Childhood Roots & Nature OT
Playing in a field in Germany
Hi! My name is Sarah and I am an Occupational Therapy student completing my first year at Western University. I am currently on placement with Paula and Michelle at Larchwood Farm, helping Alanna run the nature OT camps.
I was born in a small town in the green heart of rural Germany. Growing up I was the kid who played outside all day. I was fortunate to be surrounded by family and a culture that highly values outdoor experiences. I remember the first time my dad took my little sister and me into the woods and taught us about the cardinal directions and what a compass rose looked like to orient ourselves.
Most of my childhood was spent disturbing the rural peace with screeches and laughter in the forest and fields around my home. When I was 7, my parents moved our family to Northwest British Columbia. A much wilder place than Germany. As a family, we grew to explore even more and appreciate our new home and its natural beauty through many hobbies. My favourites are skiing and hiking. Nature has always been a space to unwind and let go of the structure surrounding us with productivity occupations such as work or school. It was these young experiences that set me on my path of loving the outdoors.
On a recent spring hike in Kootenay Natl. Park
When the chance presented itself to enter a lottery for a placement spot with Larchwood, I filled out the form on the spot. Nature OT is a movement starting to gain traction in the clinical community, especially within pediatrics and it is something I have strong beliefs in through growing up the way I did. Combining the intrinsic therapeutic properties of nature with traditional OT techniques is a logical approach to creating holistic treatment. I think that for the children growing up in our ever more technological society, experiencing nature and its properties presents an invaluable chance to learn important life skills in a variety of areas.
We have just finished our first week of camp. The growth and learning we saw in the children that attended was amazing. There were social connections, physical activity, and new experiences galore. We learned about the zones of regulation early in the week, something the kids still utilized at the end in daily activities. We went on walks filled with sensory experiences, played in the water, and learned about the natural world around us. We learned to move mindfully with yoga, and we learned to connect with animals. The learning did not just happen for the kids: I think we as the students learned too, and took the opportunity to let out our inner kid.