Schools Tree Day - The Nature of Mindfulness - 5 minutes

Australian Curriculum content descriptions:

Year 7 & 8 Health and Physical Education:

• Plan and use health practices, behaviours and resources to enhance the health, safety and well being of their communities (ACPPS077).
• Plan and implement strategies for connecting to natural and built environments to promote the health and well being of their communities (ACPPS078).

Year 9 & 10 Health and Physical Education:

• Plan and evaluate new and creative interventions that promote their own and others’ connection to community and natural and built environments (ACPPS097).

Syllabus Outcomes: PDHPE4.6, PDHPE4.7, PDHPE4.8, PDHPE4.9, PDHPE4.14, PDHPE5.9, PDHPE5.14.

Time required: 5 minutes for each activity; however, these activities can be done individually or combined as a range of sensory experiences in one lesson.

Level of teacher scaffolding: High – lead students in mindfulness activities.

• Activity 1. Source a range of natural objects or specimens. These can include simple found pieces from your garden or the school grounds, such as herbs, vegetables, leaves, sticks, bark from trees/shrubs, seed pods, long stemmed grasses, etc.  
• Activity 2. Source a range of fresh and dried specimens from nature, ensuring you select some specimens with a scent such as flowers, herbs, leaves and dried spices.
• Activity 3. Source a range of seasonal fresh fruit (e.g. grapes, apricots, pineapples, apples, plums, tomatoes, oranges, mandarins and lemons for contrast) and matching dried fruit.
• Activity 4. Source simple instruments from the school to provide basic sounds, such as drums, cymbals, rattles, chimes, singing bowls, triangles, rainsticks, beat sticks, etc. In addition you can use The Nature of Mindfulness Guided Meditation 2 sound track.
• Activity 5. Source a selection of varied specimens from nature, either fresh or dried. These can include sticks, stones, crystals, leaves, herbs, fruits, feathers, bones, vegetables, etc. Even patches of ground could be observed: you could use a hula-hoop or frame to isolate a space!

Following this lesson is an ideal way for students to participate in Planet Ark’s Schools Tree Day – the largest nature-care event in Australian schools. You and your students will join thousands of amazing teachers in making a difference, fostering a child’s love of nature and creating positive environmental change. So, get growing! It only takes a minute to register for Schools Tree Day.