NaturePlay

Abstract

Book and Film Reviews 137 NaturePlay A film by Daniel and Aimie Stilling (2016) 82 minutes Available from www.natureplayfilm.com Several hundred years ago a disturbed prince claimed that something was rotten in the state of Denmark; now, however, the rot appears to be in a different geographic state and Denmark is one of the beacons of hope regarding the future of our children, their education and the safeguarding of our precious planet. NaturePlay, a documentary by husband and wife Daniel and Aimie Stilling, which also features their daughter enjoying natural settings, is an incisive portrayal of the state of education in the U.S. and offers an alternative found in the Nordic countries. Featuring interviews from a wide range of innovators, change agents and transformers from as high as the Danish Ministry of Education to the “front line” of educators in kindergartens and high schools, the documentary is consistent with its message that children’s having contact with nature is a fundamental key to creating a generation of learned individuals who will develop a profound sense of duty to care for nature. Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, features as well, setting the tone succinctly at the beginning of the film with an excerpt from his book: “for children, nature comes in many forms… Whatever shape it takes, nature offers a child a larger world, separate from his or her parents, and, unlike television, it does not steal time but amplifies it.” Time, it appears, is stolen from youth in the U.S., with a fixation on test scores in preparation for further study. In the process of preparing for the tests, outside play time is truncated to minutes, so that there is more “opportunity” to achieve a better score. In many schools, there is no recess, with children made to stay inside the classrooms or walk around the corridors. The scenes juxtaposing a recess session in a Danish school playground (children running carefree) with that of a U.S. school playground (no one in the playground at all) were quite startling and indeed worrying. Nordic teachers, when told of this occurring, were practically speechless. So, with the abuse of filling out sheets of tests noted, Nordic and visiting U.S. teachers relish in explaining their outdoor learning experiences; they highlight the advantages of fresh air, the interactions with peers, the physical activities and the extended learning opportunities. Outdoors, children are less aggressive, more inquisitive, and more exposed to an enriched environment that stimulates senses and learning. With these tangible benefits, Christine Antorini, the former Danish Minister of Education (2011-15) supported the notion that all children have outside time during their school day; as result, Danish schools enacted a policy of having at least one hour outside. What is done during that outdoor time varies considerably; the Stillings show children in forest kindergartens climbing trees and exploring landscapes, and older children being taken on excursions that could include a fishing or hiking expedition. Book and Film Reviews 138 Outside the school time, other environments are shown, in particular natural playscapes and adventure playgrounds. Helle Nebelong, a natural playscape architect, explains in detail the purpose of designing a playground that may look chaotic but that has a distinctive aesthetic that even encourages children to pause and marvel at the phenomenon of “komorebi” (the play of light filtering through the leaves of trees). Adventure playgrounds are more shambolic looking with a slightly decrepit disarray of building materials piled in small parks where children can build whatever their imagination leads them to, or look after some animals, play with fire, or work with tools and knives. While this may raise alarms about the risks involved, it is explained that there are agreements made with children, there is certain amount of adult supervision provided and remarkably, these type of adventure playgrounds have been in existence since 1943. The documentary is beautifully shot, which is to be expected considering the background of Daniel Stilling with Hollywood (his impressive credits include Director of Photography for The Martian, Priceless and numerous TV episodes such as Criminal Minds and Scrubs). Numerous scenes are filmed from the height perspective of children, meandering through...