the pedagogic potential of these spaces, the embodied nature of learning, and the ways we are always in relation with the world. This chapter outlines the rationale for and development of an Outdoor Learning and Community Space on our University campus. Through three illustrative accounts, we describe engagements in this space with different cohorts of students. Centring our analysis on the concept of noticing, we return to consider the interactions in this space, the potential for other forms of engagement and the ways in which wellbeing emerged despite this not being a primary consideration. We conclude by discussing the ways in which we anticipate our work within the space will develop and embed, as well as our reflections on the role that outdoor community and learning spaces might have on Higher Education campuses more generally.
Citation
Elliot, J., Dixon, K., & Wood, E. Wellbeing with/out noticing: Developing an Outdoor Community and Learning Space on a University Campus. In Nature, Outdoor Learning and Wellbeing. Bloomsbury
