“Only with a strong resistance of the wind, will the bird be able to fly”, said the wind. As I squat on the very field in Kamakura that I was at 5 years ago. Everything felt full circle. It was like in the very year that Forest School Singapore is closing, it was meant to be that I came back to the spaces that I learnt my Forest School practice. Such magic could not be planned at all. I was just hiking around the Kamakura mountain ridge area with my wife randomly, with no exact destination or purpose. By chance and fate of the universe, we ended up in the area where I visited the Japanese Forest Kindergarten (Yangchao & Nagayoshika) at.
First I saw the abandoned building area that they gathered in. At first I was amazed, because it looked so familiar. On a patch of grass nearby, a group of 3 ladies were sitting around whittling a stick and chatting. I immediately knew they were the parents of the Forest Kindergarten. Because only FS folks will be doing such a thing near a quiet off site. The stars started to align. One by one, I walked past all the sites that I visited years ago. Then finally at the yellow field, I got down on my knees, with tears in my eyes. Everything came together all at once. The cycle of life, from birth to death of FSS, was felt at that very moment.
The funny thing is, I will be going to Liverpool (near Manchester) in June this year for a FS Research Conference. And that (Manchester) is the place in the UK where I learnt and trained in the structural aspect of FS leadership in 2016. It is also the place I first felt belonged and supported, as part of a Forest School family. These can only be the work of the connected cosmic, cos I never intended to visit these two places this year. It just came about because of two research conferences that were just nice at these locations. Coincidence? I think not. Haha.
I was in Japan from 4 – 8 March 2024, for the International Outdoor Education Research Conference (IOERC), because I was invited to work on a cross collaboration research with Selima of Pedagogia Del Bosco of Italy. And we were presenting our findings at the IOERC this year in Japan. It was an amazing experience because the range of research didn’t just touch on OE. It stretched across Education, Tourism, Policies, Language and Life. My brain was hyper-full and overwhelmed from attending and receiving so much knowledge, wisdom and perspective from various researchers and practitioners. It was like 15 research presentations in 3 days. Woohoo.
The one research that really struck me was presented by Denise Mitten. It was about the Silent Suffering of Outdoor Education Practitioners after Accidents or Near Misses. There was this bar chart that she shared about the Second Victim effect that many OE practitioners / managers experience after serious/fatal events. I basically experience all of them on the table through my time as a practitioner and leader of Forest School Singapore. My body tensed up immediately with the evident realisation. Tears welled up. It was like finally someone actually put words to the experience I have been having. The subsequent information and knowledge from the presentation really touched my heart and built a deep sense of solidarity but also tension in me. Tension because of all the memories flooding back. At the end of the presentation there was a Q & A, where Denise asked the audience a question to allow us to reflect and share. There was a little narrative going around, about how everyone doesn’t ever want this to happen to them, and we were discussing how to design and create mechanisms to prevent it. I spoke up and shared another perspective. One I learnt from Indigenous elders. It speaks about accepting that accidents happen as part of the Natural Phenomenon of life. And instead of trying to prevent it at all cost, we engage in rituals to bring the community of care for those who have lost their loved ones, and those affected by the event. Denise shared that they have not considered it, because of the western control driven methods of viewing issues. But it is a very worthwhile area to explore. I was heartened to hear the acceptance of the audience and presenter to the wider asian and southern hemisphere perspective.
This is just one of the many researches presented in the conference. My honest reflection upon all of them was that they are amazingly valuable, and more people should have access to them. But I believe because of the academic faculty that this knowledge sits in, it may not be easy for most folks to access it. I hope to be able to create spaces in Singapore and maybe regionally, to allow more interested folks to learn about them. Singapore’s ministry of education, represented by Susanna Ho and her team were also there at the conference. It was really nice to be able to share space with other fellow Singaporeans, especially those who are in the system. I really hope we will be able to come together to share the knowledge together in Singapore’s practitioner space.
I would love to share more about the other insightful researches (they all are). I so yearn to share all of them with all of you, but at the same time I don’t want to flood everyone with the details here because it will probably take 13 pages to complete my whole reflection. If you are interested to hear more about the other insights, do contact me on the email (forestschoolsingapore@gmail.com), I will be happy to meet up or organise a group sharing with interested folks, on top of the ones I plan to do soon.
Myself and Selima were assigned the last slot of presentation on the 2nd last day of the conference. We presented about Placed Based Forest School: An International Perspective between Singapore and Italy. We wanted to shed light to the similarities and differences of the practice and what it means to us. We also wanted to share honestly the dark side of FS while also showing appreciation for the journey that makes us. It was a successful presentation in our view, as we feel that we were able to present in a short 30 min, a different perspective of FS while also enriching the attendees to the journey and practice of FS in a cultural context.
Overall the conference to me was like a widening of my capacity of awareness. While also deepening my practice of Forest School and research to understand from the angle of language, culture and cross-disciplinary layers of elements. Basically to see/hear/feel beyond what that meets the eyes. Not everything has to be by words and sounds, sometimes silence and quietness are more important to imbue the magic of the message.
I take with me a great meaningful wealth of resources from this trip to Japan. But also, in the experience at Kamakura and outside the Conference period, I was able to spend quality (and some quarrelling) time with my wife to explore Japan’s many facets. We absolutely enjoy the change of environment from the usual bustles of our life in Singapore. The quietness of staying away from the city, really helped me crystalise the wealth of knowledge and put my body, mind and spirit to rest. I can see clearly the situation that is going on in FSS as we head towards our good death, and feel less resentful of my own frustration with my journey (yes it’s not easy to do this good death, it’s soooo weird)
Whether is it, the pain and suffering as practitioner, the anguish as a leader of a community, the frightening low sign ups and attendees at the start of the year, the crazy gamble of freezing (and not using) of social media to communicate our limited existence / stories or the challenges of not being valued and appreciated properly sometimes… it all makes sense when the sound and noises fade.
I realise we are with the flow, and sometimes the flow takes us on a wave of highs, lows and movement. The modern world may choose to function on transaction and a reductive way of valuing work, practice and life. But to do what we do (outdoor/in-Nature) is different and meaningful for life and the flow. The universe and god will take care of what’s ahead as long as we go with the flow, for once we are in oneness with Nature, all will balance in the greater scheme of the work. Have faith.
Written by : Darren Quek
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